Lakeland Crrents, your public affairs program for north central Minnesota.

Production funding for Lakeland Currents is made possible by Bemidji Regional Airport, serving the region with daily flights to Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport.

More information available at bemidjiairport.org Closed captioning for Lakeland Currents is sponsored by Nisswa Service, tax preparation for businesses and individuals online at nisswatax.com.

Hello again friends!

I'm Jason Edens, your host of Lakeland Currents.

Thanks for joining the conversation today and thanks for your ongoing support of Lakeland PBS.

According to the judicial branch of Minnesota, Minnesota has the ignominious distinction of having the 3rd highest rates of human trafficking in the nation.

Earlier this year, we had a candid conversation about human trafficking in the midwest, and today we'll be learning about regional efforts to end human trafficking.

Central Lakes Rotary is hosting a concert later this summer called "Rotary Ends Human Trafficking".

Here to help us better understand how this concert will end human trafficking, are my three guests: Heather Kelm is with Brainerd Rotary and the Executive Director of PORT Group Homes here in Brainerd, Minnesota.

Mary Kay Verkennes is with Central Lakes Rotary, as is Susan Bricker.

Welcome to the program and thanks for making time for our conversation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Well, first of all, for those who aren't familiar with the issue, I think it's important that we understand sort of the scope and scale of human trafficking in our region, so Heather, I was wondering if you could remind us how bad is this issue in our region.

According to survey data, about 5000 students or youth each year reported being sexually trafficked, and that number is under-reported.

In central Minnesota, it's about 1.6 percent of youth self-identify.

In the statewide average, its about 1.4 percent, so within central Minnesota, it's significantly higher than greater Minnesota state as a whole.

Nearly 2 percent of youth have reported being trafficked.

Yes.

And those are just those that are Reporting having been trafficked, is that right?

Correct.

Mary Kay, I was wondering if you could help us understand the definition of human trafficking.

I understand that Rotary International is addressing this issue as well, so how does Rotary define human trafficking?

I believe that it's considered "any use of humans for using their bodies or their themselves for labor or sex".

So it's a, it's a buying of people, it's really a people for sale.

That's trafficking, so it can be for labor, it can be for sex.

There certainly are some other things, like for body parts and and all of that, that some people will hear about, but probably the biggest is the sexual, sex trafficking and labor trafficking.

I think sex trafficking is about a $99 billion dollar business in the world, and I think labor trafficking is $51 billion dollars in trafficking for labor, so people are brought in for labor, or for sex, and maybe for some of those other things, but it's a buying of a human being, and it's a taking of the human being, and then putting them for sale for those, for those purposes, which is, pretty atrocious.

We talk about slavery, it's a form of slavery, really.

It's human slaves, I think there's 40 some billion slaves in the, I'm exactly sure, but it's really huge in the world.

You know, that kind of thing and sex trafficking is the 2nd largest criminal organization or criminal enterprise in the world, second only to drug trafficking.

I think people are astonished by that.

That is astonishing.

Susan, as a member of Central Lakes Rotary, I was wondering if you can explain to us why your Rotary Chapter has sort of coalesced around this issue of human trafficking.

My husband is a past District Governor of the Rotary District and that was his main thing, was human trafficking, and to end human trafficking, and the abuse.

It was back in our District Governor training that we actually had different speakers come in, professional speakers, telling us that how this happens and the kidnapping that goes on and the abuse that goes on and that's very dear to my heart now.

But not all local chapters are addressing this issue, right, so I'm curious - why is it that two (2) local chapters are taking on this issue in our region,Mary Kay?

I really feel like this is a District effort that that we're doing, because we had the guts, or the stupidity, whatever, to step forward and take on the courage, I guess, but sometimes it feels foolish to take on such a huge project, because it is huge, and we feel like we have to do something, though, and this is our "something" to do, and so having that courage to step forward, I think, is what we did, but other people are really supportive all around the district, which goes into Canada, north and south South Dakota, north North Dakota, northern Minnesota, western Ontario and western Wisconsin is our district, so all those people are really supportive.

We got some district funding, they have helped us a little bit with some funding for doing some advertising, so that has been wonderful, but I think we have a District Coordinator for the human trafficking, and so I think we are the ones who stepped forward, but I feel like, really, we're being supported by all the other clubs.

They're going to come and help, hopefully, or come and enjoy.

So, I don't know why we did it, but we did it because we had the courage, I guess that's a good word.

Sometimes it feels really overwhelming when you think about what a massive job - project it really is.

Well, I want to learn about the concert, of course, but I want to ask you all a couple more questions about the issue because I'm afraid that some of our viewers don't fully understand the scope of this problem.

What I've learned from you, Heather, and some of your colleagues, has really been eye-opening.

As I mentioned last time we had a conversation, there are some 6000 youth in Minnesota who experience homelessness nightly.

How can we address human trafficking if we can't also address some of these related issues?

Right.

Homelessness is one of the key indicators for being sex trafficked.

At PORT, which is a safe haven for youth who are at risk to be trafficked or who have been trafficked, and we provide services to between 150 and 200 youth every year.

That number is astonishing, and those are the portion of the kids who have found a route to a safe place to sleep at night.

Yes, we still have a lot of kids sleeping on the streets.

Well, and then they, I think that they're exposed to kids, other kids who have been trafficked, and then they get, you know it becomes just kind of a "from one person to another person", and so then they bring their friends, bring their other friends in, so it happens at school, on the internet.

Internet is big, pornography.

Traffickers prey on vulnerabilities, so youth who don't have a place to sleep at night, that's a vulnerability.

Their basic need isn't being met, so a trafficker might see that and they would go in and say "okay, this one needs shelter, I can provide that".

It's more of a "grooming" that transpires, so they start with meeting those basic needs and then they kind of "hook them in", so that youth doesn't think they can survive without that trafficker, and then that is kind of what leads into sex trafficking, or labor trafficking.

It also involves drugs, they'll get them using drugs and then they become dependent, not always, but I think that that can become a big part.

The main age for starting getting kids is like 9 or 10 up to 14.

That's very young, and yet...

So any solution needs to be holistic, we need to address these other related issues as well, Is what I'm hearing you both say.

Is that correct?

Well, it's not always homeless youth, a lot of these things are turning up in families.

We had a youth at PORT who has had a lot of anger, and she was kind of working through that, and she just kind of disclosed that she was just realizing what her mother and her uncle were doing to her, and they were effectively trafficking her.

So, just kind of helping her work through those kinds of issues and a lot of it is behind the scenes.

You don't see it because it can be happening within families.

Mary Kay, you used a term that surprised me.

You called this slavery, but it's interesting, because our former President Obama said something along the lines that "human trafficking should be called what it is, modern slavery.

I'm curious if the three of you would describe human trafficking as modern slavery?

Susan?

Yes, yes, absolutely.

I mean, it, that's what it is, is slavery.

Yep, forcing someone to do something against their will.

So, right now, the State of Minnesota has a remarkable surplus in our budget.

Do you think the State of Minnesota could be spending more and doing more, to address human trafficking?

I think they could be doing more, in general, to help a lot of mental health issues that then underlie a lot of what happens, why those kids are vulnerable to being trafficked, because I think there's other trauma.

If you look at families, there's some other trauma underneath that makes those kids more vulnerable.

you know that trauma is, you know, insidious, and it gets into all parts of your life.

So, I think helping mental health, and then also really taking a stand against human trafficking, and really understanding it, helping people understand it.

There are navigators, of safe harbor, there is money set aside for that.

Kate LePage talked on your last session and she is a safe harbor navigator, and they are out there doing stuff but it's a big, I mean, it's huge.

I don't , it's like it's got to be, you got to get underneath it, because to help those vulnerabilities, because it's education, but it's also really helping families with those things that make their family or their children vulnerable.

Don't you think that, it's that underneath stuff?

Yes.

Yes.

When you talk about trauma, you're also, in a way , talking about adverse childhood experiences.

I'm wondering, how do you work with youth that have been trafficked in order to address that trauma?

Well, it's all individual, so whatever that person needs.

We work a lot with Kate LePage as the regional navigator, and get them services set up specific to what their needs are.

At PORT, we also offer some general education classes, or we call them groups, to all of the youth who come in our doors, so that they kind of know what some of those red flags are, and a lot of these kids, we teach them so much and the basics of having a healthy relationship.

A lot of them don't know that, and you'd be astonished to hear some of the the things that they say when we're going through this, and I get, so I'm surprised sometimes, the things that they don't know.

Is there something you can share?

No.

Okay.

Well, what's one thing that the state could do that would make your work at PORT Group Homes easier?

I think, support.

As Mary Kay was talking about, mental health support, and I think, like she said, getting to that trauma, because we see all of these kids, and the underlying issue iss mental health needs and trauma that aren't being addressed, and Generational trauma, not just trauma with the youth, but the supports for the whole family.

Well, let's talk about your solution.

So, this summer, in August if I'm not mistaken, you're organizing a concert, and I was wondering, Susan, if you can just give us some of the big picture aspects to this concert.

When's it going to be, where's it going to be held?

I'm really excited about the concert part, and it's bringing awareness to human trafficking, is the reason why we're doing this, and we have several bands: Corey Medina and Brothers.

Nice.

I've seen them.

And 32 Below.

Remedy Drive.

It's quite the lineup, it's impressive.

Rush Tribute Project.

Awesome.

Ken Dudley and Bended Knee, they will be there.

Then we also have speakers and in between the bands, we plan to have speakers, and we have a Children's Tent going on, with children's activities.

So where in Pine River is the concert?

The Lakes Music Event Park, and that's one mile north of Pine River, just north of town.

On 371.

Where the old Bluegrass, where the Bluegrass Festival is.

Okay.

And the dates?

August 12th through the 14th.

So it's a three-day festival.

Yes.

Excellent.

And you can get a ticket for as little as $20 and for the whole weekend $80.

So what does $20-25 get you, just an evening show?

For a day.

Okay.

Okay, great.

So you can pay it $25 for a day or $80 for the weekend, is that correct?

Yes.

Okay.

We also have Camping.

Nice, on site?

Yes, on site.

Actually, it's about $40 for a long day like Saturday, but she's correct that $25 gets you Friday night or Sunday, I believe.

It is that Saturday has a longer day, and I'm sorry, the other question you asked me was?

So, there are 3 different pricing structures - you can go for the entire festival, you can go for a full day on Saturday, or the evenings, right, on Friday and Sunday, correct?

Correct, and then children under 13 are free, and teens, any length, with a parent, are only $20.

At the gate, I think they become $25, and we really encourage families, that's one of the things that's really important for us is to have families there, and especially to get a lot of teens there, because I think they have a lot to learn and I think that we're hoping, anyway, that they will learn while they're having such a good time, that they will also learn.

The families, then, are not just giving them the information - but that they're part of it, the whole time.

That's kind of our goal.

Where can I buy a ticket?

Right on our rehtmusicfestival.com website, you can get it.

It's through Eventbrite, and you can get right onto it from the website.

Then you can get camping tickets, or camping reservations, also on the website.

That's done through Camp Spot, but it's all on the website.

That's r-e-h-t music festival.

Excellent.

rehtmusicfestival.com.

Correct?

Yes.

Okay.

Yes, and another thing that I'd like to jump in and say is we are going to have tickets for sale at the Welcome Center, Brainerd Lakes Welcome Center.

Sure, Okay, Welcome Center, so it's not just online, you can also buy tickets elsewhere, at a couple different places?

Not at this time.

Okay, just at the Welcome Center?

At the Welcome Center.

This summer we're going to have printed tickets.

Right, and maybe that, maybe your Crystal Cleaners will have some too?

Crystal Cleaners in Brainerd will have some for sale, and maybe up north, we're just trying to finalize some of that.

Okay.

The idea is to have some tickets available locally that don't have that extra charge that Eventbrite is going to charge you, that they can come and buy.

Right.

Then it also should help people access their tickets early and it'd be the same as getting them online but without the fee from Eventbrite.

So, you mentioned that there are speakers in addition to musical acts.

What are the speakers going to be talking about and who are they?

Well, they're going to be talking about human trafficking, and what you can do for or with your family.

They're going to be also available during the breaks with the music, we'll have them on, but they'll also be putting on some workshops for smaller groups if you're interested in learning some more.

There's a section at the, at the park, that is available for us to have some of those smaller ones.

So, one of them is Stacy Schaffer, who runs the 31.8 Project in North Dakota.

She is the Rotary District Committee Chair for sex trafficking and she is a, her organization is all about education for helping families and people learn about sexual sex trafficking, and I think, all human trafficking, and then she's also a professor at, I think it's Saint Mary's University in Bismarck.

She's very involved in her, in the whole statewide task force for human trafficking.

Another one is Dawn Heath-Fiedler, yes, I always... anyway, she is from Wisconsin and she also runs an organization there that does education, and she's spread, her stuff is spread around Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, so she's an excellent speaker.

Again, she'll be available for some workshops.

Then, the other one we hope to have is Kate LePage, who works right here in the area, and hopefully, some police officers will agree to say what they're doing, because it isn't just about those who are trafficked, it's also trying to stop those who Use victims, and I really want to call them victims, they are not willing, they're not, they're not willing to be doing this but they have to, you know, and so we need to stop the demand.

That's what I think our police officers and the county and the state and local are doing.

So, most of your speakers at the festival will be folks that are working on the front line, advocates and navigators, right?

Right, and the other one is Shantel Dudley, who is the wife of Kent Dudley, and she has started some Women's Conference and she really has some passion about helping these victims so she will be wonderful.

The thing that we didn't say about Remedy Drive is they participate in going in and rescuing victims all around the world.

All around the world.

They're really, we're really looking forward to having them come because they have experience, right, working with it.

Remedy Drive is the name of the organization?

That's the band.

The band?

Yeah.

And how do they rescue, can you tell me?

They go with an organization, I think it's called The Exodus Road, and they go in with this organization.

Undercover.

and they, they go in and help rescue the victims.

And they're one of your musical acts?

Yes, they are, so we're so psyched to have them come because I think they will not only play, but they'll educate.

So, for those people that are coming for the music, because I'm sure you'll have folks that are really excited about your lineup, right?

So for those folks that are coming for the music, what's one thing, Heather, that you would want someone to take away, because some of these festival-goers, again, they're there for the music, they'll be learning about this issue, what's the one thing you want them to take away?

Awareness.

In what form, what specifically would you like them to know?

Well, I left it open, because it's awareness to stop the demand, awareness to maybe pick up some key points on maybe what to look for or red flags, to kind of know the impact that it has on our local communities and in the the greater state,as well.

I think they can take that awareness away and if they can get some education, also, great, but it gives them a good platform to learn more in whichever direction they want to.

So, the goal of ending human trafficking is, of course, impressive and laudable and necessary and important.

It's also very ambitious.

How will this concert help end human trafficking, Mary Kay?

Well, I believe it's in a couple of ways; raising awareness, and then supporting organizations that are doing their work, and I think helping people understand "it's right here in River City".

It's happening in our area, it's happening in our community, and we need to be aware and supportive and helpful and help our kids and help our friends really learn about it.

So, I think it's a multi-faceted way that we hope we have an impact.

You know, that I think traffickers think they're safe here, and we want this to be an unsafe place for them, instead of for our victims!

We want it to be unsafe, and so I think and we hope, people have a good time, that the music is fun, and that they want to come back every year and help support this and learn and support our law enforcement and support our organizations.

Every year.

You're going to be doing this?

Yes, everything.

This is the first.

It's not just a "one and done", you're going to be doing this each and every year going forward.

Interesting.

Okay, well, let's talk a little bit about money.

So, if tickets are $80, how many tickets do you need to sell in order to break even?

Well, 2000.

We'd like 2000 people.

We would.

That's kind of the goal, I think.

We'd like 4000, but I think our goal the first year is to get 2000, and then we need sponsors because this is a first year event and there's a lot of expenses.

I mean, a lot of background stuff that has to be done and provided.

Showers, toilets, logistics, and bands, bands and speakers.

They're not free?

No, No, they're very expensive, and that's why we've stayed pretty much with regional, you know, area bands.

We're hoping we can bring, can bring in at least one, more national, but we have to wait.

We need a sponsor to help us really get that covered because we, you know, that's expensive, it's $20,000 to $30,000 for one band that's more about national...I'm sorry, how much?

20 to 30 thousand.

I see.

For each one, and so we can't really do that.

And they START at 20 to 30,000.

So, for those viewers that are interested in helping out, Yes... not only to attend the concert, right, as concert goers , but for those folks that want to "lean in" and support your efforts, how can they get involved?

They can reach out to me at Crystal Cleaners.

Are you looking for volunteers, for example?

We are.

Okay.

We are, that'll be live on the website, they'll be able to just go onto rehtmusicfestival.com and there'll be a site on there for volunteers, which is set to go live in a week or so, But then, pretty quick.

So they'll be able to go on there and sign up for any volunteer opportunities that we have.

Okay.

Well, so we talked about breaking even, but of course, ideally, you'll do more than that, right, and so let's assume that you do, what are you going to do with the money?

Well, we're going to donate to at least 3 organizations, probably PORT Group Home, The Freedom House (which is run through Rising Hope Foundation), it's right here in the Brainerd Lakes area, and they're serving young victims, they're serving 12 to 18 year olds in that house, I know.

It's a LONG time recovery, it's not like something very quick.

This is big trauma, and it takes a long time to get through all of the issues that they bring in.

Then the other is to help the Safe Harbor navigator, our local Kate LePage, and her work and to support them.

The other thing that we want to do is to continue.

We have already been doing, Susan's been, gotten some great billboards out there and we want to continue that, and to go to organizations and and keep talking and keep the conversation open so that, and we'll need some money for keeping, you know, being able to do that and to support people who are doing that, so that's a huge piece of it that we hope to have raised.

And something else I'd like to bring up is, nationally, so many people are not aware of, that the Brainerd Lakes area is known nationally, for human trafficking.

That's very upsetting.

So you're trying to change that narrative and make it known as a place where we're preventing this from happening, is that correct?

Yes.

So if you have an operating surplus at the end of the concert, then you'll be donating those dollars to Rising Hope, Lutheran Social Services, Correct?

And PORT Group Homes.

Right.

Well, it's in an effort to further awareness and education around the topic.

Very briefly, Heather, how would you use those resources if you're fortunate enough to be on the receiving end?

I think we would probably start some community support groups and maybe some outreach services.

Excellent.

Well, I want to thank the 3 of you for helping us better understand the issue.

Of course.

And for the invitation to the Reht Music Festival, August 12th - 14th in Pine River, Minnesota.

Thank you very much for the work that you're doing.

Thank you for having us.

Absolutely, and thank all of you for joining me once again.

I'm Jason Edens, your host of Lakeland Currents.

You can continue the conversation on Twitter.

Tweet me at currentspbs.

Be kind and be well.

We'll see you next time.