34th annual American Sand Sculpting Championship begins on Fort Myers BeachCity council members talk about decision to repeal stipend ordinance
FORT MYERS BEACH 34th annual American Sand Sculpting Championship begins on Fort Myers Beach After a years long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
CAPE CORAL City council members talk about decision to repeal stipend ordinance A vote of 5 to 3 ends the saga over the Cape Coral City Council stipend and new members of the city council are sending a message they’re doing things differently.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers food pantry provides Thanksgiving meals to neighbors Dozens of people stopped by Sunshine Health’s food pantry one week before Thanksgiving. Sunshine Health is delivering hope.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach loses FEMA insurance discount The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has placed Fort Myers Beach (FMB) on probation.
FORT MYERS WINK News Game of the Week: Riverdale at Fort Myers Our WINK News Game of the Week is the regional semifinal matchup between Fort Myers and Riverdale, a rematch from the regular season finale two weeks ago.
NAPLES Hope for the Holidays turkey distribution event in Collier County A Naples nonprofit is expected to feed nearly 2,000 families.
Parts of Lee County to keep FEMA discount According to the Lee County Government, residents in parts of Lee County will keep their FEMA discount.
New blue-light system to be implemented to flag red-light runners Green means go, red means stop and blue means you just ran a red light.
New Punta Gorda City Council accepts city manager’s resignation Punta Gorda’s new City Council accepted City Manager Greg Murray’s resignation Nov. 20 and agreed to pay toward hurricane repairs and provide several months of rent abatement to business owners who lease space at city-owned Herald Court. Debi Lux was named mayor and Greg Julian vice mayor by the new-look Council, which saw three incumbents […]
Vehicle catches on fire after crash at intersection of Alico and Oriole Rd. A vehicle caught on fire after a crash at the intersection of Alico Rd. and Oriole.
NAPLES A first look inside the Gulfshore Playhouse What does it take to become a candidate for Gulfshore Life’s Men and Women of the Year?
WINK NEWS Best time to shop for Black Friday Long gone are the days of people camping out overnight, waiting for their favorite store to open after Thanksgiving.
WINK NEWS Thanksgiving events across Southwest Florida Thanksgiving in Southwest Florida is a blend of tradition, offering both classic holiday gatherings and unique local events.
CAPE CORAL Caught on Camera: Social media influencer arrested for theft at Cape Coral Target The Cape Coral Police Department arrested a woman accused of stealing items worth nearly $500 from a Target.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers woman pleads guilty to possessing loaded firearm as person with felony convictions Fort Myers woman pleaded guilty to possessing a loaded firearm and ammunition as a person with felony convictions.
FORT MYERS BEACH 34th annual American Sand Sculpting Championship begins on Fort Myers Beach After a years long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
CAPE CORAL City council members talk about decision to repeal stipend ordinance A vote of 5 to 3 ends the saga over the Cape Coral City Council stipend and new members of the city council are sending a message they’re doing things differently.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers food pantry provides Thanksgiving meals to neighbors Dozens of people stopped by Sunshine Health’s food pantry one week before Thanksgiving. Sunshine Health is delivering hope.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach loses FEMA insurance discount The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has placed Fort Myers Beach (FMB) on probation.
FORT MYERS WINK News Game of the Week: Riverdale at Fort Myers Our WINK News Game of the Week is the regional semifinal matchup between Fort Myers and Riverdale, a rematch from the regular season finale two weeks ago.
NAPLES Hope for the Holidays turkey distribution event in Collier County A Naples nonprofit is expected to feed nearly 2,000 families.
Parts of Lee County to keep FEMA discount According to the Lee County Government, residents in parts of Lee County will keep their FEMA discount.
New blue-light system to be implemented to flag red-light runners Green means go, red means stop and blue means you just ran a red light.
New Punta Gorda City Council accepts city manager’s resignation Punta Gorda’s new City Council accepted City Manager Greg Murray’s resignation Nov. 20 and agreed to pay toward hurricane repairs and provide several months of rent abatement to business owners who lease space at city-owned Herald Court. Debi Lux was named mayor and Greg Julian vice mayor by the new-look Council, which saw three incumbents […]
Vehicle catches on fire after crash at intersection of Alico and Oriole Rd. A vehicle caught on fire after a crash at the intersection of Alico Rd. and Oriole.
NAPLES A first look inside the Gulfshore Playhouse What does it take to become a candidate for Gulfshore Life’s Men and Women of the Year?
WINK NEWS Best time to shop for Black Friday Long gone are the days of people camping out overnight, waiting for their favorite store to open after Thanksgiving.
WINK NEWS Thanksgiving events across Southwest Florida Thanksgiving in Southwest Florida is a blend of tradition, offering both classic holiday gatherings and unique local events.
CAPE CORAL Caught on Camera: Social media influencer arrested for theft at Cape Coral Target The Cape Coral Police Department arrested a woman accused of stealing items worth nearly $500 from a Target.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers woman pleads guilty to possessing loaded firearm as person with felony convictions Fort Myers woman pleaded guilty to possessing a loaded firearm and ammunition as a person with felony convictions.
Hotel room “do not disturb” sign. Credit: WINK News For many people, staying in a hotel may conjure up thoughts of vacation, luxury and even room service. But for others, it may unleash memories of a painful past: Florida accounted for over 5% of all human trafficking calls into the National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2021. The second most-used venues for trafficking were illicit spas and massage businesses. The first? Hotels and motels. Hotels sued Our community is no exception. About two dozen Collier County hotels were sued in 2020, accused of allowing sex trafficking on their premises. WINK News anchor Rachel Cox-Rosen sat down with one survivor who was sex trafficked for years by people she knew and trusted. We will not identify her. Survivor story “It destroyed me. My first trafficker introduced me to the needle and shooting, so I started shooting meth,” she said. “That took me to places I never ever dreamed of, and I went down into a really deep black hole. I got to the point where I couldn’t make sense of my reality. I thought it was me. I thought that I was literally going insane. I was… I tried to take my life numerous times.” She spent time trapped in her own mind, in abusive, manipulative relationships, and she said, in hotels where nobody helped her. In the end, she saved herself. “Like some kind of weird survival came over me, and I somehow learned how to manipulate my manipulator. I ran for my life,” she added. It’s the law A 2019 Florida law says it’s not supposed to be up to the victim. Hotels should look out for trafficking. They’re required to put up anti-human trafficking signage, train employees to spot signs of trafficking and have a plan in place if it is discovered. If not, they face fines. Out of the 2023 Legislative session – a new law cracks down on hotels not following the rules – cutting the time to get back in compliance in half – and not allowing any second chances before fines. Linda Oberhaus is CEO of The Shelter for Abused Women and Children. She added, “Hotels and motels, they can save lives, and they can save victims years of trauma that they might otherwise experience.” Getting help Oberhaus went on to explain, “They can get very structured services with the staff, therapeutic services, life skills, anything they need to be able to work through the trauma that has occurred and have the skills they need to get back on their feet.” The trauma the survivor Rachel met is working through her experience with the help of the shelter. “I’m becoming stronger on the inside,” she said, “and, you know, that way, I don’t ever have to live my life like this again. There’s no going back for me.” Resources Below are anti-human trafficking and mental health resources available to Southwest Floridians at the national and local levels: The Shelter for Abused Women & Children: naplesshelter.org 1 (888) 373-7888 National Human Trafficking Hotline SMS: 233733 (Text “HELP” or “INFO”) Hours: 24 hours, 7 days a week Languages: English, Spanish and 200 more languages Website: http://humantraffickinghotline.org What is Human Trafficking? https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/what-human-trafficking Human Trafficking in Florida: https://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/human-trafficking/ Path 2 Freedomhttps://www.path2freedom.org/ National Suicide Prevention Hotline1-800-273-8255suicidepreventionlifeline.org David Lawrence Center (Collier County)(239) 455-8500davidlawrencecenter.org National Alliance on Mental Illness – namicollier.org | namilee.org Local Support Groups: Anxiety and Depression Association of Americaadaa.org U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Mental Health and Addiction Insurance Help)hhs.gov/programs/topic-sites/mental-health-parity