In this replay of our Trafficking Free America Podcast series, we return to a foundational conversation: What does it really take to start a safe home for trafficking survivors in the U.S.?
Host Jeremy Hicks sits down with Brandy Cristafulli, founder of Life Recaptured, a safe home in East Volusia County, Florida. Brandy shares her powerful personal story, the five-year process it took to launch her safe home, and the non-negotiables around training, structure, and survivor-centered care that make a home truly “safe.”
Whether you're building a safe home, supporting one, or just starting to explore how you can help—this episode is for you.
🎧 Part 1 in our multi-episode Safe Home Training series
🔔 Subscribe for future episodes
🌐 Learn more: https://www.usiaht.org
💙 Support Life Recaptured: https://www.liferecaptured.org
❤️ Become an Abolitionist: https://www.usiaht.org/give
⏱ Timestamps
00:00 – Welcome to the replay: “Starting and Supporting a Safe Home”
00:36 – Meet Brandy Cristafulli and the founding of Life Recaptured
01:03 – Her sister’s tragic story and why this mission became personal
04:53 – “We didn’t know what grooming was”—when trafficking hides in plain sight
06:17 – Training before action: why Brandy waited 5 years to launch
07:13 – A 92% success rate—what they learned from doing it the right way
08:00 – Good intentions can harm—training is not optional
09:08 – What a functioning safe home really looks like
10:56 – “You can’t put a face on a predator”—why prevention is complex
11:49 – “No one heard us”—the emotional gap survivors face
13:27 – When there are no beds: the crisis in safe housing availability
15:05 – How Life Recaptured partners with law enforcement
17:31 – Staffing, advocacy training, and operational best practices
18:49 – First three survivors: stories of heartbreak, hope, and healing
23:29 – “Chains in the mind”: understanding trauma’s long shadow
26:00 – The healing process: detox, boundaries, therapy, dignity
28:29 – Preview of what’s coming in Part 2 of the Safe Home series
🎙 Take Action
✅ Like, comment, and share this episode
✅ Connect with or support a safe home in your area
✅ Join USIAHT’s mission to build a Trafficking Free America
#TraffickingFreeAmerica #SafeHomes #BrandyCristafulli #LifeRecaptured #USIAHT #ReplayEpisode #SurvivorSupport #HumanTraffickingAwareness #StartASafeHome #TraumaInformedCare #JeremyHicks