In this week's episode we talk with Mary Cowen, the Residential Program Manager for the Life House organization in Duluth, about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted sex trafficking in the community. 

This episode provides a brief background on the impact of COVID-19 on sex trafficking. We will be exploring this further in an interview with Mary Cowen from the Lifehouse organization in Duluth next week. 

This week's episode features an interview with Emily Larson, the mayor of Duluth, Minnesota, discussing sex trafficking in the city. We also provide a brief follow-up on the issue of maritime law and how it applies to human trafficking. 

This week we discuss the current sex trafficking situation in Duluth with Mel Alvar and Tatiana Bergum. Alvar serves as the Safe Harbor Regional Navigator at the Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault (PAVSA) in Duluth, Minnesota and Bergum is a Safe Harbor Program Coordinator at the North Homes Children and Family Services in Duluth. 

This is the first episode of season two, where we will attempt to uncover and discuss the sex trafficking activity occurring in the city of Duluth, Minnesota.  This episode provides basic facts and statistics on sex trafficking in the state of Minnesota and features an interview with Theresa Fortliti, an executive director of an outreach program in St. Paul, Minnesota and a sex trafficking survivor. 

We hope this episode will provide you with some insight into the criminal activity surrounding sex trafficking and provide a baseline of information in order to prepare for a deeper dive.