56: A Calling To End Trafficking with Brittany Dunn

Episode Transcript
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Leanne Tuggle (00:51):
Friends, today's episode is extra special as I am
joined by my dear friendBrittany Dunn.
Brittany is one of the foundersof the Safe House Project,
which is a national organizationworking to eradicate human
trafficking in America byhelping survivors find freedom,
hope, and a future.
Brittany, thank you so much forbeing a part of the show today.

(01:14):
You are someone who I greatlyadmire, not only for the work
that you do with Safe HouseProject, but also just the way
that you balance this callingalongside of being a wife and a
mom.
So you are someone who exudesexcellence in both the workplace
and in the home.
So thank you so much for beinghere.
And to begin our conversationtoday, can you share just a

(01:36):
little bit about your journeyboth as a mom and as a founder
of the Safe House Project andwhat led you to step into this
unique calling?

Brittany Dunn (01:44):
Absolutely.
Well, it's so exciting to behere.
And I just feel like this isjust the Scott moments when you
get to see somebody who has beenthere since the beginning of
kind of one of those kairosmoments in my life where God
just really took a took awrecking ball in a good way, I
guess, to what I thought I wouldbe doing for my life.
When so when Leanne and I met,I was still in corporate

(02:05):
America.
I was working in a tech firm.
And it was really through aBible study that brought our
families together that Godstarted to do a new work in me
and started to turn my hearttoward not just knowing about
the human the issue of humantrafficking, but really how do
we respond to it?
And so it was really throughjust a lot of prayer and

(02:27):
discernment from a lot ofdifferent people in our world at
that time that Safe HouseProject was launched.
So my co-founder and I, uhChristy Wells, we were at the
end of 2017 and I was eightmonths pregnant, really nine
months pregnant.
Leanne was right behind me withI think I'm like six months

(02:47):
pregnant with her twins.
And so it was a season ofbirthing things.
I just didn't expect to alsobirth an organization during
that time.
So we launched SAFOS Projectthe beginning of 2018 when my
daughter was three weeks old andI had a two-year-old, and my
husband was deployed, and Godsaid go.
And it was really from that actof obedience that we have seen

(03:11):
an anointing on our mission andvision.

I love that way to like just be obedient in the
most insane season of your life.
I I do remember that and justbeing like watching you going, I
I don't, I don't know, I don'tknow how what's happening, but
I'm amazed and still to thisday.
So well, we got to come andhold the twins.

That's right.
International Women's Day.

Yes, I know.
International Women's Day.
Let me have a couple of boys.
I love it.
So for listeners who aren'tfamiliar with what Safe House
Project does, what do you wantpeople to understand about the
crisis?
And what are some practicalways that the everyday woman
could help to fight humantrafficking?

Yeah.
So when we launched Safe HouseProject, we were really
responding to the fact that atthat time Health and Human
Services estimated that 300,000American kids are trafficked
every year in the United States.
And that was startling.
As a mom, as a military spouse,all of these things make you
go, well, how do we callourselves, you know, the land of
the free and the home of thebrave if we have hundreds of

(04:15):
thousands of kids basicallytrapped in what some would call
modern day slavery?
And so that was reallyeye-opening for me.
But through that process oflearning, we realized that only
1% are identified and that theaverage age is only 12 years
old.
I think though what changed myperspective on this was the fact
that I think I still operatedunder a little bit of the

(04:37):
misperception that these werekids that were being abducted or
removed from their homes.
And once you realized that 40to 50% of child trafficking
victims would first betrafficked by a family member,
it really brought the issue outof kind of feeling like an
overseas problem or an overthere problem to one that was
happening right there to kids inour community who were still

(04:59):
going to school, who are stillin our places of worship, that
were at the grocery store, thatwere doing life probably right
alongside other kids in theirneighborhood.
And they just didn't know thatwhat they were experiencing
behind closed doors isn'tnormal.
And so it's really from thatrealization that our
organization launched with ourdeep conviction that we believe

(05:21):
that we can end childtrafficking.
Honestly, that sounds crazy toa lot of people, but I believe
that God has really put us herefor such a time as this.
I know that sounds cliche, butit's like he has given us a huge
vision to build theinfrastructure that would allow
for child trafficking to beeradicated in the United States.

(05:41):
And we do that through a lot oftraining and education.
How do we equip people tounderstand what trafficking
looks like, how it's impactingtheir own community?
Then we build um capacity ofsafe house programs around the
country through ourcertification.
But really, where we find thegreatest impact right now is we
have our survivor support teamwho will serve over 3,000

(06:04):
survivors this year as they exita trafficking situation and
help get them into these safehouse programs where people can
really go and heal and overcomethe traumatic experiences that
they've um had in their life.
And so we're just blessed to beable to be a small part in
somebody's journey into freedom.
But when you ask, I guess, morethe question of like what can

(06:26):
people do, I think it's hard.
Like it does.
Like when we first started,it's like this is a huge issue.
Like, how do we step in?
And I would say first, I wewent to prayer.
We went to deep prayer beforewe ever even started.
And that meant that when wemade any decision, we never
wanted to be one degree outsideof God's will.
And he's been so faithful inshowing us where we go with this

(06:49):
issue.
How do we lead thisorganization?
And that's still our prayer.
We always joke that Safe HouseProject isn't ours.
It's God's.
We're just here for long forthe ride.
We're chasing after him.
We're not leading it.
He's leading us through it.
And so that's been reallycritical for us to make sure
that we're on the trajectorythat he sets, not one that we're
trying to set for ourselves.

(07:10):
But I think where anybody canget involved right now is we
just launched a new reportingapp called Simply Report.
And you can become a SimplyReport ambassador.
You can share it with yourcommunity, you can go download
the app and it allows you tocome on and report suspected
trafficking or validateassumptions, learn a little bit
more about what it is and theissue.

(07:31):
And I think from that place ofeducation and understanding,
you'll find your next step.

I love that.
And I love that you justmentioned simply report.
And I'll definitely put that inthe show notes too, so people
can find out more informationabout that.
That's so great.
So I can tell that you are verypassionate about the this work
that you get to do that God hascalled you to do.
And it's it's such an amazingcalling and it is very important
work.
So I'm curious to know whatdoes excellence in the workplace

(08:01):
mean to you personally?

For us, we actually, one of our core values
is operating with excellencebecause excellence doesn't mean
perfection, but it does meanthat we pursue people, we pursue
our programs, we pursuestewardship of our funding in a
way that is about reproach.
And we want anybody to come inand say, I'd love to audit your

(08:27):
financials and know where yourmy gift is going.
Fantastic.
I would love to share with youexactly how every dollar is
being spent and do that in a waythat we can say that those
dollars are being used to servesurvivors of excellence.
When it comes to like ourcertification of our safe house
programs, we want to make surethat they're using
evidence-based and promisingpractices that really break

(08:48):
cycles of exploitation.
And so again, striving to pushpeople towards excellence isn't
it's built into the very DNA ofhow we operate because anything
less feels like we aren'tstewarding the gifts that God
gave us in the best waypossible.
And so our team is reallyincredible.
I always say we get to lead ateam of leaders.

(09:09):
I don't feel like I have a lotof people, like I don't have
anyone that I'm pulling along inthis mission.
And because of that, they areoperating with excellence.
They're showing up fully,they're doing the self-care
things they need in theirpersonal life in order to show
up professionally.
And they are, you know, we justcreate a, I guess, an
environment, an environment ofpsychological safety that allows

(09:31):
for people to be fully them andfully experience things while
also knowing that we're calledto excellence.

I love that.
And it shows, it shows with howyou guys just organize the
entire the entire project.
It's so, so great.
So many women wrestle with atension between work and home
responsibilities.
And you kind of just mentionedthat self-care piece a little
bit too.
So, how have you learned tobalance your work as a founder

(09:59):
and your role as a wife and mom?
It's a loaded question.

It's a very loaded question.
And I feel like one of the bestways that I've heard it
described recently is it's we'renot, there's no such thing as
work-life balance.
Right.
Um, at the end of the day, it'snot what it is.
There is, you know, a finitenumber of hours in a week.
And there's also, we look at itfrom a time, but also look at
it from an energy investment.

(10:25):
Where am I putting my bestenergy?
That doesn't always equate tothe same amount of time.
But like if I can give my kidsextremely focused, intentional
energy at the start of their dayand fill their bucket in a way
that allows them to set them ona course for being successful.
I'm not getting to the end ofthe day and going, oh my gosh, I
feel like I have to spend afull hour with my child because

(10:46):
I haven't had any time with themyet.
And so I think we have to getpast this idea that time equals
energy or time equals, you know,outcome and more look at it
from a perspective of, okay,where am I putting my best
energy?
Is my best energy going towardwhich activities?
And then also recognizing thatit's going to ebb and flow in
different seasons.

(11:07):
Like right now, we're infundraising season, we're in
end-of-year giving, we're inbudget planning and strategic
conversations.
My kids just know that Octoberis going to be a little bit more
Safe House project and a littleless of them.
But then when November hits,it's like, nope, Thanksgiving is
dedicated family time.
Like, so just creating rhythmsthat match and then setting

(11:31):
expectations for us, likeclarity is kindness.
So as long as I'm clear onlike, okay, I'm going to give
you this part of my time or thispart of my day, or I will be at
this activity with you andsetting their expectations
appropriately, it really createsa way for our family to move
together in a in a way that Idon't think we would if we
weren't really being intentionalabout it.

(11:53):
I love that.

We say clear is kind in our household a lot too.
So it sounds like you guys havethat same philosophy, which I
think is really, reallywonderful.
Yeah.
And doing the same with theprofessional side.

Like that's the other piece.
Like, okay, I am going to tellyou that I am not going to
respond to you until this dateor this time.
And being okay with that answeras well.
Right.

And just the setting up those appropriate
boundaries.
And I love that you're talkingabout it being in different
seasons.
And I think that that isreally, really important.
There are always going to bebusier seasons and then there's
going to be seasons of rest.
And being able to kind ofidentify them, I think is really
great.
So a question for you.
So many, many women who arelistening here might be

(13:07):
wondering how do I know if I'mcalled to work outside of the
home?
Or like they're very passionateabout something like you are
with this work.
So what encouragement would youoffer another woman who maybe
feels torn between her passionfor meaningful work and her
desire to be present at home?

I'd say that I think that if you're willing to
design your world and maybefound your own thing, you can
have both.
And I wouldn't shy away fromthat.
And if God's calling you toboth, there are ways to do it.
Or back to the maybe you don'ttake full-time 40-hour, 50,
60-hour week work, but you dosomething that's 30 hours a week
and allows you to be there whenthe bus stop or when kids get

(13:46):
off the bus or whatever likeyour kind of need is.
But I wouldn't shy away.
I know that my passion for SafeHouse Project and the work that
we get to do has made my familystronger.
It's made my kids stronger.
They feel part of it, likewe're getting ready for some big
events and they sit around andthey help me with all of those
activities.

(14:06):
Like they want to be part ofit.
Every day they're like, when doI get to found something?
I'm like, you can foundsomething whenever you want.
So my son has put together anentire business plan for a new
business venture.
And, you know, I like a goodmom, I was like, I really need
you to get outside today.
It's like a day that they wereoff school for something random.
I was like, I just need you togo do some market research and

(14:27):
ask the neighbors if they reallyare going to allow a
10-year-old to come into theirhouse while they're on holiday
and care for their animals andwhat would be their expectations
and how much do they want topay you and how many animals do
they have?
So he did a full marketanalysis before we even got
anywhere.
And it's fantastic because italso puts him on a path of
knowing that it's not juststarting, it's about prepping

(14:48):
and planning and then executing.
So my kids feel part of thiswork, they are part of this work
and they're part of ourfamily's mission to really end
human trafficking.
I love that.

I love that you're including them on it and
empowering them to do whatyou're doing.
And they're seeing it modeledso beautifully too for both you
and your husband.
So I think that's so great.
So I'm curious to know alsowhat daily or weekly rhythms
help you stay rooted in God'sword and connected to him while
you're carrying the weight ofthis work.

(15:18):
What you do is is heavy.
So what are ways that you stayconnected to God?

Yeah.
So our leadership team meets at5:30 every morning and prays.
And so we usually have about30, 30 minutes to an hour,
depending on how much we'repraying through.
It's a time that we bring staffconcerns or family concerns.
It's just really a beautifultime.
But it also lets us kind ofknow where each of us are going
into the day.
Like you hear people's heart,you hear their concerns, you

(15:46):
know what they're operating withand what you're operating with.
But then you're also submittingthat all to God.
And like we every morning wepray Ephesians 4 that we live a
life worthy of our calling.
So we're humble and makeallowances for each other's
faults, that we have a bond ofunity and a spirit of peace over
this entire team operation andthe families who serve.
And then we pray Ephesians 6and we put on the full armor of

(16:08):
God because we are not justwalking into a physical battle.
We're walking into a spiritualbattle.
And if we are not preparingourselves for the spiritual
battle, then we're never goingto win the physical battle.
And so that is integral to justour daily rhythm in that
capacity.
But then all of us after that,we go to the gym and we get our

(16:30):
mental health in check and getthose, you know, get our bodies
moving and allow for us to dothat kind of physical work.
And it's always fascinating tome because it's actually in
there where I probably work outmore of my stress or anger or
frustrations with cases or withnot seeing justice served for
survivor.
Because if I can push my bodyto do really hard things, then I

(16:53):
can usually break through someof the mental challenges that
might be alongside the just thethe extreme weight that this
work can bring.
And so those two things havebeen extremely grounding for me
and built into kind of thedaily, the daily cadence of how
we work.

I love that.
So it sounds like community andthat accountability is a huge
part of what you do.
And so I'm curious to know justa little bit more about the
role that community plays insustaining you, both in your
work and in your home life.

Yeah.
I think community is the thingthat the military military
teaches you the fastest isabsolutely integral to life and
how to build community quicklyand do it in a way that comes
alongside you and your family'smission and whatever that is,
and whatever level of service.
It doesn't have to be militaryor trafficking.
I mean, whatever your family iscalled to.

(17:49):
You know, building community iscritical.
And I've met so many amazingpeople along the way because of
the work.
I think that's been the biggestblessing is I know so many
people now that I feel badbecause I feel like there's also
people who know me that I'venever actually spoken to, but
they'll come up to me and I'mlike, of course, I have no idea

(18:09):
who you are at this point.
But it's so great because theyfeel so they feel so part of it.
And I think that's because itis this is a community movement.
It's not an issue that's solvedby one person or one
organization or one policy.
It's that everybody has theirpiece of it and it's doing
whatever they can in theircommunity to help eradicate it.

(18:29):
And so my community gets tojust keep growing as a result,
which is a lot of that.
I love that.
That's so great.

So you've talked a little bit about identity and
being obedient to this callingand just the idea of abiding,
being very central to thisjourney.
What specifically has Godtaught you about your identity
in Him through this work?
And how has obedience shapedthe path of the Safe House
Project?
You've talked a little bitabout it already.

Yeah, good Lord.
But those are like five reallyhard questions all I'm gonna
talk about.

I love you.

I'm like challenge.
Challenge.
I think identity is actuallythe thing recently that I've
been wrestling with the most.
Um because I have realized, Ithink through this work that
there's always work that we haveto do on ourselves.
And that as much as I'm servingpeople who've experienced

(19:23):
really hard things, there's alsowe all have our own, our own
experiences and our own things.
And so identity has become alittle bit of a theme.
But I think where I'm seeingGod work it in a new way is
honestly, he's just tearing downevery idol.
I mean, and everything that iswhat I perceive my identity to

(19:46):
be oftentimes isn't it.
And so, how do I get closer toa reflection of Christ is really
where my identity should be.
And so I think it's actuallyabout a whole lot less of me and
a whole lot more of him andelevating this spirit side of me
to be more in alignment withhim than it is about the
physical being of living thathas really been an interesting

(20:11):
journey.
And I think that's come throughthis work because I've seen the
absolute worst parts ofhumanity, but I've also seen God
work the most incrediblemiracles that I can hardly even
comprehend at times.
And so it challenges you totruly know who Christ is and
what he did for us and the bloodthat he shed on the cross and

(20:32):
the depths of hell that he wentto to bring back the gifts and
to just bring back the thingsthat we get to operate with.
And that's where I want myidentity to drive from.
I want it to drive from theidentity of Christ and the
access to the gifts that he gaveus as part of his death on the
cross.
And then when I get to operatewithin those and have those at

(20:52):
my disposal and know theauthority in whose mantle I'm
under, it really starts to moveyou away from any levels of
entitlement or belief that thatyou're doing any of this in your
own strength.
I don't know if I answered allthe questions.

No, I mean, I think that it does because it's
very much like this it's notabout you.
It's about it's it's about Godand about glorifying God.
And I think that when that isshaping your identity, when it
is like not me but you, and likeyou said, like Christ be
elevated, then that is part ofwho you are, just operating as
his servant, as his vessel.

(21:28):
And that is very evident.
As you said, like every daythis safe house project is
covered in prayer.
Every survivor is covered inprayer, like all of the things,
every bed, everything that youguys are doing is just
abundantly covered in prayer.
And it is so clear and obvious.
And that is why it is being isgrowing and God is blessing the
work that you guys are doingbecause it is so much about Him.

(21:51):
You're bringing the glory toHim in all the things.
And I think that's so great.
So I have two, two morequestions for you.
The first one being if someonelistening today is like, wow, I
really am interested in thisorganization and I would really
love to know how I can help.
What would be the best way thatsomeone could be a part of

(22:12):
this?

Yeah, absolutely.
So if you go tosafehouseproject.org, then you
go to our, I think it says workwith us or contact us, and on
there is our volunteer forms.
You can sign up to become asafe house ambassador, which is
amazing.
And I love our team that runsthat because they have monthly
calls and they generate thatcommunity of support.
They give you resources to pushout to your community.

(22:36):
They really want to helpmobilize people.
Obviously, we don't do thiswork without donations, and so
that's a different way.
If you're looking for moreinvesting financially, that's
huge.
I mean, we serve 14 new victimsof human trafficking every
single day.
And on average, you know, we'respending anywhere from $1,000
to $1,500 per individual fortransportation, for emercy

(23:00):
housing, for that sheltering,for case management.
But even that, you know,donation of $40 and doing like
our $40 for freedom really helpsmake sure that we can answer
every single one of those calls.
And so greatly appreciate thatas well.
And then the last thing I wouldsay is if you're like, I'm on
the fence and I just want tounderstand more, our on-watch

(23:22):
training is at iamonwatch.org.
And that's a great way.
And it's they're five to eightminute videos, and you can
choose which part of the problemyou want to seek to understand.
You can break it up.
There's resources about how totalk to your kids.
All of that is just a way foryou to start leaning into maybe
something that's pulling on yourheart, but you don't know where
you want to go with it.

(23:42):
Um, but we have lots ofresources.
We have a curriculum for thechurch.
We wrote a book on eradicatinghuman trafficking.
If you're more of the data nerdscience policy person, like I
enjoy, like I you can look atthis from a lot of lenses.
So it's really fun.
Okay, wonderful.
I say fun.
It actually is really neatwork.
It's really interconnected.

(24:02):
I think that's the other piece.
It's like if you're sittingthere going, okay, well, I don't
know if I want to do like thelike the recovery and be part of
the this side.
There's so much on the policyside.
I mean, we advocate inWashington, we advocate with our
states, we work at, you know,on so many layers.
And so I just encourage you tolearn it because this is an
issue that's woven itself intothe very fabric of our

(24:24):
communities.
And it is touching so manyparts of your world that you
probably just don't even realizeat this point.

I think the awareness piece of it, that's
what you have helped me learnthrough our friendship, is just
being aware of what's going onand then from there letting the
Holy Spirit guide how what thatmeans for you and how you want
to participate and help fromthis.
That's great.
Okay, so my last question foryou is if you could encourage
the woman listening today withone truth about what it means to

(24:53):
abide in Christ while pursuingexcellence, both at home and at
work, what would you say?

One truth.
This is always so hard.
I love the hard questions.
I would say that I we hear it,but God truly does equip the
cult.
It's not about anything else.
You don't have to know whatyou're doing.
I didn't have a background insocial work.
I'm not a lawyer, I'm not aprosecutor, not in policy, I'm

(25:22):
not in law enforcement.
By all accounts, there's noreason that this should be what
I'm doing with my life.
But it has nothing to do withme.
It has everything to do withthe one who called me.
And through that, he has grownnew gears and he has taught me
new things and he has providedme with opportunities and the

(25:42):
people around me to grow thosenew skills and learn things.
And it's the best thing thatyou could ever do is just lean
into the thing he's trulycalling you to do and find that
God-given passion and purposebecause once you find it, one,
you'll know you're headed alsoin the right direction.
The more spiritual attacks comeat you, it's great.
You figure that out reallyfast.

(26:04):
You're like, oh, I must begoing in the right direction.
But I take that as a okay, ifI'm if this is where we're
headed and this is the amount ofwarfare that's coming against
it, it means I'm headed in theright direction.
So God is faithful and heprotects those that he calls to
this work.

Yes, I love that so much.
Brittany, thank you so much forall of this wisdom and just for
reminding us that pursuingexcellence starts with abiding
in Christ and all for his glory.
I'm so thankful for you and forall the work that you do.
And if you are listening todayand you would like to connect
with Brittany and check out moreabout this incredible work that

(26:42):
the Safe House Project isdoing, um, I will have
everything linked in the shownotes here, and you will be able
to find all the resources thatshe has mentioned that Safe
House Project has available.
So thank you so much, Brittany,for everything.
Thank you.
It's such a pleasure.
To close this episode, I wantto read Psalm 23 to you.

(27:03):
This is arguably one of themost famous psalms that we have,
and yet this psalm is like abalm to someone who has
experienced the trauma oftrafficking.
And it is also a message for usto know that the Lord is our
shepherd, and He does lead us toa place that restores our soul,

(27:26):
that our home is not here, butthat our safe house is in
heaven, and that we get to dwellin the house of the Lord
forever someday.
So let me read Psalm 23 foryou.
The Lord is my shepherd, Ishall not want.
He makes me lie down in greenpastures, he leads me beside

(27:47):
still waters.
He restores my soul, he leadsme in paths of righteousness for
his namesake.
Even though I walk through thevalley of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evil, for you arewith me.
Your rod and your staff, theycomfort me.
You prepare a table before mein the presence of my enemies,
you anoint my head with oil, mycup overflows.

(28:10):
Surely goodness and mercy shallfollow me all the days of my
life, and I shall dwell in thehouse of the Lord forever.

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56: A Calling To End Trafficking with Brittany Dunn

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