someone like me.

We've reached the Season 1 Finale episode, and there are still so many stories left to tell and myths to bust. To wrap our first season, we want to first thank you, the listener and supporter, for lending your ear and heart to the important work done at End Slavery Tennessee. Keep listening for even more.

Today we have another special myth busting episode with submissions from several staff members of End Slavery. It's exciting to hear from this strong group of staffers focused on trauma-informed care, education, and understanding the actual realities of human trafficking right here, serving survivors. Thanks to Jones Legacy Group for their exclusive sponsorship of our first season. Subscribe now to never miss an episode.

This episode features a survivor story from Crystal whose experience with trafficking involves contracting HIV as a juvenile from a John. There are many complications for survivors during recovery, if HIV or AIDS as part of their story, perhaps most profound is their labeling as a sexual predator if diagnosed with the virus, and convicted of prostitution. This creates a number of issues when these survivors seek help.

Thanks to Jones Legacy Group for their exclusive sponsorship of our first season. Subscribe now to never miss an episode.

Special myth busting episode with myths presented by several staff members of End Slavery Tennessee. There's a strong group of staffers focused on trauma-informed care, education, and understanding the actual realities of human trafficking right here, serving survivors.

Thanks to Jones Legacy Group for their exclusive sponsorship of our first season. Subscribe now to never miss an episode.

Grooming is the process of luring a targeted victim into trafficking. We've touched on grooming in previous episodes, but we haven't focused on it in detail. Today's guest, Callie, wanted to get specific about grooming, this part of human trafficking that's often overlooked.

Getting a new perspective on this issue will help us all have a better understanding of how complex human trafficking is. Callie's experience was a little different. She wasn't trafficked as a teenager or young adult. She was 33. When she and her ex-fiance broke up that she was financially vulnerable. In this moment of vulnerability a trafficker found her and began readying Callie for his purposes. Thanks to Jones Legacy Group for their exclusive sponsorship of our first season. Subscribe now to never miss an episode.

We hear from male voices in this episode as we dive into the world of demand for this crime, and what is called the "John School." The John School is a day-long session of classes for men arrested, for the first time, for soliciting prostitutes. End Slavery Tennessee volunteer A.T. Branch lead the session on human trafficking and how the choice to buy sex feeds the demand that fuels human trafficking.

Thanks to Jones Legacy Group for their exclusive sponsorship of our first season. Subscribe now to never miss an episode.

The young woman you get to meet today uttered a phrase years ago that impacts you - the listener, right now. Nicole was a juvenile trafficking victim, which means she was under 18 when she was being trafficked.

After she was released from her exploiter on a trafficking bust in West Tennessee, Nicole was brought to Child Protective Services, and later introduced to us at End Slavery Tennessee. Nicole was paired with a mentor who had also been trafficked, as is often the case with our organization, so she felt comfortable with the people who were trying to support her. It was this mentor who called Nicole one morning with a task that seems to have been meant for her. Thanks to Jones Legacy Group for their exclusive sponsorship of our first season. Subscribe now to never miss an episode.

With a background in law enforcement, End Slavery Tennessee CEO Margie Quin offers thoughts on "rescue" and domestic human trafficking. If we want to better understand this problem, it's important that we pay close attention to what survivors and experts are telling us. Thanks to Jones Legacy Group for their exclusive sponsorship of our first season. Subscribe now to never miss an episode

Today's survivor interview is with Sarah, a graduate of the End Slavery Tennessee program. Instead of doing an interview first, she wrote her story and read it aloud to share it with us that way. After her story, Derri & Leslie have a brief conversation with Sarah about themes and more things that she's experienced. Thanks to Jones Legacy Group for their exclusive sponsorship of our first season. Subscribe now to never miss an episode.

In episode 3, Joan told us her story, which included a history of domestic violence and being trafficked by her husband. Today's myth busting episode with Marissa Miciotto refers to this conversation, be sure to listen to Joan's episode before continuing.

Marissa Miciotto is the statewide Training Specialist for the Sexual Assault Center. The SAC provides services for survivors of sexual violence in Middle Tennessee. She trains people who are caring for survivors of interpersonal violence. Marissa brings us a wealth of knowledge on how to recognize domestic violence and provides several resources for how you can help. Thanks to Jones Legacy Group for their exclusive sponsorship of our first season. Subscribe now to never miss an episode.

This episode introduces you to Joan, a graduate of End Slavery Tennessee. It's not unusual for people to view those involved in drugs and prostitution with disdain, just as they view human trafficking survivors with great sympathy. As Joan tells her story, we see how being trafficked at a young age can easily lead to addictions and sometimes a form of prostitution that is more a trap than a rational choice. Plus, how she's used her past experiences to build a business that makes products crafted with hope in mind. Thanks to Jones Legacy Group for their exclusive sponsorship of our first season. Subscribe now to never miss an episode.