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Episode 7 - How Businesses Can Fight Human Trafficking, with McKenna Tanski from PGT Innovations
223 Plays2 years ago
Join host Erin Collins & cohost Dr. Philip Toal for a discussion on the vulnerabilities to watch for and safeguard against, as well as the support needed for survivors.
We'll also hear from McKenna Tanski, Marketing Specialist with PGT Innovations, about how to inspire change from within and step out and take the lead on bringing the cause to the forefront.
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Hosts
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome back. This is another podcast from the Florida Alliance to End Human Trafficking. I'm Erin Collins. It's executive director. Joining me as co-host of today's episode is Dr. Phil Toll, a Florida Alliance board member and state licensed mental health counselor. Dr. Toll, thank you for joining me. Thank you, Erin. It's really nice to be here.
00:00:25
Speaker
So human trafficking evokes a lot of different emotions. I know that for me, it's anger, it's overwhelming, it's sorrowful, but it's also encouraging and motivating.
Emotional Impact and Myths of Human Trafficking
00:00:40
Speaker
And what I mean by that is I'm not a specialized healthcare professional like you are or other people that we work with that are in law enforcement, but
00:00:51
Speaker
the prevented or the motivating encouraging thing is how many people want to learn about the topic in a fact non-myth way to you know better than themselves to again get accurately educated on the topic but then also to protect their community.
00:01:13
Speaker
How in your professional experience dealing whether it's with client survivors or speaking to different groups around the state and the country, how do people get to kind of the action phase? We say a lot, we see a lot. There are a lot of different issues that are inflicting society and sometimes people feel so overwhelmed they don't know what to do.
00:01:39
Speaker
but with the Florida Alliance and our training, it's something tangible that I feel is palatable and is a good investment where people's minds have been changed from what they thought human trafficking was or some of the stereotypes, but then also feeling connected to say, you know what?
00:02:02
Speaker
When I'm out running my errands, I'm not going to look at my phone or listen to something that's distracting, but really to be engaged and look at my surroundings. So how do you how do you feel when people say, oh, the topic is so overwhelming, I don't know what to do? What would be your kind of advice or what would you tell them?
00:02:21
Speaker
I think the first step is what we continuously talk about with the alliance is that education because so often people don't, it can't happen here. It's not, you know, those are people being brought in from other countries, you know, that our own citizens aren't being trafficked. And we know that that's not true at all, that many, many Americans are being trafficked and that
00:02:42
Speaker
It's real. And so this is a topic while been going on, you know, probably since the beginning of humankind is just coming to the forefront in the last number of years to say this is real. It's real in your community. And so learning to recognize the signs and also again that that each and every one of us hopefully can accept the responsibility of assisting others. So when we see something that doesn't look right, stepping up and sharing the information with others and
00:03:12
Speaker
And they don't have to do it all. That's really an important piece. You're not the one that has to solve the situation, but it's working together that is going to allow us to hopefully someday eradicate human trafficking altogether, both labor and sex trafficking.
Vulnerabilities and Control in Trafficking
00:03:29
Speaker
Because labor really is a much greater number than sex trafficking. And so we talk about those vulnerabilities, particularly in rural areas and migrant workers that may be undocumented or may just be fearful of their experience and what opportunities they have available to them. And of course, being coerced and forced into situations that they normally wouldn't.
00:03:54
Speaker
like, you know, nail salons and other places where there's tremendous vulnerability and fear, you know.
00:04:02
Speaker
For whatever reason, perpetrators have learned that fear is a hugely motivating factor. And if I can instill fear in you that something bad's gonna happen if you say anything, even to those who are observing. So there's some fear around sharing the information for what may happen. And so in helping them recognize, hey, you're not alone in this fight to end human trafficking, that you are,
00:04:27
Speaker
one person in a number of individuals that can intervene, and then providing appropriate, adequate, and support for survivors is the best way to step in.
Florida's Trafficking Reports and Awareness Efforts
00:04:41
Speaker
So great point, Dr. Toll, talking about our rural and agricultural communities, specifically here in Florida, you know, the commercial sexual, exploitive situations, you know, grab the headlines because a lot of arrests are made around those. And especially when it's involving a minor, you know, people feel a lot of different emotions and want to do something. But labor trafficking globally is a much larger issue
00:05:10
Speaker
you know, forced labor, indentured servitude, then commercial sexual exploitation. And the state of Florida has the dishonorable mention, I'll say, and characterized as being second in the country for reports of forced labor and labor trafficking to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
00:05:31
Speaker
The other thing I wanted to mention with regards to agricultural and farming communities, because we have so many in our state, the Florida Alliance sought and received a state grant to update our awareness course to five different native languages, including Spanish.
00:05:51
Speaker
Haitian Creole, French, Portuguese, and Mandarin. I wanted to ask you, Dr. Toll, there's a lot of different awareness campaigns that sometimes can be overwhelming. There's January Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month. There's World Trafficking in Persons Day, which are two distinct points throughout the year. But as we know, human trafficking exploitation goes on 365, 24, seven. Can you talk about the importance of having an engaged public and community
00:06:20
Speaker
throughout the year to be able to spot the signs, report suspicious activity, and hopefully ultimately put an end to it.
Community Involvement and Survivor Support
00:06:30
Speaker
Absolutely. And you hit on a point, Aaron, that's critically important for individuals to understand, which is that going back to that installation of hope. So those of us working, and I say those of us, meaning everybody in our communities,
00:06:45
Speaker
Learning to recognize the signs and being able to intervene to some degree because very often the victims or the survivors I don't like the word victim survivors, you know whether it's a labor trafficking experience or a sexual exploitation experience do not feel as though they deserve To be helped and so that installation of hope and that that
00:07:08
Speaker
be able to project that we are people who are here to support you because you are deserving of the support. Predators, traffickers, you know, prey on those individuals with vulnerabilities. You don't have to have a vulnerability in order to be trafficked. You know, those vulnerabilities are things that make us, you know, are self-esteem.
00:07:33
Speaker
decline, our feelings of value and worth decline, the opportunities for support and intervention by others. We don't feel that we're worthy of those, you know, the adverse childhood experiences, the ACEs that people hear about, things like, you know, growing up in foster care, growing up in a single parent family, growing up in poverty, growing up in a home where there was domestic violence, growing up in a home where there was abuse, neglect. Under, you know, under
00:08:03
Speaker
missed opportunities for education, those kinds of things that increase our vulnerabilities. And then predators prey on those individuals and look for those individuals. They are singled out because they're easier to groom. And when they feel like I'm not worthy and someone comes along initially in the grooming phase of giving them things and making them feel important, it doesn't last very long, but that's how they,
00:08:30
Speaker
become an important part of their lives to exploit them and use them. And so understanding that this individual that we're seeing and recognizing is most likely a survivor of human trafficking, that we're there, that we're present, and we're gonna be consistently present.
00:08:50
Speaker
We can't come in and out because that increases their vulnerability and increases the opportunity where they feel rejected and may run back, which we know happens frequently to their trafficker. You know, people don't understand that piece. And that's such a huge part of education is that, you know, it's like you're trying to help and they go back to their trafficker. They must want to do that. No, that's a part of the process. And that's that, you know, Stockholm syndrome, the brainwashing that occurs. And so,
00:09:18
Speaker
If we're present in that experience of healing from whatever part of our community we're coming from, it's important to share the message. You're important to me. You're important enough for us to work with you and serve you. Again, countless numbers of clients say, I'm not worth it. I'm not worth it. Don't waste your time. And they are worth it, as we all
00:09:47
Speaker
you are worth it, and I'm not going anywhere. No matter what you give back to me, no matter what I get from that trauma perspective, I'm not going anywhere. Well, and to further emphasize those points about care and therapies for survivors once identified, those things can't happen without an engaged and informed community and citizens.
Business Role in Anti-Trafficking Initiatives
00:10:13
Speaker
So the 100% Club, which we'll learn more and hear from today's podcast guest, but the 100% Club is an awareness campaign led by Florida's Attorney General, Ashley Moody, who challenges Florida businesses and organizations to join her and the Florida Alliance in the fight to end human trafficking. And it is a partnership between those organizations and the Florida Office of the Attorney General.
00:10:41
Speaker
that recognizes companies for taking proactive steps to train employees on the sides of human trafficking and for providing quick references and materials to effectively report human trafficking. We know that when people are equipped with facts, with resources, with proper education and training, that they are truly the eyes and ears of our communities throughout Florida.
00:11:09
Speaker
And so, you know, Dr. Toll, because you are a healthcare professional, you know, you receive, you know, substantive very specific training on an ongoing basis. And there's a lot of other industries that require, you know, certain trainings for continuing education and compliance purposes.
00:11:28
Speaker
But I love the 100% Club training challenge for all businesses and industries. Because again, the mission of what the campaign really seeks to do is to train everyone. Because we don't have cities, towns, communities without the businesses.
00:11:48
Speaker
and the individuals who are working in those different locations. Can you talk about why it's so important for CEOs, for presidents of small businesses, large corporations? We're very blessed here in the state of Florida to be home to several Fortune 550, you name it, organizations
00:12:12
Speaker
And they all can be even better corporate stewards, you know, by keeping their community safe through an awareness training like ours. So can you talk about the importance of how business owners and leaders can play in the fight against human trafficking? Well, as we all talk about, it's from the top down. So when you have your CEOs and presidents of companies that value the information
00:12:38
Speaker
that's going to support intervention with trafficking and to support, you know, getting survivors into care and supporting that care, you know, from the perspective of, you know, being vocal and, you know, business leaders, business, you know, CEOs are people who are listened to. And so they can be a voice, you know, to legislators, you know, to the community, to
00:13:03
Speaker
all people to hear this is important because we coexist on this planet and then we all deserve the same opportunities. It's great that we are requiring legislatively certain businesses to get this education. This is a grandiose idea, but I would love to see everybody who renews their driver's license at least one time in the life of that have to get this education.
00:13:28
Speaker
Because that means all of us have the opportunity for all of us to get the information that's going to help open our eyes and see experiences that
00:13:37
Speaker
may look like trafficking. So let's give that piece of the puzzle to those who can really intervene. Because again, I said it earlier, it takes a village. And we're all in different walks of life. So when I see the leaders of big business like the 100 Club saying, this is important because we do coexist on this planet together and we have a responsibility to care for one another.
00:14:01
Speaker
In this podcast episode, we'll hear from McKenna Tansky, marketing specialist with PGT Innovations. Joining me today is McKenna Tansky with PGT Innovations. McKenna, thanks so much for joining me. Thanks for having me. It's so nice to be on. So can you tell our audience about PGT Innovations and your role with the company? Yes. So PGT Innovations is a Florida-based window and door manufacturer.
00:14:29
Speaker
And I work specifically in corporate marketing right now. In that role, I do a lot of work with our nonprofits and our charities that we partner with and oversee our philanthropy efforts as a corporate.
00:14:43
Speaker
corporate social responsibility type of role. Wonderful. McKenna, your professional journey to get to the role that you have today with PGT is very interesting. Can you tell us about that? Yes, I actually interned for the company in, I think it was 2017 or 2018.
00:15:01
Speaker
And in my internship at the end, you had to present basically an idea to the executive team about how the company could improve, whether that be products or something in the marketing department or something financially. And I noticed that the company really didn't have anything in marketing around a cause marketing type of project or campaign and cause marketing and
00:15:25
Speaker
nonprofit charities specifically in the anti-human trafficking realm have always been very close to my heart. So I like automatically knew I wanted to inspire them to get more involved in the nonprofit charities realm. And I also knew that the executives at PGT innovations were very, they do sit on boards of like Children's First and Girls Inc. So they're very involved in like children's and women's outreaches.
00:15:53
Speaker
So I knew right away that stopping human trafficking would be something that would be close to their hearts and something that they would go along with. So I prepared a presentation basically about a cause marketing campaign that we could do around an anti-human trafficking efforts. And they accepted it with great open arms and the presentation went great. And after that, I went back to finish my last year at Auburn and ended up getting a job with a company
00:16:22
Speaker
after I graduated. And part of my role coming in was working on the corporate social responsibility side and creating more of a defined program for them because in the past, their efforts, their philanthropy efforts were really just all over the place. So we wanted a main focus, a prime goal, and something that we could really rally our team members behind.
00:16:45
Speaker
So yeah, that's kind of how it came to be and my role came to be. That's very cool. And what a great story. So unfortunately, as we know, Florida, the state of Florida ranks third for the number of calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
00:17:01
Speaker
Human trafficking and exploitation, unfortunately, knows no boundaries with regards to gender, age, ethnicity, community zip code throughout our state. But there are still folks who are unaware that it's happening throughout our community and Florida. Where did you learn about human trafficking first, or where did you first hear about the term and the issue?
00:17:25
Speaker
Yeah, that's a good question.
Personal Stories and Corporate Responsibility
00:17:27
Speaker
So I, when I was in high school, I think it was, I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. And part of this mission trip was to help the women and children who lived on the streets and worked on the streets. So it was very eye opening to see trafficking happening firsthand. I'll never forget one project that we did
00:17:51
Speaker
while we were there was called the Rose Project. And basically we handed out roses to women that were on the streets just to show them that they were loved, valued, cared for, that there's more out there for them than what they're currently living in, the situation that they're currently living in. And I remember we walked to the red zone. That's what this place is called in the Dominican. And right when we turned the corner, it was like this sense of darkness and this sense of just like,
00:18:20
Speaker
despair and a defeat. And you turn the corner and these women are all there and we started handing out these roses to them and there was one young girl, I think she was probably like 13 or 14, like she was very young. And I handed her the rose and she looked at me and she had broken English, but she looked at me and said that she doesn't deserve something as beautiful as this.
00:18:50
Speaker
And my heart just broke, hearing that from a young girl, probably younger than me at the time, and seeing the situation that she was living in and being forced to work in really just struck something in me, I think. And then later that night, we found out that these girls were being trafficked, that they had a pimp who came around earlier and made us leave.
00:19:14
Speaker
It was a really bad situation, but just seeing that happen firsthand really struck a chord in me. And I, after that, did a lot of research on it and educated myself basically on how to stop this issue and how to spread awareness and what to do to help this issue. I was also involved in the modeling industry when I was younger, and it is unfortunately very, very prevalent and very hidden in the industry.
00:19:39
Speaker
It's almost just a part of the industry's DNA, unfortunately. It's trafficking and predators, photographers, bad agencies, just the power that they have over women who have a big dream. The predators know that these women have big dreams and they use that against them.
00:19:59
Speaker
Um, so unfortunately I was able to, or I, I had, I saw a lot of the trafficking within the industry as well. Um, happening to people around me and just witnessing that kind of stuff firsthand. It makes you want to do everything you can to stop it and do everything you can to raise awareness and make sure that women and girls and, um, people know, you know, to stop the demand of it and, um, just
00:20:28
Speaker
talk about it, just bring it up more in conversations. Yeah, again, we think of the stereotypes sometimes around human trafficking, whether commercial sexual exploitation or labor trafficking, and they, as you stated, it is hidden in plain sight. And that's why it's so important for everyone, regardless of their industry, to take a training, to learn the signs, the potential indicators of human trafficking,
00:20:58
Speaker
and know what to do and where to report it. I'm gonna transition, you mentioned your role with PGT Innovations. PGT is a member of the Florida Attorney General's Highway Heroes Program and inaugural member of the 100% Club. Can you tell us why it was so important for the leadership, for you, for your fellow employees and your coworkers
00:21:23
Speaker
Because again, your drivers are all over the state, the country, they have the opportunity to see a lot of different things that an average citizen doesn't. So why was it so important for you all and your leadership to take the training? Yeah, so when I came into this role, I was looking for ways to connect us to stop human trafficking efforts.
00:21:47
Speaker
And I didn't necessarily know how that would look, but it kind of was handed to me in a silver platter by the Highway Heroes Program, because as a large manufacturer in Florida, we do have one of the largest trucking fleets in the state, which means that we have a ton of eyes and ears and men who are out there on the road, men and women who can be trained to see these things and to know what to do if and when they see it on the roads.
00:22:15
Speaker
And unfortunately, as you know, a lot of the trafficking happens or the transportation of victims is happening along the highways, especially in Florida being a number three state of trafficking. So along the rest stops and the gas stations and the motels and the restaurants along the highways, these are all very hot spots for trafficking and for traffickers to move their victims. So having our truckers trained
00:22:44
Speaker
was like top priority to get every single trucker trained and to ensure that they were prepared to encounter a situation like this.
00:22:52
Speaker
and to be on the lookout while they're at these rest stops, while they're taking their breaks, while they're going into these gas stations, so that if they do see something, they can act accordingly and possibly save someone's life. Yeah, and that's the goal. There are a lot of different things that we as employees and leaders and companies require of its workforce. So I'm curious, how was the training received by your drivers and the folks at PGT?
00:23:21
Speaker
It was received with open arms, honestly, more better than I thought it would be, because this was one of the first programs of its kind that we started to implement, you know, a training to help our society, to help our community, to help the world. And, you know, they've gone through trainings, you know, how to drive safely and CDL trainings and stuff like that, but never necessarily a training on how to help others. And it was surprisingly received very well by both our truck drivers and our internal employees that took the training as well.
00:23:52
Speaker
They rallied behind it. They wanted to get shirts made. They wanted all their certificates. They had their certificates posted up in their vehicles, and they wanted little magnets for their vehicles. They were all in when we told them about this cause, and they really rallied behind us, so it was nice to see that.
00:24:10
Speaker
That's awesome. That's awesome. Again, PGT has been so proactive and it's nice to learn that the training was appreciated, that the employees learned something and were equipped with the resources to be able to call the hotline number, local law enforcement 911, if they think someone is in immediate danger. Are there any anecdotal stories that you might be able to share about how the training
00:24:38
Speaker
impacted the drivers and your employees just as humans. You know, we were exposed to a lot. And as you mentioned, you know, your drivers are tirelessly working all hours of the night and the day holidays. You know, they're so dedicated. And that just, you know, the nature of the industry sometimes, you know, can take a toll on you. But then also, you know, taking this this training, we're all, you know, family members, somehow kids,
00:25:08
Speaker
We're guardians, we have different types of little people in our lives. How did the training impact those drivers and the people who complained in
Training Impact on Employees and Culture
00:25:18
Speaker
the course? So I got tons of emails after most of the drivers finished the course and after our sales team and our field service team finished the course, just about how impactful the training was to them and how much they learned, how much they didn't even know could be going unseen right in front of their eyes.
00:25:36
Speaker
Um, I remember a few emails about drivers being like, I think I've, I think I've seen something like this before and I didn't know what to do, or I wasn't sure that it was actually happening. I just turned away and I will not do that again. Um, so just seeing how drivers looked back in their past to see, Oh, maybe this was a situation like that. And I'm not going to do the same thing. I'm going to take action in the future because of this training was super, um, you know, heartening, super.
00:26:04
Speaker
exciting to hear because they actually took it to heart and they actually want to make a difference. And they actually want to be looking for this while they're on the roads. It's not something, I mean, I've been on road trips many times and most of the time I'm not, you know, on the lookout for human trafficking, but like if you are trained and you know, and you see it, you're going to know what to do. And you're going to, you're going to, odds are you're going to spot it better because the predators and the traffickers do hide it very well.
00:26:31
Speaker
Um, but even from our, I've done a few, uh, in-person trainings with some of our leading ladies and some different programs internally. And I'll kind of educate them on what human trafficking is. And then I'll go into sharing the Highway Heroes video with them. And even though these, these women or these team members aren't necessarily truck drivers, I'll kind of preference the video as you might not be a truck driver, but you're on the road. You get gas, you go to rest stops, you go on road trips. This video is.
00:26:58
Speaker
important for you and, you know, can pertain to you. So kind of view it like that. And after the video is over, not a dry eye in the room, so many questions, so many, what can we do next? What are our next steps? We want to get involved. How can we help? Just a lot of action. I think the video really inspires and drives action, the training does.
00:27:20
Speaker
which is good. That's what you want. You don't just want another, like you want everybody to be educated and to be knowledge, but more than that, you want it to drive action and to drive next steps. And that is
00:27:32
Speaker
the main response that I got is, what can I do next? How can I help? How can I get more involved? That's awesome. And there are a couple points, key points that I totally agree with is, you know, regardless of your role, you know, your profession, everyone has the opportunity to potentially see something and
00:27:53
Speaker
when properly trained with facts, non myths, as the training that the Florida Alliance offers, which is a part of the Attorney General's 100% Club, you remember some of the things that you've seen through those trainings. And rather than say, oh, you know what,
00:28:12
Speaker
I'm at a rest stop or I'm stopped on a road trip. I'm going to place a phone call, whether that's to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, to local law enforcement, or again, if you think someone is in immediate danger calling 911. Listening to your gut feeling. No one likes to get involved, especially when you don't know if something's going on because
00:28:35
Speaker
on one side of the coin, you think, oh gosh, if I'm wrong, then that could be detrimental to that individual. And I just made an allegation. But I always say, what if something was going on and you prevented it, or you stopped it from continuing further? It only takes a few minutes. And law enforcement can't do their investigatory work if they don't know that things are happening. So it's so important.
00:29:01
Speaker
to learn the signs, you know, take a train and then what you can do to your point about that action. So I did want to mention, you know, we're talking about the 100% Club. For those who aren't familiar, it is a partnership between companies and organizations and the Florida Office of the Attorney General.
00:29:20
Speaker
that recognizes those entities for taking proactive steps on the prevention side to train their employees about the signs of human trafficking, for providing quick references and resources to effectively report potential human trafficking.
00:29:37
Speaker
What would you tell a reluctant employee or organization that might say, you know what? Don't have time. My employees are busy. I need them interfacing with members, clients, depending upon their industry. What would you share with them about why it's so important and how it can impact your employees? I would first try to reach them personally. I would say put yourself in this situation.
00:30:07
Speaker
Heaven forbid, somebody in your family was trafficked. Somebody in your family went down a hard path, went missing, and is now missing and being trafficked. How would you feel? What would you want companies to do? What would you want your community to do and your business to do if that was your daughter, if that was your sister? You would be all hands in, all hands on deck.
00:30:37
Speaker
educate yourself and spread awareness and continually talk about it until you rescued her, until you had her back. So I always try to remember to remind people who are a little reluctant that these are humans, these are human beings who are out there who deserve a better life, who are trapped in this cycle of toxicity.
00:30:59
Speaker
And we can do something to help them. We can do something to stop it. Even if it's small and we're doing it together, it's working towards the common goal of ending it. And I would definitely tell them about how the training has impacted us as a company and has brought us together as a company. We have something to stand behind, to rally behind. Our team members have something to be excited about, have something to promote and to be proud about. Like I am a certified highway hero.
00:31:27
Speaker
I can save a life. I do know what to do in a situation that hopefully I will never be in. So just having that like company togetherness, that bond, like we are working towards a common goal of stopping human trafficking together and we will do it really makes a difference. And honestly, we've seen since we started the program, higher retention rates
00:31:49
Speaker
We are retention rates have definitely increased because we have, we've actually had some team or team members come to us specifically because we have implemented the highway heroes program, which is very interesting. I've had multiple team members who have started this past year or the year before who've emailed me and said, Hey, I just want to let you know, I saw you guys in the, in the news. I saw that you were working with the Florida Alliance to get to NTM trafficking and the Florida attorney general.
00:32:15
Speaker
And I saw you implement the Highway Heroes program. And that is what motivated me to choose your company over the other company that I was planning on going with. Because you guys are working to make a difference. You guys are out there, all hands on deck, out there working to truly help your community. And you have action behind your words. So those emails were shocking. I was like, wow, we got a high level team member because of this. That's awesome.
00:32:45
Speaker
So I would say business-wise, like retention rates, team bonding, a team spirit, something to work towards together have definitely all been great positive aspects that we've seen through the Highway Heroes program. Wow, that's amazing. You think that when you apply for a job, most people aren't looking at kind of that corporate and social responsibility. So it's phenomenal that there have been employees that were committed
00:33:14
Speaker
to filling out the application and obviously noting it and you all acknowledging that it makes a wonderful employee and that they are committed and adhere to, again, the corporate and cultural leadership that you all have is amazing.
00:33:33
Speaker
McKenna, you mentioned the signage that some of your drivers have placed on their trucks through the Highways Hero program and obviously as members of the 100% Club. Do people ever come up to your drivers if you can share any stories that might have been relayed to you?
00:33:53
Speaker
Because we all, again, to your earlier point, take road trips and the state of Florida has done a good job of putting up signage in various transportation hubs to note that human trafficking is a crime, Florida is a zero-tolerant state, here's the number to report it. And it can be a conversation starter because folks
00:34:17
Speaker
might not realize how important it is, one, to know what to do if you suspect something. But for people that, again, might have that stereotype in their mind, it's an educational moment to have a conversation. So have any of your drivers or other internal employees shared any stories with you about people maybe that they don't know or folks that are in their network have commented on seeing those tags or any signage on their vehicles?
00:34:47
Speaker
Yes, so we did actually have one driver who was approached by another company's driver at a rest stop. And if I remember correctly, he basically, the other driver basically told our driver that they also went through the Highway Heroes Trading and that it was awesome to see that they had signage on their cars about it because they are on their trucks about it because their company did not do that. So they got to, you know, have a conversation through that and make a connection there. And we actually had one of our biggest competitors
00:35:17
Speaker
email Jeff Jackson, our president and CEO, saying congratulations about the Highway Heroes program and how awesome it is that we're involved in that and just how humbled he is to see us doing such good work and really helping our community in that aspect.
00:35:35
Speaker
So I think both of those are pretty big examples about how other people see what we're doing and value that and want to mimic it. Like other businesses have approached me and have been like, hey, can I, you know, my, even internal team members, like we have somebody from our HR whose husband works for a different company. I can't remember what company, but they have a decent sized trucking fleet. And she said, hey, I want to get these,
00:36:00
Speaker
this company through the Highway Heroes Training Program too. My husband can facilitate it. Can you send me all the links? Can you let me know how to do it? Can you put me in touch with the right people?
00:36:10
Speaker
So just getting the word out there, it's insane how many people come back and are like, give us more. Like how do we get more involved? You know, how can we spread this even more? That's wonderful. And for people who want to learn more about the Highway Heroes program through the Office of the Attorney General or the 100% Club, the train, people can visit YouCanStopHT.com.
00:36:33
Speaker
Labor trafficking is actually a larger global crime than commercial sexual exploitation or sex trafficking, according to the International Labor Organization. But sex trafficking is in the headlines, unfortunately, all too frequently here in our state and around the country. Have your drivers or fellow employees
00:37:01
Speaker
mentioned, again, because especially for the drivers, they are going in all different sorts of communities driving across interstates and rural communities, where again, there might not always be awareness programs that people are mindful of.
00:37:21
Speaker
So how has, again, because the drivers are going into different parts of the community, different parts of the state, how has their perceptions or the training and the education impacted them specifically to labor trafficking? That's a good question. I think the drivers are more aware of it, especially when our drivers help load our trucks. So I think when our line workers
00:37:50
Speaker
are helping them load the trucks. The drivers can be kind of more aware of it when they're dropping the products off. They can be more aware of it at other, you know, dealerships or manufacturing locations or storage locations.
00:38:03
Speaker
Labor trafficking, I think, is very ingrained in the manufacturing industry and agricultural industry. And being that we're in Florida, both of them are very, very prevalent and very large. Since we are a manufacturer, we do have our eye out for labor trafficking within our workforce. A few years back, we actually had a situation come up where women
00:38:27
Speaker
were being trafficked in a labor trafficking ring. Somebody who was called the coyote was basically helping women come from, I think it was Haiti or the Dominican, another country, come over here and he would get them a job with us and house them and then take all the money that they made. He would bring them to and from work. We found out because I'm pretty sure a lot of these women would show up bruised
00:38:56
Speaker
malnourished, unfed, not well. Basically, the guy was not working for us, but we handled the situation properly, reported it to the police in the National Human Trafficking hotline, and were able to help the women get out of that situation that they were in.
00:39:13
Speaker
work for us freely as they should be able to do. So I think just situations like that are very prevalent and big companies that are in manufacturing and agricultural products should be aware of that because labor trafficking can often be really, really hard to spot.
00:39:32
Speaker
especially because a lot of times the victims in labor trafficking don't know at all that they're being trafficked. They think that this is the normal. They think that, oh, this guy helped me come over here, so I owe him this, you know, I owe him this debt, but that's not necessarily the case. So I think just that education within the businesses and the leadership of the businesses specifically is very important.
00:39:55
Speaker
Well, and to your point about the employees that you have and your drivers loading the trucks, it's so important as a business owner or an individual doing business with a company to know who's working with or for them. The state of Florida, as a peninsula, we get some super inclement weather.
Trafficking Risks in Industry and Post-Disasters
00:40:19
Speaker
And we know that Hurricane Ian, Tropical Storm Nicole,
00:40:22
Speaker
in 2022 impacted various parts of the state, devastatingly. And there are going to be a lot of people who are going to be rebuilding their homes if they were demolished or doing renovations because of the damage. And people do their due diligence. They're researching contractors, different people to work with.
00:40:44
Speaker
But who are the subcontractors that are working with the contractors and who are they employing? And we know anecdotally and because of reports after Hurricane Michael in the panhandle in 2018, there were crews of individuals who were being labor trafficked, forced to work for, again,
00:41:07
Speaker
Not reputable folks, not the people that we're going to see online doing the right thing, but because the demand was so much for people to rebuild and get their lives back to normal. They were engaging in some illicit activity from a forced labor and human trafficking standpoint.
00:41:25
Speaker
It's so important, again, you can't reiterate enough about taking trainings, you know, learning those signs, having the conversations with, you know, fellow colleagues, other companies, families, you know, within your house of worship to say, here's what it is. And once you are equipped with those resources, you know, make the phone call and report, you know, potential suspicious activity.
00:41:47
Speaker
Right. And as a business, even opening up your HR to be receptive to this, you know, it's not something you're going to hear every day, but if you do hear it, what do you do? If you do have one of your employees that is in a bad situation and thinks they might be being trafficked and feels threatened, what do you do? You know, you need to take action right away.
00:42:08
Speaker
So having your HR trained in that, I think it's also very important. And just like telling your team members, hey, we are here for you. If you are in a bad situation, come to us for help. We can help you. We are trained. We are ready to help you. We want you to be living the best life possible. And we want to help you get there.
00:42:24
Speaker
McKenna, I want to thank you so much and PGT Innovations for being a founding member of the 100% Club in your proactive efforts to training your truck drivers and your employees about human trafficking. So once again, thank you for joining the podcast today and look forward to continuing the partnership and the conversation in the future. Yes, thank you so much for having me.
00:42:48
Speaker
From PGT Innovations, we are grateful to be able to help this cause and represent businesses and manufacturers who are working to make a difference. And then also from somebody who has been so closely involved with trafficking and has seen this happening firsthand, it really means a lot that you guys are out there on the front lines working and doing everything that you can to stop this in the state of Florida. So thank you.
00:43:16
Speaker
I want to thank McKenna with PGT Innovations for sharing such interesting perspective and sharing some pretty personal stories. I found it so interesting the story she shared about the mission trip. She shared about going to another country and seeing individuals who were definitely in an exploitive situation and how she felt just seeing these individuals of all different ages
00:43:46
Speaker
and that they, as expressing to her, felt that they did not, they were not worthy of the roses that, you know, McKenna and her friends were handing out during this mission trip. I wanted to ask you, Dr. Toll, you know, people, you know, have maybe a false sense or maybe a misconception about human trafficking, say, here in the state of Florida. You know, unfortunately, as we know, victims can be
00:44:15
Speaker
any gender, age, ethnicity, nationality come from any socioeconomic background. Can you talk about kind of the, I guess the harm really, sometimes entertainment can do with falsifying and perpetuating those stereotypes. And again, as you know, as a licensed mental health counselor,
00:44:37
Speaker
Anyone at any point can be potentially vulnerable, but it is based on potential risk factors and some individuals have more of them based on their experience or their circumstance.
00:44:50
Speaker
to a potentially exploitive situation. So can you talk about that and maybe remind our audience some of the indicators and signs of human trafficking? One of the primary myths is that individuals that are trafficked are brought in from other countries, that it's not happening to US citizens and people, naturalized citizens and people that are
Clarifying Human Trafficking Myths
00:45:12
Speaker
born here. And that's just a myth. Yes, it is true that many are brought from outside the country and are trafficked here in the United States,
00:45:19
Speaker
you know, probably, and you know better than I do about the statistics of, you know, probably the highest, one of the highest rates of trafficking in the world is here in the United States. And, but some of them come from outside, but our own citizens are at high risk for trafficking because of some vulnerabilities, but you don't have to have any vulnerabilities to be pulled into the life of trafficking. If people are, you know, pulled off the street, that's not a common occurrence.
00:45:47
Speaker
but that grooming of recognizing someone who may be struggling, who may be struggling in school or they're, again, grew up in poverty where they don't have a lot of extras. And so the trafficker recognizes that and cashes in on that and takes advantage of that. Those kinds of things, so the greater vulnerabilities. So the classic ones, again, we mentioned earlier, growing up in foster care, I didn't mention having a parent that's incarcerated or in and out of
00:46:17
Speaker
in and out of the jails and prisons. Parent with a chronic physical illness, parent with a substance use disorder, parent with even a chronic medical condition that may take them in and out of the house because they're in treatment or have to be hospitalized. Chronic mental illness that through no fault of the parent takes them away from the primary parenting responsibility so that supervision and support safety net may not be available to them.
00:46:44
Speaker
Any other situation that creates a struggle, you know, when we talk about trauma and assess trauma,
00:46:52
Speaker
You know, the industry standard now is certain. It's been a number of years asking, have you been traumatized? Have you experienced trauma? Then it moves to have you not only if you've experienced trauma, have you experienced it directly yourself or have you witnessed trauma? So growing up in a home where you weren't beaten by the parent, but you witnessed domestic violence where dad was beating on mom or mom was beating on dad.
00:47:15
Speaker
those increase vulnerabilities and increases what we would call is trauma. And again, those brain changes taking place and occurring in the brain. So when you talk about the signs and identifiers of those who are being trafficked, for instance, you know, airline industry has created some great training for recognizing human trafficking. So when the flight attendant comes through and there's an adult with an adolescent and what would you like to drink? And he or she answers for them.
00:47:45
Speaker
They get up and go to the bathroom, and the adult goes with them. What adolescent needs to be escorted to the bathroom and being monitored outside the door? Those things that look odd and different, beginning to take a look and see what looks odd and different, withdrawal. From a labor trafficking perspective, I always say, if a white man pulls up in your neighborhood, and I don't know why they're always white, but they seem to be, a bunch of adolescents get out, and they're selling things door to door.
00:48:12
Speaker
you know, who are you selling for and where do you live? They're unable to give those kinds of answers. So when they can't give real data, that suggests that something else is going on. The other kinds of things include inability to express themselves or their story changing. You know, they relate one story this time and another story
00:48:32
Speaker
a different time. Things like school attendance, you know, for when we talk about youth and adolescents, that they're in and out of school and seeing the typical kinds of things like seeing grades drop, those kinds of things. Oftentimes coming home with things that they didn't get from the parents, you know, gifts and things that the trafficker is providing to them. And then also that isolation and withdrawal, moving from activities that were
00:49:01
Speaker
enjoyable and pleasant in the past now they're now they're disengaged so you know she was on the cheerleading team and now she's backed away from that or they really enjoyed a sporting activity and they backed away from that or you know they they really wanted to be in the school choir and they went through the process and got selected and then they stopped. Abrupt changes in behavior are also indicators. Sometimes
00:49:28
Speaker
Just like with child abuse, going back to child-like behaviors, like wetting the bed, you know, clinging to a parent, being very connected or holding tight to things that have created a sense of safety for them, and having, again, those extreme emotional reactions that the feeling, the emotion doesn't equal the situation or circumstance.
00:49:52
Speaker
I think it's always so important to share those potential signs and indicators of human trafficking. So Dr. Toll, thank you for sharing those with our audience. The other thing I wanted to touch on that, you know, McKenna talked a lot about, you know, the proactive
00:50:10
Speaker
nature in which PGT has really taken on anti-human trafficking awareness and educating its employees and thus the greater community. They were a member of, as McKenna said, the Highway Heroes Program, which is an effort to train truckers from Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.
00:50:29
Speaker
And they're also, as we learned, founding members of the 100% Club. I just think it's so admirable and remarkable that their president, Jeff Jackson, along with McKenna and their leadership, really took this head on and surprised to learn that there really wasn't any pushback. So there are a lot of different things that we do, again, based on your profession,
00:50:57
Speaker
Obviously, Dr. Toll, you have to take a lot of continuing ed and substantive training, but that for an industry like truck drivers, folks in manufacturing who are moving goods and services across our state, the Southeast and beyond, that their drivers were excited. They were engaged. They shared stories with one another and their networks and families about
00:51:21
Speaker
how the training kind of changed their perspective. Dr. Tolle, do you see that, you know, maybe fairly often and that
00:51:29
Speaker
You know, obviously myths are dispelled once an individual takes a training and learns the facts. So we're not perpetuating them, you know, future. I could get into a very long winded response about, you know, the proliferation of social media and the stereotypes about human trafficking. But I just think it's so wonderful that collectively as an organization, PGT was all in.
00:51:56
Speaker
Can you talk about the leadership and maybe some other industries that are out and about in various communities? Because as McKenna outlined, their drivers are everywhere in communities, working with local workforces and then sometime on a regular cadence. So being able to spot those signs, not turn a blind's eye, if you will, or tamp down the feeling they get in the pit of their stomach when they see something
00:52:24
Speaker
if they're on a long stretch on an interstate that just doesn't sit well. Can you talk about the various industries that play such a big role in preventing human trafficking and raising awareness? Certainly. And at one point I'd like to make, too, prior to jumping into that, is with humans, we tend to sometimes paint with a very broad brush.
00:52:45
Speaker
You know, so we may perceive long distance truck drivers as this or a biker club or someone who rides a motorcycle and wears a leather jacket and a helmet when they're doing that as this. And we know that's always the exception, not the rule. So getting past our own, you know, stereotypes, our internalized stereotypes to recognize that
00:53:06
Speaker
Generally, and I'm an optimist and believe that given the opportunity to do good or evil, people are going to do good and that everybody really does have a vested interest in those, the rest of us that live on this planet. So those industries that have access, like the hospitality industry, that's a big part of what our training came about from the first place was to help hospitality industry because you see so many people and those are environments that are frequently used
00:53:35
Speaker
you know, for trafficking. And so what are those signs and those symptoms? Recently, the Alliance has talked about, you know, and even talked about some legislation with, you know, fire inspectors and others. People and industries that go into places that not everybody goes, that may be increased environments where trafficking occurs. You know, this opportunity for isolation from the general population, so no one's going to see.
00:54:04
Speaker
neighborhoods, you know, so people, you know, like UPS delivery, you know, FedEx, you know, Uber drivers, those people, you know, those industries that have, you know, opportunity to be in places that most of us don't go on a regular basis, where we may see and pick up. And again, not necessarily intervening directly yourself, but providing that piece of the puzzle. We talked about health care already. And again, those
00:54:32
Speaker
really those key industries that come in regular contact with individuals, but in the environments that the rest of us, again, as I said, don't go to that really plays an important role.
00:54:46
Speaker
Yeah, the fire safety inspectors was a great addition in the 2021-22 legislative session that one of your fellow board members, Representative Toby Overdorf, worked with the industry to include in legislation because they were seeing
00:55:04
Speaker
Things that were again not sitting right with them and potentially suspicious so proactively said you know what we want to include this in our ongoing training and we feel so strongly that we want to put it into law which you know that doesn't always happen all the time but it was so you know indicative of their commitment to increase in awareness statewide and hopefully you know preventing human trafficking.
00:55:29
Speaker
When you mention that air and it really don't think like when it's again thinking about industries that go into home each back you know i just had i just had my system service so all those kinds of industries that provide in-home services that could recognize so you know an hour of a person's time you know what would you get would you give an hour to win the powerball what are you willing to give an hour to watch your educational message around human trafficking that
00:55:57
Speaker
can save lives, does save lives. And I'd be remiss, you know, we've talked a lot about the signs and the indicators. We learned more about the 100% Club and other statewide awareness campaigns through the Office of the Attorney General and our own Florida Alliance Training. But I'd remiss if I didn't remind our audience about the National Human Trafficking Hotline number, which is 888-373-7888, or you can text befree
00:56:25
Speaker
to 233-733. And as always, if you think that someone is in immediate danger and needs help to call 911 to inform law enforcement.
00:56:37
Speaker
Dr. Tole, I want to thank you for serving as co-host on this episode of the podcast. Your insights and your experience has been beneficial for me, not only learning more, but providing more context and dispelling those myths and providing facts and more information for our audience. So thank you so much. Thank you, Erin. Appreciate the opportunity to be here. This has been another podcast from the Florida Alliance to End Team and Trafficking.
00:57:10
Speaker
you