TAMPA, Fla. — Research has shown that minorities are the most targeted group when it comes to human trafficking.

The kitchen is Jeannette Matta’s happy place. She’s busy making her favorite food cupcakes.

“There’s nothing better than to make a child smile then when you give them a cupcake,” she said.

Matta finds joy in the little things in life. Her baking doesn’t just put a smile on her face, it’s also her form of therapy.

“It makes you, for a minute, just get away from everything that’s not going good during that day or that period," she said. 

Baking became an escape for Matta when she was young. A place where she could take control of her life despite the abuse she suffered.

“I was raped in the house from ages 6 to 9, and then fast forward, I was a victim of domestic violence," Matta said. "And these photos show the pain I grew up with.”

The abuse she suffered, and the helpless feeling it gave her, led to Matta starting the Miel y Canela Foundation and becoming an ambassador for human rights.

“Human trafficking does not discriminate and it’s attacking our Latino community," she said.

Through the foundation, Matta has hosted seminars where she teaches the Hispanic community about their basic human rights and what human trafficking is.

According to a report from the Department of Justice, 55% of Hispanics are labor trafficked.

It’s an all-too-common occurrence on southern Hillsborough County farms, which is why Matta is in Ruskin.

“This is an area where I started and it’s an area that I want to see the difference," she said. "At least it gives me the satisfaction that there was a lot done in a short period of time.”

While baking provides a sense of freedom for Matta, she realizes there are many Hispanic women who feel trapped. that’s why she continues to share resources to the Hispanic community, with the goal of getting them out of the dark space they may be in.

“If I had not gone through this I could not help or reach women the way I can today,” she said.

Just like food brings people together, Matta is hoping to do the same through her foundation—in hopes of creating a brighter future for everyone one without human trafficking. 

A charity dinner and auction to help stop human trafficking will be held in November. The money raised will help the organization continue providing resources to those who are victims to human trafficking.