Victims speak out
May 15, 2015
On Thurs. Apr. 23, D’Lita Miller, the founder of Families Against Sex Trafficking and a former trafficking victim, spoke to Downey High’s Stop the Traffick club and the student body in the theater.
D’Lita Miller is now the mother of 5 children and the founder of F.A.S.T, an organization that works to put an end to human trafficking and offers resources to aid victims and survivors.
D’Lita spoke about her experience being a trafficking victim and having her own daughter trafficked as well. Bria Trejo, 11, board member for Stop the Traffick, felt that Miller’s story was captivating and impacting.
“Miller is a down-to-earth person, which made the audience feel a personal connection with her,” Trejo said. “After speaking with some of the audience, I realized that she truly made an impact on them.”
Some audience members left the theater with a different mindset after hearing D’Lita speak. One of these members was senior Kimberly Tamayo.
“I didn’t know trafficking was something that happened here in America,” Tamayo said. “Hearing a victim speak really inspired me to get out there and put an end to trafficking. It’s something that needs to be stopped worldwide.”
As a trafficking victim, D’Lita spoke on how many victims are trafficked by their families or close friends.
Amberly Espindola, 12, liked that Miller taught the audience to be careful who they befriend while still being there for others who might feel alone.
“The main thing I took away was to be careful who you trust,” Espindola said. “Your ‘friends’ may be the very reason you become trafficked.”
Miller left an impression with the students and members of Stop the Traffick to work hard to put an end to a crime that happens not only in foreign countries, but in neighborhoods throughout America.

In her down time, Rodriguez enjoys reading young adult literature, writing fictional stories, and spending quality time with her cell phone on websites like YouTube, Tumblr, and Twitter. Besides being in Newspaper at school, she is also a new tutor at Downey High’s Writing Center. Writing as much as possible is important to her because she dreams of one day being an author. Along with chasing her aspirations of writing for a living, after she finishes high school, Rodriguez also looks forward to attending a university such as UCLA, San Diego State, or UC San Diego and obtaining a degree in English. Next summer, she will also be going on a missionary trip with church to Japan. Although her head is full of thoughts about the surreal future, for now Rodriguez is focusing on her schoolwork and activities and soaking up her last year as a high schooler.

She does plan to go to college, but she is still not sure what she wants to major in.
She does know that she wants to go to a Cal-State or community college, but for now she is trying to enjoy her senior year. “I like all my classes; I just hope to least pass with As and Bs,” Rosales stated. Although Rosales’ focus is on school, she enjoys reading; her favorite books are Looking for Alaska and If I Stay. She also likes to take pictures daily to improve on her photography skills. “I know I am on the right track,” she said “I just don’t want to make a mistake.” On another note, she definitely want, to go to prom with friends or a date, but that is only of many memories she will make. As Rosales works hard to stay on the right track, she also plans to make this last year her best. Rosales has a bright future ahead and she plans on getting there with hard work.
If you want a picture to show with your comment, go get a gravatar.