Treasure Coast Sun

Attorney General Ashley Moody announced that Port St. Lucie has become the first city in Florida to join the 100 Percent Club. Over 1,000 city employees have completed anti-human trafficking training, enhancing efforts to identify and report this crime. Port St. Lucie is noted as the third fastest-growing city in the United States.

Moody stated, “With the evolution of social media and four years of a wide-open border, it’s more important than ever that we step up efforts to combat human trafficking within our state. That is why we continue to find new partners and innovative ways to fight trafficking. I am excited today to add the first city to our 100 Percent Club. Port St. Lucie is growing at a rapid pace and adding city employees to our team to help spot and report suspicious activity will help us ramp up our efforts to end human trafficking in Florida. I want to thank the Florida Alliance to End Human Trafficking for supporting this crucial program.”

City Manager Jesus Merejo commented on this achievement: “The City of Port St. Lucie is proud to be the first municipality to join the Florida Attorney General’s ‘100 Percent Club’ by having 100% of city staff receive training from the Florida Alliance to End Human Trafficking. Public safety is one of our city’s top strategic priorities, and by receiving this training, our entire staff of 1,018 employees is now better prepared to further this goal. We are grateful to the Attorney General’s Office for this opportunity to bring awareness and education on this important topic, and we are committed to doing all we can to combat the injustice of human trafficking.”

State Representative Toby Overdorf expressed gratitude for local leadership: “So grateful for Councilman Bonna’s initiative and the actions of the City of Port St Lucie to take this cognitive step forward in the fight against human trafficking. Through Attorney General Moody’s 100 Percent Club initiative, hopefully other municipalities across Florida will soon follow this stellar example. I am proud to commend the City staff and the members of the City Council.”

Mayor Shannon Martin, Councilman Anthony Bonna, and Representative Toby Overdorf joined Moody for today's announcement in Port St. Lucie. The city's involvement underscores its dedication to public safety amid rapid growth and increased tourism due in part to attractions like the New York Mets spring training facility.

The 100 Percent Club campaign is part of broader initiatives led by Moody aimed at combating human trafficking throughout Florida by promoting employee training programs designed for recognizing potential trafficking scenarios.

Since its inception in 2022, over 53 companies and organizations have participated in Moody's program, educating more than 12,000 Floridians on how best to detect and report signs of human trafficking.