Ep175 - Ending Child Trafficking and Exploitation with Erin Williamson - HIListically Speaking with Hilary Russo

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Erin Williamson (00:06):
You wouldn't think that that trafficking is
happening in Connecticut.
We started this program 10 years ago.
We're about to serve our thousandth kid.
So in that small state of Connecticut we've
served almost a thousand kids in 10 years.
Right, extrapolate that to what must be
happening in in California and Texas and
some of the larger.
So really, if you think it must be
happening in and some of the larger, so
really, if you think it's not happening in

(00:27):
your state, I promise you, unfortunately it
is

Hilary Russo (00:31):
At any given moment, an estimated 50
million people are being victimized in
situations of trafficking and exploitation
and, by the way, that includes forced
marriages.
But here's the scary part, my friends 25%
of those are children.
Can you imagine?
I think about that.

(00:52):
This is a topic I've been wanting to cover
for quite some time and you know that could
be happening in your own neighborhood and
you don't even know about it.
And this is something that I've been
thinking about.
And with January being Human Traff
trafficking month, I think it's a really
important topic for us to address.
So, as you know, on the show I have the
experts that talk about the things that are

(01:13):
difficult to hear, difficult conversations
to have.
That's what HIListically Speaking is all
about.
It is the traumas to the triumphs.
And listen, if this is a conversation you
think is going to impact someone you know,
send it on to someone, pass it along, pay
it forward, leave a rating or review so
that this episode reaches somebody's inbox

(01:34):
and maybe makes a difference, because
that's what we're all about.
But, like I said, I have experts on the
show that are doing these hard jobs, you
know, really diving into it, and that
person is Erin Williamson.
She is the Chief Programs Strategy Officer
at Love 146.
This is an organization dedicated to
combating child trafficking and

(01:55):
exploitation, including labor trafficking.
If you didn't even know, that was a part of
it.
So, Erin, thank you so much for being here.
I can't even imagine the work that you do
and the things that you've seen over the
years, but you're making such an impact, a
profound impact, and I just want to say
thank you for the work that you do.
But thank you for joining us on
HIListically Speaking.

Thank you so much for having me.
I'm happy to be here.

You've been with Love 146 for a number of
years, but I always love to give my guests
a chance to share their own story of how
you came into this work, because what makes
you say you know?
This is an area I want to focus on.
You know when you can be doing anything.
So can we go back a little bit to Erin's
story?

Sure, absolutely.
I first became kind of aware of even the
fact that this existed when I was studying
abroad in college.
I was studying abroad in Kenya, and as part
of my program you had to go off on your own
for about a month and come back with a
research paper kind of something you had
done, and I was really taken by the number

(03:00):
of children that were living on the street.
And I started working with those children
and I started hearing, especially from the
girls who were of pretty young age, that
the way for them to stay safest was to
either be a group of girls with an older
male who basically sold them to have sex,
or to be a single girl with a group of boys

(03:23):
who kind of acted as a wife.
And that was the best way because
unfortunately the police were even worse to
them, and so the police would oftentimes
sexually exploit them and then put them in
jail where they were further exploited.
And then, you know, when I came back
stateside, I started really diving into
this issue and looking into something

(03:45):
called child sex tourism, which is where
people actually book trips internationally
although it can be domestically as well for
the sole purpose of having sex with
children, and from there really became, you
know, kept thinking, oh, this is something
that happens over there.
I think that's where a lot of people start
this happens in other countries and then

(04:06):
really became aware of what was happening
here in our own country, in the United
States, and the prevalence of the issue
here.

You know the one thing that that I was
reading on Love 146 is that we think about
victims of just being women and girls, and
I read that the sex trafficking is not just
isolated to women and girls, but it's also
15% of those in the US that are in survivor

(04:35):
care which is something I definitely want
to talk about have been boys, and those of
the non-binary youth, and these are the
kind of things I think we need to think
about because it isn't just isolated.
So where are you seeing things going in
that area too?

Yeah, absolutely, and I think you know I
actually think the number is probably
larger.
I think that there's a lot of reasons why
boys don't come forward, why nonbinary
youth don't come forward.
There's stigma.
As a society, we tend to not believe that
that can occur.
It's really important, for example in our
prevention education, that when we're

(05:11):
providing prevention, we do it with both
boys and girls, so that not only can they
help to protect themselves, but as they
grow up and become mothers and fathers,
they also know what to look for as they're
raising their own children.
Because I do think that you know it's easy
and I think it's more comfortable for all
of us to think this could never happen to

(05:32):
our child, but unfortunately, the reality
is is that we are seeing that it's
happening, and so we really do need to be
looking out for all kids, not just girls,
but also boys and non-binary youth.

You actually came up with the Survivor Care
Program, right, you built this program.
I want to talk about that because I think
that's so important for people to know that
that's a possibility.
Can we go into that?

Yeah.
So you know it's interesting, I was hired
initially to build this program and a lot
of Love 146's work had been overseas, had
been working in Southeast Asia, and so you
know they had this vision of what survivor
care would look like that it would kind of
be a residential facility and it would help,
you know, kids who would come there and

(06:19):
live there.
And actually what we decided to do was
really recognize that there were way more
kids than we could help through a
residential program, and so we also wanted
to help the parents.
Most of our kids when we come across them,
yes, some of them are in the foster care
system, Some of them have run away from
home, but actually the large majority of

(06:40):
them are still living with their families,
many with their biological parents, some
with kin, and we wanted to help foster
their ability to care for these children,
to understand what has happened to them, to
support them as they address the trauma
they've experienced, but also to realize
that this doesn't define them, that doesn't
define them as a family, it doesn't define

(07:01):
their children and what they're able to
succeed in life.
And so we really have created this program
where we go out into the communities, we go
into the youth's home.
We work with them, we work with their
parents, their caregivers, other providers
to really support everyone and provide this
holistic care around this child, with our

(07:21):
expertise understanding the trafficking
victimization this child with our expertise
understanding the trafficking,
victimization, do you think that that is?

the most common misconception is that many
of these kids might be homeless or in
foster care and that it's not happening
right under your own roof?

I do.
I think it's really hard for people to
understand, like I would know, if this was
happening to my child.
My child comes home every day and you know
what I will say is that most of the parents
when we, when we approach them, they had no
idea that this was happening.
Right, sometimes their children were
appearing, you know, to be engaging in

(07:55):
extra school activities, to be getting good
grades they really there were no warning,
warning signals that anything was wrong.
Other times the parents assumed oh, I
thought they were maybe doing drugs, I knew
something was happening, I thought they
were in a bad relationship with a boyfriend.
They knew something was wrong, but they
never equated it to human trafficking.
And so, again, you know, I think

(08:16):
adolescence is a hard time in general,
right, pre-adolescence and adolescence.
It's hard.
And when you're going through this kind of
level of exploitation where really what
traffickers do is they spend a lot of time
grooming and recruiting kids.
And I think that's part of what's really
important for parents and people to
understand.
It's not that, you know, it's not that

(08:37):
these individuals just show up in their
lives, right, they have spent a long time
engaging with these kids before they
exploit them, and so these kids aren't
going to describe them as strangers.
They're going to describe them as my
boyfriend or this couple that takes care of
me when I need some extra support or when
I'm getting in a fight with my parent or my
landlord.

(08:57):
We've seen all sorts of different
individuals traffic children, and none of
our kids describe them as strangers.
Right, they've all formed some sort of
relationship with these children.

I I have a feeling and I'm thinking of so
many movies that have been done on this
topic or it's been covered in some movie or
film and it usually looks like some
downtrodden person, uh, somebody in a low
income area and and while there are other
movies where it's covered it more affluent

(09:30):
communities as well because it can't happen
anywhere.
Right, this can happen anywhere.
Do you think that creates more of a
misconception about things?
What we're seeing in the media and what
we're seeing, you know, watching on TV.

Absolutely, I think that they're.
The misconception is that this is equated
with kidnapping.
Right, that in order to be trafficked, you
have to be kidnapped and taken somewhere.
And the reality is is that most of our kids
are still sleeping on their pillows at
night.
Right, they might run away for a period of
time, but they do come back and sometimes
they don't run away at all.
Right, every night they're sleeping in

(10:04):
their homes.
And you're right, the vulnerabilities are
different for somebody who has more
economic resources than someone who doesn't.
But the thing is is that traffickers are
going to figure out what that kid's
vulnerability is and exploit that.
So, yes, if it's that they need food or
basic needs, the trafficker will promise to
meet those needs.
But if their parents are working both

(10:25):
working and not paying attention to that
child and that child is really looking for
parental figure, that trafficker will
promise to provide that parental figure to
them as well.
So, really, they are looking, and sometimes
even in the affluent communities and
families, what we see is that that
trafficker will get that child to do kind
of one thing that steps over the line.

(10:47):
Right, send an explicit photo, engage in an
explicit conversation, and then we'll kind
of flip the script.
What would your family say if I showed this
to them?
What would your community say if I sent
this around your school?
And that's how they manipulate them to get
them to doing the next step in the next
step, in the next step.

Yeah, there's a lot of manipulation I was
gonna say maybe even some gaslighting in
there, you know, and creating another
parental figure that's letting them get
away with things that maybe mom and dad
wouldn't.

Yes, and also slowly pulling them away from
their friends and from their parents and
really encouraging the fighting.
You don't need them, they don't, they don't
respect you.
You're more mature than other kids.
Your age, you're different, right, and?
And if we think about when we were
adolescents, I mean I know I thought I was
definitely more mature than all of my

(11:38):
friends and you know, I for sure thought
that I had it together.
And so if I had another adult telling me
that and validating that, yes, I am special,
I am different, I am more mature, it's that
other people don't recognize me, but here
this person is.

(11:58):
And then all of a sudden, that person says
well, if you want to still stay with me, if
you want to have this relationship, here's
what you're going to need to do.
And at this point maybe I do have a bad
relationship with my parents.
I have started fighting with them or I've
ditched my friends and I don't have that,
those close bonds and relationships.
I am going to feel more compelled to go
along because I don't want to lose that
person who sees me for being special and

(12:19):
says that they see who I am truly, where no
one else does.

You know you mentioning that you're a mom
yourself and everything you're sharing is
making me think how does Erin do this when
you have your own children at home?
And it goes back to the topic that's so big
right now a big buzzword of work-life
balance.
So I'm curious, as someone who does this
work and has seen some of these atrocities,
but then also, like I said, the traumas,

(12:46):
but also the triumphs of how you've been
able to protect so many children with Love
146.
I am really curious how does Erin protect
herself and what do you do to make sure, as
best, best as you can, that your little
ones are protected?

Yeah, and that's a question that I could
answer in so many different ways.
I should also note that my husband has a
job in which he also sees a lot of trauma.
He is a pediatric neuro-oncologist and so
we both kind of can bring our own lenses to
raising our children, for better and for
worse.
One of the things we really try to do is be

(13:23):
present when we're with our kids and not
kind of, and we'll check each other, right,
if we see each other kind of ruminating on
their work or thinking.
But then there's also these moments that
are really hard right.
I remember when we brought a very young
child into our safe home in the Philippines
and that child was the same age as my child
and I was changing their diaper and

(13:44):
thinking how could somebody abuse a child,
this small right?
As I'm changing my own child's diaper, and
you know that can be really hard right.
There are moments where you have to stop
and you have to kind of force yourself to
compartmentalize and be and re-engage in

(14:04):
the present moment and take time for
yourself.
And then you also have to know when you're
hitting that point of burnout, right, we
all can't go a thousand miles an hour and
you have to take that space and time.
And I will say at Love 146, one of the
things I'm really grateful for is that
every couple of years we offer paid
sabbaticals, so month long paid sabbaticals,

(14:24):
and I think that that's a really unique
thing that we do as an organization, but
it's also really recognizing the secondary
trauma that does go along with this work.

It's amazing what you do.
I'm taken back and I'm needing to take a
breath every once in a while with what
you're sharing, because it's just.
It amazes me to be able to make a choice to
go into this work, and I know from what you
shared earlier and shared with those tuning
in that there was a history that came into
this from the work that you did when you
were in school too, but just to continue

(14:53):
doing this throughout the course of your
entire career can really have an impact on
you.
What do you think your biggest takeaway is
from working with just in this area?
Not maybe just not even just Love 146.

Yeah, you know, I think my biggest takeaway
is, you know, a couple of things.
One is at the worker level.
So many of us are drawn to this work
because we've had our own experience, right,
we've had our own sexual victimization or
sexual assault, and I think that, you know,
oftentimes we are quick to say, oh, that

(15:26):
doesn't define us right, like that doesn't
define me.
That is something that happened to me, it
compels me to move forward, but it doesn't
define me.
And I think that really embracing that this
does not define these kids either has been
just so important, I think, both for us and
for our staff.
We have kids that have experienced really

(15:47):
horrific, horrific abuse and are now off in
college right or now have received, you
know, medical certificates and are raising
their own families and have stable housing,
and these are huge achievements that you
know.
I think if you initially came across a
child and you heard that they had been
trafficked, you could have thought, oh my
gosh, their life is over, they're going to

(16:09):
be forever kind of tainted.
And I think really, that the most important
takeaway is, no, this is something yes, it
was horrific and it happened to them, but
it absolutely does not define who they are.
It absolutely does not define what they are
going to be able to accomplish in their
life.
What it really does is it shows that we
have to invest in these kids.

(16:29):
We have to be there for them, we have to
show up, we have to reemphasize to them
that you have value.
We see who you are because, again, a lot of
times, the traffickers are saying sending
messages of you'll always be dirty, no one
will ever want you, you'll always be seen
as an explicit you know, and they use a
number of really inappropriate words.

(16:51):
And what we need to do, I think, as
individuals in a society, is show up and
say no, that's not, that's not how we see
you.

Right, we see who you are as an individual,
Helping them build the resiliency that has
been taken from them.
You know that actually I don't even want to
say it's been taken from them.
It's always there, there's always a
possibility.
But encouraging them to see within
themselves that what happened ED to you is
not happening to you which is one thing I

(17:17):
love to share when I'm working with folks
is that this might be part of your story,
but it could be someone else's survival
guide and it could be your survival guide,
absolutely Right.
Which brings me to something that you have
at Love 146, which is a really wonderful
education program and you offer so many
services.
And I do want to mention to those tuning in
that if you are interested in supporting

(17:40):
Love 146 or you have questions and you just
want to have more knowledge, erin is
actually sharing a parent tip email that
you can sign up for, which is love146.org
slash caregivers, and this is a freebie.
I mean this is something that you can just
download.
If you go to the site, you might find other
information you need or ways to get in
touch or find different educational

(18:02):
programs within Love 146.
So I'll put that all in the notes of this
podcast episode so you can grab it at any
time.
But what other educational programs do you
offer and have for those close to home,
because you mentioned there are places all
over the world, but now here in the US as
well.

Yeah, so we have a prevention education
program called Not a Number that's targeted
towards middle and high school youth.
We do it in, we train people up in schools
and afterschool programs, residential
facilities also, and really any place kids
gather.
We can train the individuals who are
working in those places to implement this
program and it's a five-module program.

(18:40):
And then, you're right, we also try to put
a lot of information on our website so that
parents can download them.
The questions that we typically get are
things like you know, when do I give my kid
a phone?
Right?
How do I introduce my kid to the Internet?
These are very, you know, common questions
that we are trying to answer through that
email series that you just mentioned,

(19:01):
because it is, you know it is a hard
conversation and I think there's an
inclination to say my kid's never leaving
my house, right, they're never going to a
sleepover, they're never doing.
And I think you know, while I understand
the desire and maybe the inclination to go
there, you also want your child to know
that generally, the world is a very safe

(19:22):
place and you want them to go to explore
and you want them to, you know, learn and
figure out things and be as amazing and
productive as they can be, and some of that
means realizing that you know you can lay
out the foundation and at some point you
got to trust them and you got to trust the
world.

(19:42):
And that can be scary for us as parents.
I get that.
I have my own child who just got his first
phone right and doing that was a big deal
and we were very intentional in how we did
it.
But at the end of the day I want him to be
able to leave my house when he hits 18 and
go off and live his own life and be
successful in that, and that's really what
we're trying to do when we're raising our

(20:03):
children.

I think that touches in on the point of the
evolving technology and living in this
digital age where everything is right here
at the access of your fingertips.
I didn't have that growing up, you know, in
my generation and Gen X, and before it was
magazines and television, that's it.
But it's like with kids today and look, we
need to be in the digital age, we need to

(20:25):
advance.
We can't rob them and they live in their
room and they don't have anything, because
we want them to be well-rounded as well.
So I think that goes back to that idea.
And you mentioned when to get the phone.
What else can parents do if you can share
just a couple of different ways that can to
be mindful?

So, you know, I kind of equate it to
teaching a kid how to cross the street.
Right, when your kid is young, you're
holding their hand and you're talking about
looking both ways and you're being.
You know you're not going to cross a
highway with them on their first street,
You're going to cross a smaller road that
doesn't have a lot of cars, and that is
kind of what it is like when you're
introducing technology.
Right, you don't want to drop them off in

(21:06):
the middle of New York City and say good
luck, which unfortunately is when you, a
parent, just hands over a phone, at
whatever age, and says here's your phone
and there's no conversation about it.
There agent says here's your phone and
there's no conversation about it, there's
no safety software on it.
That's a little bit of what you're doing,
and so my, what we say is kind of keep it
locked down initially and slowly give more

(21:28):
and more access, right.
You, you want to help them, make sure that
they're making right decisions when they're
text messaging their friends before they're
allowed to get on any kind of social media
app.
Right, and it's okay to say you know, we're
going to have a really tight locked up
agreement right, when you only have a
certain amount of time on your phone or on
your gaming system and as you get older

(21:51):
that will.
You'll get more and more freedom.
Right, it is much harder to give them the
world and then, when something happens,
take it away.
Right, and we see that happening a lot with
phones and with games.
That's really really hard to do and almost
every parent that has given them the world.

(22:11):
It might not be trafficking, it might not
be exploitation, but something has happened
where that parent has gone.
Now I have to take it away and that causes
a lot of challenges.

A lot of tension too.
And, by the way, when we're thinking about
kids, I mean the brain isn't fully
developed and I work with this all the time
of social, emotional learning, putting it
in the schools, the work that I do in
Havening it's all about giving them tools
to self-regulate and self-soothe, for
self-care.
And when we think about the fact that I
mean I remember this being a kid If you're
told to go to your room, think about what

(22:42):
you did.
You rarely went to your room to think about
what you did.
You rarely went to a detention thinking
about what you did.
You were angry that you got caught, right.

Right.

So there's that level as well to think
about that.
What can we do to have these conversations
with our, educate them as well, so that
they're not like, oh well, you know.
Or they think about it like, oh OK, I see
where you're coming from, mom or dad.
Yeah, I'm sorry, I mean, and not even
apologizing, but I see where you're coming

(23:11):
from.
I know you want me to be safe rather than
like you're punished for something you did
Right.

Yeah, the other thing that we always talk
about with parents is we say you know,
adolescence is a normal time to push the
limits, to break the rules.
right, I mean, most of us did it when we
were adolescents and we have to know our
kids are going to do it.

(23:36):
And so, yes, set your rules, be very clear
with what your expectations are and then
tell your kids look, I know that there are
probably going to be times where you try to
bend these rules.
I know that there might even be times when
you break these rules, and what I want you
to know is that in those moments, the most
important thing is your safety.
And so if you have broken a rule and you
have ended up somewhere where you need help
right Be it that you're, you know, out at a

(23:58):
party and you need me to pick you up, or
you're talking with someone online that
seems uncomfortable, the most important
thing in that moment is for you to come and
talk with me.
We will figure it out together.
So you have to kind of permission them to
not permission them to break the rules, but
acknowledge that they're likely going to
break the rules, and permission them that,

(24:19):
if and when that happens and they need your
help, you set the expectation that you will
be there, Because so many of our kids say I
didn't tell anyone because I knew they'd be
mad at me, because I wasn't supposed to X,
Y and Z.
Right, that's not what we want.
In those moments we're not worried about
the X, Y and Z and the rules they broke.
We're worried that someone they might now

(24:39):
be in a dangerous situation, so we have to
preemptively prepare them for that a
dangerous situation, so we have to
preemptively prepare them for that.

I think that goes back to what you were
saying about creating a safe space.
We want people to know that the space that
is at home is the respite in the safest
space it could possibly be, and that
includes the conversations we have.
Safe space can be out in your neighborhood,
out in the world.
You can create that, the car that you drive.
We're always creating, creating safe spaces,
but if the one place where you lay your
head at night is not the safe space, we got

(25:08):
a problem.
Right the conversations if they don't feel
safe, we've got a problem.
So that is such important information to
have different kinds of conversations with
our children, or even if it's not our own
children.
I have children that are that either I work
with or might be like a god child or
somebody else's child, because that's
another thing to think about that it might

(25:28):
not be your own child, it could be your
friend's child, or maybe your niece or your
nephew, and they're telling you something
that doesn't feel right, like it's really
having your your antenna up to listen to
what's being said and shared and the body
language and everything that's being put
out there.
So these are such good tips.

(25:49):
I do want to remind folks that Love 146 is
a nonprofit organization.
This is an organization that Erin
Williamson she's the chief program and
strategy officer, and this is an
organization dedicated to combating child
trafficking and exploitation, including
labor trafficking, which is a topic I
definitely want us to chat about.

(26:10):
What's considered labor trafficking?
I mean, is it just sex trafficking?

No, no.
So human trafficking does also include
labor trafficking, and when there's labor
trafficking you need to be able to prove
force, fraud or coercion.
And so you know that's really important.
With sex trafficking, especially of
children, it's just any kind of commercial
sexual act, so any kind of time there's a
sexual act for an exchange of anything of

(26:37):
value.
But with labor trafficking, because kids
can legally work, you really do have to
prove that force, fraud or coercion.
And so you know, I'll give you an example
of sometimes what we've seen.
We've seen magazine crews right, where kids
are brought together and they're brought to
a community and they, you know, get out of

(26:57):
the car and they're told to go around to
the houses and sell magazines and they're
given quotas, right, that they need to sell
a certain amount of magazines in order to
kind of meet that quota.
And if they don't meet that quota, then
there can be consequences, there can be
beatings, there can be physical injury and
that's what we call kind of that force,

(27:18):
right.
Sometimes, when we're talking about foreign
nationals, right, people coming into the
country, they'll say you know, look, we'll
help you get you into the country smugglers
sometimes and then they'll flip the script
and they'll say actually, now what you need
to do is pay us back even more than we told
you.
And so we're going to have you work in.

(27:40):
You know these shops, and usually it's long
hours, it's minimal pay.
You know these shops, and usually it's long
hours, it's minimal pay.
Most of that pay goes back to you know,
paying whatever you needed to to cross the
border, and then, of course, there's all
sorts of fines oh, you needed to use the
bathroom.
Well, now we're going to deduct that from

(28:00):
your pay.
Oh, you need it.
And so they kind of can never get ahead in
terms of paying down their debt, which
really is not what they agreed to when they
agreed to come into this country.
And so, you know, we see it happening in
different ways.
Sometimes it's US citizens, sometimes it's
foreign nationals.
It really can be both, but you need to have
that force broader coercion.
It's really important, as we raise our kids,

(28:22):
to teach them what their legal rights are
as they enter the workforce, because so
many people just don't understand what
their legal rights are.
And so you even see kids, you know, working
in restaurants where you know, hey, if
you're carrying a plate of food and that
food falls, what right does that restaurant
have to take those that any kind of cost

(28:44):
out of your paycheck, right?
You should know what your legal rights are
in your workplace so that you're able to
protect yourself, because sometimes
employers even if it's not full blown
trafficking do exploit children and their
lack of knowledge regarding their rights.
This is fascinating.

I never even thought about that, that.
What you're sharing about the labor
exploitation are things that never crossed
my mind.
And now my thought is going every time I
see somebody outside that's doing the
magazine thing, do you approach them and go?
Are you safe?
You know, like, what do you do in that
situation?
How do you know?
Are there signs of a neighbor answering a
door?
When somebody is walking by doing that?

(29:22):
Are we going to constantly be on alert,
thinking every kid that's coming to the
door with a, with a pad and pencil or with
a clipboard could be subjected to that?
Or at a restaurant you?

know, Yep, and sometimes it's really hard
to tell, right, Because sometimes, for
example, at restaurants, you'll have people
who are being exploited working right
alongside people that are not being
exploited and it's not always clear to tell.
You know, I do think that, keeping your
eyes and ears open, there is a human
trafficking hotline which is 888-373-7888.

(29:57):
You can always call them if you have
concerns.
You know, typically when we would see
magazine crews or we would see other you
know them selling other things, there would
be a group of kids that would then all get
into a single car, Right, and that's how
they got from one community to the next.
That's very different than your.
You know your neighborhood kid down the
street who's selling pies to raise money

(30:18):
for their.
You know their sports league, Right, you
know that kid and fundraisers are a very
common way in which kids, you know, raise
money for the different activities that
they're doing.
But if these are kids that you don't
recognize, if these are kids that are
coming as a cohort in a vehicle being
picked up, those are kind of red flags that
you might want to think about.

And then maybe calling that hotline and
letting them know.
And it's not like you know we obviously
don't.
We don't want the neighborhood church group
to get busted for something and the
authorities are coming out, like we heard
there's trafficking happening.
But letting them know something's happening,
they will do their job and take it to the
next step.
It doesn't hurt to make the call Right,

(30:59):
right and they can also help advise you.

You know, hey, next time you might want to
be, you might want to think about, you know,
writing down the license plate number and
just letting your local authorities know
that you've seen this van now in your
neighborhood a couple of times.
They do tend to come at this hour that
you're a little worried because they seem
to be kids that either probably should be
at school at this time or should be doing
homework at this time, or the kids don't

(31:24):
seem to be wearing the same clothes every
time they're coming.
You know there can be little indicators
that again that this isn't a kid that's
raising money for their local activity.
This is a kid that's really being forced
out to make a quote as they sell things, do
you?

also as an organization, have volunteers
with people that help or offer programs or,
you know, do something within Love 146 that
if they want to get involved, how can they
go about doing that?

Yeah, one of the best ways to get involved
is really to do that peer-to-peer education.
So we really try to support people to
sharing information with their community.
So, whether it be you know their local
church group or whether it be their local
different areas in which people congregate,
their local PTO, we do that.
We don't have volunteers that work directly

(32:12):
with the youth.
Really, everyone who works directly with
the youth is typically a licensed social
worker and in part, we do that because of
just the severity of the trauma and the
expertise and really wanting that
continuity of service provision.
We have a wide variety of people who
support and follow us.
A lot of our average donation is $25.

(32:34):
And we really rely on the community coming
together and both supporting our work but
also sharing our message and sharing the
message that this is happening.
Right, our survivor care program is in
Connecticut.
People think of Connecticut as a very
affluent state.
You wouldn't think that trafficking is
happening in Connecticut.
We started this program 10 years ago.
We're about to serve our 1,000th kid.

(32:56):
So in that small state of Connecticut we've
served almost 1,000 kids in 10 years.
Right, extrapolate that to what must be
happening in California and Texas and some
of the larger.
So, really, if you think it's not happening
in your state, I promise you, unfortunately
it is.
But there's also things that we can do.

(33:16):
Right, there are ways that we can educate
our kids, there are ways that we can
protect our kids, and I loved what you said
about don't just think of your own kid,
right, think of all the other children that
you come in contact with in your life and
how can you support them and make sure that
you are a safe place for them.
Unfortunately, not every home is a safe
place.
Right, you might be that safe place for

(33:38):
that kid because home might not be, and so
it's really important that you tell all the
kids in your kind of in your community that
you are there if and when they need you.

Yeah, it could be as little as you have a
child and they have a friend and that
friend isn't safe.
And that friend is like I want to come to
this house because this house is a safe
place.
It's all about safety right, absolutely.
Externally and mentally.
It is all about safety.
So, listen, I want to remind folks.
I'm going to put all of the information

(34:09):
that Erin has shared, graciously shared her
time here on Holistically Speaking, but
going to have all of that's going to be in
the notes of this podcast, including the
email program that you can download.
That's the caregivers program.
There'll be a link for that, this one eight
eight number, now a hotline.
If you anything doesn't seem right, call

(34:30):
this hotline.
That'll be in there as well.
And then, just finding out more about the
peer education program and anything that
you are thinking I can become more educated
on this.
It could be one small tip you learn just
from listening or tuning into this podcast
today that alerts you to make a difference.
It only takes one starfish throwing back

(34:50):
into the ocean to make a difference in the
ecosystem, right?
I always love to say that because it's so
true.
We think we have to make monumental, huge
changes, but a small change could change
the life of one person.
So, erin, I want to thank you so much for
being here.
I do love to do something with my guests
before they go.
I play a little game called rapid fire to
get the neurons going, because, look, we

(35:11):
have to have a little humor in the healing
Right, and there's always, there's always
some, there's always some good that comes
out of it.
So it's a way to end things on a good note.
I'm going to throw out a word that you
might have mentioned, or you have mentioned
during this podcast, or I have mentioned,
and I want you to just come back with the
first word that comes to mind.
We'll do a little word association here on

(35:32):
Hillel, simply Speaking.
You ready, I'm ready?
Okay, here we go.
Survivor, child Advocacy, fighting
Permission, space Labor.

Gosh a word.
I know that's not a, but yeah, yeah, that
is a good word.

That is a good word.
Victim Survivor Technology.

Just amazing opportunity, yeah, trafficking.

My life's work.
Safe, safe, home.
Yeah, I was going to say safe and then home,
but you nailed it.
But here's the last one, because I didn't
even ask you where the name of the
organization came from.
But if I were to throw out the word love,
what do you come back with?
Humanity?
Oh my gosh, I felt that Beautiful.

(36:23):
Thank you so much.
Tell me where Love 146 comes from.
How did that name come about?

Yeah, so one of our founders were overseas
again, had heard about this issue of
trafficking, initially thought it was
something that happened overseas.
And they went undercover and came across
kids that were being exploited, and each of
the girls had a red dress and a number
attached to them, and that was how you

(36:49):
ordered them you were given a menu with
their numbers, various acts and the cost,
and there was one girl who had the number
146.
And she was staring through what was a one
way mirror, but there was kind of this
fight in her and um, and unfortunately that
that brothel got tipped off.

(37:10):
When law enforcement came in there, the
girls were gone and so we don't know what
happened with her.
But, uh, they decided to name the
organization after her both.
Uh, to remember that you know, this is an.
This is an issue that impacts individual
children and we are here to fight for those
individual children, and no child should be
a number.

That is powerful, wow.
Well, all we can do is send out the love
and light and hope that she got out and an
organization like Love 146 got into her
hands at some point.

Absolutely.

Wow.
Are there any final thoughts that you'd
like to leave with those tuning into the
show?

You know.
The only thing I would add is that I know,
you know, just statistically, there are
probably many of you who might have
experienced your own trauma and who are
coming and have listened to this, and I
think it's really important to remember
that taking care of others also includes
taking care of yourself, and it is never
too late to seek additional help and

(38:13):
services, even if you haven't done it
before in your life.
If you're thinking about it now, it's never
too late to figure out how to support
yourself.
And I don't even want to say heal yourself,
because if you're moving forward, then you
have figured out already a way to heal
aspects of yourself.
But we all need help.
We all need support and I just want to

(38:36):
acknowledge that I think sometimes we talk
about this as if it doesn't impact us, both
because of our own personal histories and
because of our work, and I just want to
honor the fact that I'm sure there are
people who impact us, both because of our
own personal histories and because of our
work, and just want to honor the fact that
that I'm I'm sure there are people who are
listening, who are coming to this podcast
and coming to this work having experienced
their own trauma and and just you know.
Thank you for continuing to lean in and

(38:58):
support yourself and others.

Yeah, and thank you for the work you're
doing.
You're a gift and and I know that there are
probably many people we don't necessarily
hear the thank yous or the appreciation,
but you're making a difference and I
appreciate you, thank you.
It is all about creating a safe place,
isn't it?
So here's what you can do.
I want you to check out the notes of this

(39:20):
podcast episode with Erin Williamson To
learn more about Love 146, the things that
you can do to make a difference are so easy.
That includes the tips and tools that Erin
shared here during our conversation, the
hotline she shared.
So if you hear something or you feel
something's not right, you can give that
hotline a call.
And that also includes the parent tip

(39:41):
emails that Love 146 puts out.
You can sign up for that too.
And creating a safe place also includes
being kind to your mind.
I talk about the Hug it Out program all the
time how to hug it out with yourself.
If you want to learn more about how you can
bring Havening Techniques into your
organization, into your business or even

(40:03):
into your own home in your life, go to
hillaryrusso dot com slash trainings for
upcoming trainings on this
neuroscience-based approach that can change
your thoughts, your moods, your behaviors,
your habits, rapidly and help you build
resiliency, and also help you with your
everyday upsets and even your deep-rooted
traumas.
I'm here to support you and I'm happy to
make that connection with you, so please
reach out.

(40:24):
You can also sign up for my Brain Candy
newsletter.
It is a great way to learn more about
conversations like this the one we just had
with Erin Williamson and just becoming more
educated on your own well-being and, of
course, those of others around you.
You make a difference.
Just one thing could do that, HIListically
Speaking, is edited by 2 Market Media with

(40:44):
music by Lipbone Redding and, of course,
supported by you Week after week.
I know you're taking your time out of your
schedule to be here to tune in and it does
not go unnoticed and I appreciate that.
And remember it only takes one act of
kindness, one gesture, to create change,
just from caring.
Never underestimate your own power to

(41:06):
create change and to pay it forward.
I love you, I believe in you and I'm
sending hugs your way.
Be well.

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Ep175 - Ending Child Trafficking and Exploitation with Erin Williamson

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Ep175 - Ending Child Trafficking and Exploitation with Erin Williamson