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2024 Kane County Human Trafficking Summit

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On May 11th , the non-profit One Collective Elgin co-hosted the 2024 Kane County Human Trafficking Summit at Christ Community Church in South Elgin, Illinois. The purpose of the summit was to inform the community on what human trafficking looks like, what to do if someone suspects it, how people can get involved, as well as to create a coalition to take action in the local community. Summit panelists included representatives from Naomi’s House, Out of Darkness, St. Charles and Elgin Police Departments, the Kane County District Attorney, and myself. A representative from Naomi’s House , an organization based in DuPage, Illinois, focused on providing residential care and drop-in services for trafficked women, started the presentations with a Human Trafficking 101: informing the audience on the definition of Human Trafficking in the United States, as defined by the Department of Justice; the different methods of trafficking; the various signs of trafficking; and the strengths/weaknesses
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Real Talk: Human Trafficking Prevention Month / OnWatch Training

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Hey all, Last week, I was approached by a radio show in Wisconsin to be a guest on their show to talk about my efforts to fight human trafficking for Human Trafficking Prevention Month. My first emotion was elation -- a massive platform to share about how we can fight human trafficking and the incredulity that a large, public platform actually WANTED to have that discussion! I admit, I got excited. Then, I felt embarrassed. I know that one of the questions they'll ask is, "How can anyone listening get involved?" and my mind went to a million thoughts, then I realized the most obvious action that even I had not yet completed: take the OnWatch Training , created by the Malouf Foundation  and the Safe House Project , to know how to spot, report, and prevent human trafficking. I first heard about the training over three years ago on the podcast "Consider Before Consuming," I knew it was a FREE training course that took about an hour, and I knew it was designed
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Resources - Take Action

US Dept. of State - 20 Ways You Can Help Fight Human Trafficking https://www.state.gov/20-ways-you-can-help-fight-human-trafficking/ National Human Trafficking Hotlines - Find Local Services; search "Volunteer Opportunites") https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/find-local-services End Slavery Now Antislavery Directory - List of US and international organizations; sort by "Volunteer Opportunities" and your region http://www.endslaverynow.org/connect The Action Library - 429 actions you can take now; sort by "Form of Abolition/Slavery" http://www.endslaverynow.org/act/action-library Fight The New Drug - 5 Ways You Can Help Fight Trafficking in Your Daily Life https://fightthenewdrug.org/5-simple-ways-you-can-fight-sex-trafficking-today/ OnWatch Training https://www.iamonwatch.org/ Learn more about trafficking via my other articles with resources: Organizations  (that I've personally researched/worked with) Social Media Accounts Books Podcasts
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"Sound Of Freedom" Movie - An Activist's Review

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  Hello all! I just got finished watching the movie, "Sound Of Freedom," a thriller bio-drama about Tim Ballard, former Department of Homeland Security agent and founder of anti-trafficking organization Operation Underground Railroad. The movie as a whole was excellent, a very solid action movie anyone could enjoy. You don't need me to tell you that, just look at its Rotten Tomatoes 76% Critic Score and 100% Audience Score and the fact it was the highest-grossing movie over the 4th of July weekend, even ahead of Indiana Jones! However, I want to give my review of this movie from an activist's point-of-view: the Good, the Bad, the "Could Be Better," and the Caveats. SPOILER ALERT: I won't give away the whole movie, but there are critical moments relevant to my review as an activist that I must include, which may be spoilers to the movie. If you want no spoilers, go see the movie and come back after you've seen it! The Good: Overall, the movie stay
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2023 Ride For Hope

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Hey everyone! This past weekend, I had the opportunity to do photo coverage for an amazing event called Ride For Hope, co-organized by Christ Community Church and an organization called Naomi’s House  in Illinois. The annual Ride For Hope was started in 2021 by Mark Kurland after his daughter started working with Naomi's House. After hearing what the people she worked with were going through, he wanted to do more to help the organization, as he explained in an interview  with CBS Chicago. This year, there were 108 people signed up to ride and over 25 volunteers! There were approximately 80 people that were riding on June 3 and the rest would ride on their own at some point before the fundraiser closes. There were riders in their pre-teens all the way up to 60s or older; people who were avid cyclists who go out in all weather every weekend and people who hadn't touched a bike in months. The ride started in St. Charles, Illinois at Christ Community Church and traveled 50 m
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Real Talk: December 3, 2022 -- You are the support

Hey everyone. This kinda serves as a "Part 2" to the last post, as it's related but felt worthy of its own post. I've been very vocal about what efforts I'm involved in, sharing testimonies of people I've been able to help, and I am proud of those stories. However, I don't share any of that to "boost myself up," because it's not about me. Katie, Mari, and any others I have helped, it was all them. They did the work. I just showed them what was wrong in their situation and what they could do. They did the work. It's not about me. That's another thing I want to make clear: I don't want people to think there's glory in this. There's no "I'm the one that did all this stuff." That's why when someone says something like "thank you for what you're doing," I get extremely uncomfortable. I don't want thanks or praise, because it isn't about me. It's about them. I am the support. That&
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Real Talk: December 1, 2022 -- Why I discourage how I got started

Hey all, Over the last few months, I've had multiple people ask me how I got started in my work in fighting trafficking, how I "find victims to talk to," etc. While I appreciate their heart for it, I will always stand by this: I will NEVER encourage anyone to get involved in fighting human trafficking the same way I did. I know that sounds strange, but I want to tell you a story: February 2015: I met a woman online, whom we'll call Katie. I figured out she was in trafficking, the first person I had ever come across who was trafficked -- a few months before I met Mari -- and it was challenging for me. I knew she deserved better and that she was worthy of being loved and valued, not treated like trash as she was. I wanted to help. However, she told me that if her trafficker ever found out who I was or what I was doing, he had a national network of connections and would have me killed. I was 17 at the time. I had to make the decision of either, Option A) Walk away, b
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2022 Walk for Freedom

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These are some of the stories that surround us every single day. The stories that go unheard, the cries for help that go unanswered, the pleas for change that never comes. It's time that ends. It's PAST time that ends. We're playing catch-up now. Each and every day, there are more people trapped in human trafficking than the last. So what are we going to do about it? What are you gonna do about it? Today, we walked. An organization called A21  has hosted international Walks For Freedom each of the last eight years, walking silently in a single-file line and holding signs to raise awareness about trafficking (listen to the accompanying podcast  here ). We passed businesses, pop-up artist stands, and parks. We had conversations with people we passed who were unaware of what is going on in their community and giving them ways to get involved locally. We decided to not remain passive. And that's how it starts: making a decision. Every humanitarian horror in history tha
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Location: Travelers Rest, SC, USA
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Spotlight: Hero Bands - Safe Bands

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Hey all, This post is gonna be somewhat different from usual. Normally, I share resources or testimonies I've learned/heard and want my readers to know about. However, recently, a company close to my heart has been struggling: Hero Bands. I've talked about Hero Bands in-depth in one of my previous posts , so it's no secret that the company Elizabeth runs and her mission is important to me, but the reason I'm bringing it up again is a result of the message I've received with my last two orders of Safe Bands, one in May and the message I received today. Each email started with, " Thank you for purchasing some of our Safe Bands!  Last month was a slower month for Safe Bands so we decided to keep the word the same." Sadly, in the process of writing this post, Elizabeth informed me that for the whole month of June 2022, only NINE Safe Bands were purchased -- not nine orders, nine bands. Remember, these bands are given to children who have been extracted fro
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Real Talk: June 2, 2021

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Real talk: The last several months have been really hard for me. The more I've learned about human trafficking (HT), the more I've felt 4 emotions: anger, sadness, thankfulness, and hope -- anger that so many don't even believe it's a real issue; sadness that so many are hurting; thankfulness that I met Mari so she had that support many don't; and hope because so much is changing and mountains are moving. It's a weird mix of emotions, but I can't describe it any other way. A huge contributor to my knowledge has been the podcast " Consider Before Consuming " by @FightTheNewDrug . The guests they interview...I can't put in words how much their stories have opened my eyes, moved my heart, and given me hope that something can change. For the first time, I knew people were talking about it, people were acting on it, and people actually cared. With Mari, it was only the two of us, no one else seemed to see her, no one else cared about anything sh
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