Nation's Top Tech Experts and Policy Makers Create Groundbreaking Virtual Reality Program to Help Victims of Human Trafficking and Trauma
Kids and Victims Have a Safe Way to Connect with Case Workers, Advocates and Mentors Who Work with NGOs, the Government and Law Enforcement to Bring Sex Traffickers to Justice
MIAMI, August 19, 2019 (Newswire.com) - The scourge of human exploitation is a global issue that is growing worse every day. What many people do not know is that the United States is ranked amongst the highest in the world for human trafficking. This is an issue that Dr. Brook Parker Bello and her team at the More Too Life Foundation must combat every single day. Despite the proliferation of government agencies and nonprofit organizations dedicated to stopping human trafficking, there is more work to do. Dr. Bello, a survivor of child sex trafficking and a staunch advocate for the rights of victims, is rising to the occasion. The Google Next Gen Policy Leader and recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from President Barack Obama teamed up with the Google think tank’s brightest and most influential tech and policy experts to develop what Dr. Bello calls “VR-Eval.” The groundbreaking technology revolutionizes the way victims are identified and cared for so they can effectively rejoin society. The virtual lifeline uses a process idea created by Dr. Brook Parker-Bello of More Too Life and the perfect software of Doghead Simulations’ rumii app (a social-virtual reality space), which they now will utilize to link victims and their case managers from anywhere in the world through personal avatars. The process tackles the devastating effects of child enslavement or other trauma with a proven high-tech tool and uses information gathered from first-hand accounts to catch predators and identify victims. The initiative came to life thanks to the brilliant partnership of Dr. Brook Parker Bello and Chance Glasco, co-creator of “Call of Duty” video-game franchise and co-founder of Doghead Simulations, the technical and creative assistance from Full Sail University, and the marketing and consulting genius of author/actor/youth advocate and Google Next Gen colleague Carlos Wallace.
Each day, tens of thousands of children are recruited, exploited and held captive. The vast majority of victims are American kids, with an unprecedented 50 to 60 percent of them coming out of the foster care industry according to Geoff Rogers, co-founder of the United States Institute Against Human Trafficking (USIAHT). Meantime, while innocent victims suffer unspeakable atrocities, their captors evade prosecution. Dr. Bello and her team hope to give victims of human trafficking and sexual violence a safe, anonymous environment to tell their harrowing stories freely and take their lives back without fear of pre-judgment based on race, gender, socio-economic placement and IQ. “VR-Eval” brings the positive side of virtual reality and technology to the forefront.
Dr. Bello says the technology is the key to finding more effective ways to combat the effects of sex trafficking and other trauma kids face. She adds, “We must mitigate challenges that can be bridged in today’s digital world in order to provide children and young adults with the best care and innovative opportunities to assist them with the profound trauma they’ve experienced.”
Miami-Dade County and Florida State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, and Alicia Priovolos, Director, Office of the State Attorney Human Trafficking Unit, participated in an initial blind study of the project. Full Sail University helped document the project (which included participants from the “Chance” program and More Too Life) with help from alumnus and filmmaker Danny Tolbert. A documentary of the collaborative effort will be released and shared later this year.
A report on the protocol will be out later this year, and the process will be available to other agencies via Dr. Brook Bello and More Too Life. Sign up for the newsletter at moretoolife.org for more information. For interviews or speaking opportunities, contact Dr. Bello at 941-227-1012 or email at exec_a@moretoolife.org
About More Too Life:
More Too Life was established in 2006. It is also an Open Doors Outreach Network Provider offering programs and resources that educate and empower survivors of human trafficking to become champions along with at-risk youth, community and offenders while contributing of the reduction of the demand for human trafficking with innovative prevention methods.
The More Too Life Foundation has offices in Miami, Sarasota, Hillsborough and St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida in partnership with Glory House of Miami, Children’s Home Network of Tampa, and the Florida Dream Center of St. Petersburg.
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Source: More Too Life Foundation
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