(upbeat music) - Welcome back to Inspire.

Today's show features a bit more of a serious undertone human trafficking.

As hard as it is to talk about, it impacts us, our communities and our nation.

On today's show, we'll learn about this serious issue that's happening right now in Kansas and in our local communities.

Stay with us.

(air whooshing) - [Announcer] Inspire is sponsored by Kansas Furniture Mart using furniture to inspire conversation.

And by the Blanche Bryden Foundation.

(upbeat music) - Hello, and welcome to Inspire.

I'm so honored to be here with my sisters and lovely co-hosts, Betty Lou Pardue and Leslie Fleuranges, thank you for being here with me.

And our topic today has a more of a serious undertone, but it's one that needs to be discussed.

We're going to hear about human trafficking and it really hits close to home when you watch the local news and see instances of trafficking busts happening, even in our own communities.

- That's so true Danielle.

Just this summer I heard about a massive human trafficking operation that rescued multiple children and adults in Kansas City Independence and Wichita.

It's very sad to hear about this type of incidences happening so close to home.

- And that is why we're here on Inspire to discuss human trafficking and its impact on our communities and our state.

Today, we're honored to feature guests who can educate us on this important issue and how we can be proactive in the battle against human trafficking.

Our first guest who has turned her trauma into a successful professional career and advocate for victims and survivors is Charlie Tebow survivor and KVC Missing Youth Specialist.

Charlie, it is our honor to have you here, thank you so much, what a story.

What might you feel comfortable in sharing so folks can know your story.

- So, yeah, so I'm a survivor of trafficking.

I was trafficked when I was 18 years old and I was, I met a person who was supposed to be my best friend in the marching band, and then I was sold to a group of army soldiers, and then I got out two years later.

- And that has had to have such a major impact on your psyche, on everything about you.

How have you dealt with it?

- One of the main reasons or ways I deal with it is to run around in a dino costume and just create joy for people.

But I like to, I've made my trauma my focus in my life to give back.

I wanted to become the person that I didn't have when I was struggling with my own trauma.

I got out on June 4th, 2008, and I was lucky enough to have met a really amazing individual that he's gonna be really embarrassed if I name him, Austin, the person that I ended up marrying.

- Shout out to Austin.

I love it, I love it.

And you actually have that date tattooed on your arm.

- I do - [Danielle] Oh wow.

- So this is the date I got out.

- What a major milestone.

- And that's when I started my major trauma healing.

There were so many times I reached out for help while I was in the game and didn't receive it, or it was just met poorly by helping professionals.

And so I decided that because of that, there was so many gaps in services and gaps in areas where people like me were probably reaching out and not getting help.

I couldn't have been the only one, so I wanted to become that person.

And so I set out to do that.

- When you say getting out what does that mean?

What did that entail exactly if you feel comfortable?

- Yeah, so getting out of the game in prostitution, we call it either the life or the game.

I never liked the term life because it wasn't a life, and so I referred to it as the game.

And so getting out just means you make the important decision to leave.

I just knew that I was either gonna get killed, arrested, or something worse.

It was gonna happen, I was never gonna leave the game.

So, when I met Austin, there were more possibilities that were presented to me of like the type of life I could have without all the other stuff.

So I made that choice.

- I want to talk about your background because in reading your story, there are some parallels, both of us growing up in smaller cities, very conservative parents, and you were lured into it because of basically we were band nerds, kinda like band geeks, band geeks rule.

And I just, I wanna talk about how your background kinda played into that.

'Cause I could see that if that situation been presented to me, I'd probably would have followed in your step, so talk about that.

- So I grew up as in a very, very rural community as the different kid, the kid that just thought differently.

I was an artist, still am an artist, the theater kid, the band nerd, and everybody around me was super into ranching, cattle, sports.

So many embarrassing videos of me trying to do sports.

- But look where you are now I mean, I can tell you're getting emotional on that, but look where you are now, this is amazing.

- It is and you're teaching so many people.

I want to ask you what you would say to parents who have a kid in a similar situation or a potentially vulnerable situation.

What are some things that they could look out for to be more supportive?

- So I think I would probably refer to something that my dad has said, because it's really important to recognize like a lot of parents didn't have the skills to be able to deal with me presenting this horrible thing to them, like they just did not know what to do.

And I mean, my dad always says that he wishes he would have like had those skills or he wishes he would have talked to me more, or built the relationship that we have now and just been more present and more involved.

And I think that that's probably the baseline of just having, being really involved in your kids' lives.

'Cause that will set the undertone in the foundation to be able to reach out if you are struggling.

'Cause I know I was, I tried to protect my parents from a lot.

I didn't actually tell my dad or my mom about all the things until much, much later after I had already dealt with it.

And I know it was shocking for them to understand.

But encouraging parents to also know that it's okay to go get educated about this stuff, it doesn't make you any less of a parent.

It just helps you to have a better relationship with your kid.

- You know I feel like we kind of jumped into this without really exploring what exactly is human trafficking.

Because when you think of something like that, you think of it in a foreign country, you don't think of it as something that happens in the United States even less in Kansas in the Midwest.

So can you for the audience and for us really give us a sense of what does that mean exactly?

- Yeah, so the federal definition is anything, force, fraud or coercion, in any act or service.

So for me, what it looked like was I was taken to a group of people, forced to provide sexual services and for a payment.

And so just those three combined makes it human trafficking in my experience.

And then of course there were more and more issues that occurred.

It looks like prostitution, it looks like pornography, it exists in service industries with labor trafficking.

There's trafficking that occurs in the Western Kansas areas where there's a lot of feedlots and restaurants.

That's kind of a roundabout way of saying it's modern day slavery.

- If I may ask what is the hold that keeps people in the game?

What did they do did they blackmail you?

Is it drug-related?

Can you share that with us?

- Yeah, so for me it was wanting to be loved.

It was that I didn't feel like I really had a connection with anybody until I met my trafficker.

Like that I'm somebody that really saw me growing up as a kid that was different than anybody that I met.

I just really didn't feel connected with anyone, when back home.

I was definitely performing, didn't really feel like myself.

And then I found somebody that just let me be me and no matter what abuse was going on that love or that, whatever, I didn't know what love was, but that was kind of a love for me and I craved it.

Like I didn't want it to end until I learned what love was when I met Austin.

- And now you're filling in gaps.

You have turned this into a major positive.

Would you explain the gaps that you're filling in.

- Yeah, so I get to spend my days looking for recovering youth who have been on the run.

And I also get to just connect with kids on a daily basis and be able to share with them all the possibilities that they could do if they want it and then be able to walk in that journey with them and help them achieve it.

So it's and I do that for adults as well.

I do some personal mentoring on the side, in addition to my job.

I'm also writing a book.

I paint, I just try to do whatever I can to make the world a better place.

- And I love wearing the dino costume.

- I love wearing the dino costume.

(laughing) - Charlie is been such an honor to have you here, I know that there's so much more that I want to learn and I can't wait until your book comes out to read about it and we wish you all the best and coming up next, we'll discuss the resources available for victims and survivors of human trafficking.

Please stay with us.

(upbeat music) - Joining us now are Becca Spielman YWCA Program Director for Safety and Empowerment and Christina Chavez, YWCA Victim Services Coordinator.

Rebecca and Christina thank you so much for joining us on Inspire today.

It's great to have you here.

- Thank you for having us.

- Yes.

- My pleasure, hey, we just spoke with Charlie, we were talking about human trafficking, learning a little bit about that.

And I'm wondering what should people be looking for, looking out for?

- A lot of times we hear people talking about red flags.

So I think one of the things that is probably telling is power and control is usually one of the big things that was used, and isolation is oftentimes one of the bigger tactics that are used by traffickers.

So, but that doesn't mean that we're not gonna run across somebody who is experiencing.

And I think a lot of times those signs are we're gonna be seeing those in the people that we know best.

So, look for things like some quick changes that you might see in someone, maybe some gifts that might be suddenly showered, you might see some pretty expensive things that you're not used to see, someone you love or care about seeing frequently.

Or maybe some inability to kind of tell where they're going or where their stories are changing rapidly.

Maybe suddenly someone's with them all the time, their narrative isn't able to be shared.

Someone's kinda changing that for them controlling that story for them.

And when it comes to how we might take action, I think always whenever there's an emergency contacting law enforcement, if it's an emergency.

never trying to intervene ourselves.

But when you think of like, you're maybe picking up on some of those red flags calling the national hotline and giving kind of a tip.

And we get a lot of our data from Polaris.

When we look at some of those maps showing human trafficking cases, that's where those tips are coming from.

So calling them and saying, hey, I think there's something happening here So calling out for that, that there is a hotline.

- So is there a national tips.

- [Christina] There is a national hotline.

- Can you tell us what the number is?

- Yeah, that's 1888-373-7888.

- Rebecca, I actually have a friend that I found out, we were talking about this in preparation and she told me and this is somebody I would have never thought she had dated a guy who was doing just what you were describing, kind of isolating her from her friends, and she kind of felt something was wrong, but then she thought, well, maybe he was just totally in love with her.

She was worried that because he was so jealous and all that type of things that she said, a friend gave her a pamphlet and she was at first offended but she read it.

And she kept reading it and reading it and she was like oh my gosh it was an awakening to her.

That that very thing was happening to her.

And I know you have written materials, but what else can somebody get from the YWCA?

- Sure, absolutely, so I think you're right on in terms of knowing that a lot of our victims and survivors access our services through word of mouth, through friends and family, like Christina described, seeing some things that seem a little off or concerning to them.

And so whether that is providing someone with a pamphlet or making sure that they have access to our hotline number, which is separate from the national human trafficking hotline number.

That number is 1 888 822 2983.

And we have advocates who are available 24/7 to answer that, to talk with folks, to process with them.

For some folks that may be making that call together, we have a number of people who will call it because it, you know the idea of calling a cold number and not knowing what's gonna happen can be really intimidating.

So you might call and have your friend or loved one, listen in on the other end.

So you can hear what that call feels like, what it sounds like, what it's like to actually talk with an advocate.

But we have a number of services that we are more than happy to offer for free and confidential to victims and survivors through the YWCA.

- You said something that just triggered something in me, because when we think about people involved in trafficking, we think about like younger females.

- [Rebecca] Sure.

- But there's also older women and they're also guys involved in that talk about that.

- Absolutely, yeah, so statistically, what we have heard is that when it comes to the average age of entry, usually we're looking at young people under the age of 14 or even 16, who are first being exploited.

But in terms of boys, in terms of non-binary or transgender identifying folks, we do know that there are extremely high numbers of folks who are members of the LGBTQA+ community.

So the Queer community has many folks might identify who are experiencing trafficking or at least the vulnerabilities associated with trafficking.

We do see a number of female or women identified folks who come through.

And then another really vulnerable population are people of color.

In fact, that seems to be an incredibly high vulnerable population.

Not only that we serve in terms of trafficking, but also nationally across the nation, they're seeing the same thing.

- And as the people of color does that have to do with socio-economic issues?

- Yeah, I think it has to do with a number of issues.

So socio-economic absolutely, discrimination and how that's playing out throughout the country.

Interactions with systems that may not believe them, or may not be supportive.

Inequitable treatment in their justice system.

Like all of those things combined, I think create a very scary and vulnerable experience for a lot of folks who we come across yeah.

- You know I'm sure a lot of parents out there, anybody watching is getting a little frightened for their children, for their safety, for their own safety.

But in talking with Charlie it happened to be her best friend.

- [Rebecca] Yeah.

- You know, what are ways that we can protect our kids?

I mean, she mentioned, she wished she had maybe more parental guidance.

What's something that we can do to protect?

- Yeah, yeah so I think what Charlie shared, I mean, there were absolutely on target in terms of being able to have those conversations with your children.

I know a lot of times parents aren't necessarily a child's favorite person to talk to, especially in the teenage age.

But I think just like Charlie mentioned, I mean, they were very quick to say that, that relationship can be a really important thing in building that trust.

In being able to communicate when things don't feel right.

And really like Christina was talking about with some of the indicators, knowing when things are changing in a child's life can be a really big sign that something is going on.

It doesn't necessarily mean they're being trafficked, but a child's behavior changing that dramatically or their access to tangible items, changing that dramatically, or their friend group changing that dramatically can all be signs that something is going on and something worth expressing concern over.

- Well, it's a frightening situation.

Thank you both for being here, Christina and Becca, both with the YWCA, we appreciate everything you're doing and continue to do this a very hard subject.

So now I think we need a little bit of relaxation.

How about a moment of Zen?

We're going to join Janet Thompson Jackson for a moment of mindfulness.

We'll be back in just a few minutes.

(upbeat music) - Hi, I'm Janet Thompson Jackson, and I'm so excited to be a part of Inspire today.

Are you one of those people who feels like I just don't have time to work out?

I want to, I would, if I could, but I just don't have the time.

Well, today I am going to show you some yoga moves and just some general movement that you can do while you're sitting in your chair.

You can do this in a small space.

If you don't have access to a yoga studio, or if you just don't feel comfortable going to a studio.

Let's sit down and get started.

(gentle music) Now let's do just some shoulder rolls.

Again, something that you can do anytime, you can do the standing, you can do the sitting.

You can be fixing dinner and just start rolling your shoulders.

We're gonna do it in both directions.

Nice and exaggerated movement.

All right, now how about some side stretches?

Just taking one arm up your other arm can be on your supported chair and just gently bending.

Ah that feels great.

Inhale and exhale up.

Inhale and exhale, just nice slow movement.

You can do as many of these as you want.

And bend as far as is comfortable for you, you wanna make sure that you're getting a good stretch and it's fine to feel like, oh, that I feel that stretch.

What you don't wanna feel is pain.

If you're feeling pain then back off.

Now, how about some nice twists.

So what you can do, if you have the space, you can have your arms straight out and twist from the waist.

We wanna twist from the waist and to the upper back.

And what we wanna do is you don't wanna twist your neck, keep your chin to no farther than your underarm.

You don't wanna twist your neck all the way around.

And then we twist this way, if you don't have that much space, simply put your fingers on your shoulders and twist.

You wanna keep your feet stable.

And this again is something that you can do.

And if you're in a meeting and you don't wanna bring your arms up, just simply have your arms low and do a slight little twist like this, and it will make all the difference in the world.

I'm Janet Thompson Jackson, and I hope I've inspired you to replenish and restore.

(gentle music) (upbeat music) - Our guests provided so much eye opening information.

And Charlie is a true inspiration for victims and survivors of human trafficking.

How did our conversation today impact the both of you?

- I tell you what?

It scared me because I had no idea, especially 'cause I know the town she's from, and then even 'cause it's north central but on west when she was talking about how much was happening in Western Kansas, I had no idea about the human almost slavery as she was putting it.

And then we hear so much about sex trafficking too.

I'm just amazed that it goes on.

- It's happening here in Topeka too, as part of working with some of the Topeka Rescue Mission staff, we've been able to drive out to different areas that you would never know that there were like 20 or 30 ladies that were cramped up in a little two or three bedroom house and they're all there, and they're all there for a specific purposes.

And there are big dogs around that area so you can't get close, but obviously the team at Topeka Rescue Mission knows that those ladies are in that place and they're trying to do what they can to reach out to them.

So literally it's right under our noses.

And we would never know unless we were tuned in to.

- Right, yeah.

- I was really surprised because I really do think of sex trafficking when I think of trafficking.

So, the fact that she gave us some more ways of thinking about what that really means, and that there's even a federal definition was surprising to me 'cause I had no idea.

And I think also the idea that there are so many different groups that this is targeted by these people, whether they be African American, minorities, transgender, et cetera, it's upsetting.

To what really, what they're looking for is what cowards always do, right?

Is they go for the vulnerable and we really need to try and make sure that as a community that we're reaching out and connecting with folks, so they don't feel so disjointed from us from one another such that they end up in this type of situation.

- Absolutely, they're looking for love.

- [Betty] They're looking for love.

- And I relate to Charlie on so many levels, just being again as a little kid in Salina, highly conservative with the Pentecostal background, not a whole lot of friends and anybody that just says, hey, how are you doing?

And they want to befriend you and you think that there's a real relationship going on, not knowing that there's something more and an agenda that this person has.

And you know, I could have totally seen myself sucked up into that.

And so it's wonderful to hear how Charlie got out of that.

And then also to know that Charlie is busy working on helping others to avoid those same pitfalls.

- You know you hear those same type of things that that's how kids get involved in gangs is because they don't feel like they have attention at home or they just want to be part of something.

So, I think that's something maybe parents can even look at too, because you're seeing changes in your kids that they were saying, but it might be more than just, oh, they're becoming a teenager.

- Exactly.

- There's something else going on there.

- Exactly and parents need to do the work to get educated.

Again, we talk about going to Google, Google, the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library.

A lot of resources are available to help parents as they learn some of these things never be caught off guard with what's going on in your kids' lives.

You always need to be proactive in terms of what's going on.

- And question everybody.

Like, look at the whole gymnastics thing, you know.

NASA - Yes.

- Yes.

- Parents trust other people.

- Hundreds of people.

- Scouting.

- Affected, hundreds of people, nobody said anything.

Right.

- Well that's all the time we have for today.

We thank you all for joining us for this discussion on human trafficking an issue that impacts our youth, our fellow community members and people across the nation.

As a reminder you can watch this program again at watch.ktwu.org.

- We also want to thank our guests for opening our eyes, to the impact of human trafficking on victims and survivors and what we all can do to help.

If you're inspired to learn more about our guests and find out what's coming up on future shows, be sure to visit our website at www.ktwu.org/inspire.

- Inspiring women, inspiring you on KTWU.

Thank you for watching.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Inspire is sponsored by Kansas Furniture Mart using furniture to inspire conversation.

And by the Blanche Bryden Foundation.