Joni Wilkinson and Rhonda Riddle
"I had a male friend who was like a Romeo pimp," says Joni Wilkinson, a
lifelong Eugenian who has worked in her dad's insurance business since
her Sheldon High School years. "He was manipulating me to get to my
daughter. When he was pulled over and arrested on the way to my house,
I found out he was a sex offender, wanted in three states." Wilkinson
began researching sex offenders who use social media for grooming,
trauma bonding and mind control to traffick teens. "I started sharing
on social media," she says. "I had survivors from all over the US
emailing me." Five years ago, she started One's Purpose, an
organization and website devoted to bringing awareness of human
trafficking and providing assistance to survivors. "I contacted
schools," she continues. "Churchill High School let me come in and
share. My daughter was going to Churchill." These efforts introduced
her to Rhonda Riddle, a Eugene native with personal experience of
trafficking. "I was kidnapped from the downtown bus station when I was
14," Riddle relates, "and taken into sex trafficking until I escaped at
age 22. I was trafficked in every state but Alaska and Hawaii. They
train girls to make friends with high school students on their lunch
break at DQ and McDonalds so that we can introduce them to our pimps."
After her escape, Riddle spent 21 years in near total isolation, afraid
to go anywhere alone. She recently found a therapist who specializes in
EMDR (rapid eye movement) therapy, a Viet Nam vet who has helped her to
heal. "And with that, I met Joni," she says. "I was blown away by her
dedication. I helped her turn One's Purpose into a nonprofit in May of
2021. Our biggest goal is to raise enough money for a safe house
rehabilitation program." On Friday, January 28, 6:30 - 8:00 PM, the
Junior League of Eugene, in partnership with One's Purpose, will hold
its third annual Abolish Human Trafficking Event at the Valley River
Inn. "We have nine survivors speaking at this event," Wilkinson
reports, "and we'll provide basic training on how to recognize the
grooming process." Admission is free, but please register at the Junior
League website, or watch online through Facebook Live. Find One's
Purpose at onespurpose.com.
happening people
photograph and story by Paul Neevel
Eugene Weekly / 27 January 2022
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