Driving Freedom Podcast

www.christinecesa.com
Christine Cesa 

Elesondra DeRomano is the founder of STARS Toledo. Standing Together Against Real Slavery (STARS) is a survivor-based organization dedicated to supporting and empowering young women who have experienced or are at high risk for commercial sexual exploitation (sex trafficking). STARS is located in Toledo, Ohio and offers a unique crisis prevention/intervention program with personalized case management and mentorship. Recognizing that sex trafficking doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and leaning on her own lived experiences with substance dependency, sexual abuse and trafficking, Ele crafts services that address all of the factors that have led to the victimization of her clientele.

Would you know the red flags of human trafficking to look for if you were a professional in an industry that was routinely entering homes? Would you be able to recognize signs of trafficking inside a residential brothel or other residence where a person was being exploited? Professionals in the moving and in-home delivery spaces are regularly in and out of homes and businesses in ways that other members of TAT’s mobile army are not. So, we have created a new training for this niche part of transportation that equips anyone -– but specifically, the 90K+ members of the moving and storage industry -- to recognize and report trafficking. In this episode of Driving Freedom, we are joined by TAT Training Specialist and Survivor Leader Liz Williamson to hear more of her story and what movers likely saw -– and either missed or ignored –- when helping her family with professional moves during the course of her exploitation. Also joining us is Jeff Schimmel, vice president of Transportation Services at Atlas Van Lines. Jeff shares his experience using the TAT training at Atlas for several years and the excitement behind this new video TAT has created for the industry. Learn the red flags for spotting trafficking inside a home from Liz’s first-hand experience, and be encouraged by Jeff as we uncover what companies in the moving and in-home delivery industries can do to help combat this issue.

Resources:
In-Home Delivery webpage
Tip Sheet for Movers
Tip Sheet for In-Home Delivery Professionals

Joy Friedman is the Sexual Assault Street Outreach Advocate for the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center, a wraparound non-profit whose mission is to empower Native women and families to exercise their cultural values with integrity, and to achieve sustainable lifeways, while advocating for justice and equity. Pulling from her own lived experience of exploitation and survival, Joy walks alongside her clients, building trust and providing services that empower and enable them to rebuild their lives.

Resources:
Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center
TAT's casino materials page

The demand for commercial sex is directly tied to human trafficking. Hear from TAT's own Louie Greek as we drive into how movies and culture have influenced what it means to be a man. We also dive into how men spend their free time together as it relates to male-dominated industries and how seemingly harmless activities can fuel sex trafficking. No buyers mean there are no victims.

Resources:
TAT's Man-to-Man Campaign
Men, Fight for Me -  by Allen Smyth
The Demise of Guys - Ted Talk 

Today's episode focuses on a key challenge that survivors face after getting out of "the life". Oftentimes survivors of human trafficking have extensive criminal records from their time being trafficked and those records can prevent them from obtaining employment and sometimes even access to housing. Beth Jacobs, TAT's field trainer, helps explain how these outdated laws often affect human trafficking survivors and some ways all of us, including private industry and advocates, can help make positive change in this area. 

One way victims of human trafficking can find a way out of “the life” is through interventions by ethical law enforcement. In this episode of Driving Freedom, we hear from retired Sgt. Dan Nash, who shares his wealth of knowledge and compassion from over 20 + years of working human trafficking cases. He provides some best practices in conducting undercover operations, the victim methodology he has developed and teaches to other law enforcement throughout the country, and how, through building trust and rapport with the truck stops in his state, he was able to conduct a series of successful undercover operations that resulted in victim recovery and services offered.

On this episode we dive into a topic not yet covered on Driving Freedom: labor trafficking. Transportation was number 10 in the list of Top 10 Industries associated with labor trafficking victims in the US on temporary visas that were reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline and BEFREE text line. Individuals exploited when an employer compels or deceives them into providing involuntary labor -- often through use of violence, threats, manipulation of debt or blackmail -- number in the tens of thousands in the US. Learn from Rafael Bautista, a survivor of labor trafficking and a consultant and advisor for many federal and local agencies, as he shares cases to help us identify how we might intersect with labor trafficking and play a role in getting victims the support they need to live their own lives of freedom.

Resources:
National Human Trafficking Hotline
Labor Trafficking and Temporary Work Visas
TAT’s Labor Trafficking brochure

What happens after that call is made? Can someone survive and thrive after such a traumatic past? Yes! Hear from two survivor leaders about their journeys of healing through art and how this creative activity has helped others. Courtney Baldwin and TAT’s own Liz Williamson share about their artistic creations and the way this outlet has provided a way no other medium could. They share how important it is to have a nonverbal way to communicate the depth, pain and beauty of what was happening and the importance of something as simple as a hobby to talk about instead of your past. Whether you’re an artist or not, tune in to celebrate what is possible after a call is made. 

Resources: 

Courtney's poem
How does art therapy heal the soul
Healing Through Art

Dr. Nissi Hamilton, CEO of A Survivor's Voice of Victory, shares with us about racism and the systems it has created which lead to vulnerabilities with African Americans, Latinx, Indigenous and Asian women and girls that make them targets of traffickers. She shares her experience as a black woman survivor of human trafficking, including what led her to her trafficker and the barriers blocking her way to a thriving life. Dr. Hamilton is a passionate advocate for survivors and shares how we, as companies and individuals, can break down those barriers to combat racism and human trafficking. 

Resources:
Racial and Gender Disparities in the Sex Trade by Rights4Girls
Snapshot on the State of Black Women and Girls: Sex Trafficking in the U.S.
The Link Between Systemic Racism and Human Trafficking 
https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/cshti0810.pdf