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BONUS: Savannah’s Story — From Familial Trafficking to Faith, Freedom, and Advocacy | Advocate Series Deep Dive
43 Plays23 hours ago
In this bonus episode of the Trafficking Free America Podcast, we dive deeper into Episode 3 of the Advocate Series with Savannah, a survivor of familial trafficking whose story of faith and perseverance has inspired countless others. Savannah opens up about her journey from abuse and secrecy to healing, restoration, and leadership—and how consistent love and faith changed her life.
Through Savannah’s story, host Jeremy Hicks explores how the Church can become a safe, consistent presence for survivors, what it means to love like Christ, and how advocacy starts with relationship and compassion—not perfection.
This conversation builds on the Advocate Series—a 5-part video Bible study led by Francis Chan and produced by the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking, equipping the Church to confront human trafficking with courage and Christ-centered action.
🔗 Watch the full Advocate Series for free: AdvocateSeries.com
✝️ Become an Abolitionist: USIAHT.org/Abolitionists
🎧 Subscribe to Trafficking Free America for more deep dives and survivor-led discussions.
🕒 Episode Timestamps
0:00 – Welcome & introduction to Advocate Series Episode 3
0:35 – Meet Savannah: survivor and advocate from Florida
6:15 – Discovering her story of familial trafficking
8:49 – Why hearing other survivors’ stories brings healing
10:08 – Breaking silence: the lifelong effects of abuse
11:28 – Understanding loyalty and protection in abusive families
13:55 – The power of awareness and survivor storytelling
17:05 – Building trust and safety for children in crisis
18:40 – How consistency changes everything
21:06 – Finding healing through counseling and relationships
22:15 – Why advocacy takes patience, not quick results
24:03 – What survivors truly need: time, safety, and grace
26:11 – The role of the Church in showing unconditional love
30:19 – Why consistency matters more than programs
33:41 – How the Church can love without expectation
36:27 – Overcoming judgment and seeing people through Christ’s eyes
38:46 – Savannah’s life now: from survivor to state advocate
40:01 – Finding faith and freedom in Christ
43:07 – The Church’s missing role in ending trafficking
44:44 – Closing encouragement for leaders and advocates
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Trafficking Free America
00:00:05
Speaker
Hello. Welcome back to a Trafficking Free America podcast. My name is Jeremy. I'm the host of this podcast episode. and In this one, we're going to continue our Advocate series, a deeper dive into each episode.
Savannah's Story: A Survivor's Insights
00:00:19
Speaker
And today we're going to be start discussing Advocate series, episode three. um And our special guest today is Savannah.
00:00:27
Speaker
um You may, if you've watched episode three, you've been introduced to Savannah and her story. where ultimately she was trafficked through her family, familia trafficking is what we call it. And um and you know we get what we get to do in this episode is actually hear a lot more of her story and actually how she came to Christ and how um ultimately she was carried out of um her life through many years of ah ah ah through um relationships and um you know awareness And she gets to kind of share that story and um and dive deeper into that and also give some some really good insights on maybe like what others are thinking, you know.
The Impact of Hope and Restoration
00:01:07
Speaker
If you watched episode three, you're probably, and in many ways, it gives episode three, on ah you know, unlike episode one and two, give a little bit more restoration feeling um hearing ah both Savannah's and Ori's story and and and a lot of things tying together as we have kind of prepared for this episode. But um a lot of people maybe have ah some some thoughts toward like, what is what are my next steps? Or how do how can I recognize things better? Or or what can I do? um you know they might You might still be feeling like, okay, a little overwhelmed on how to truly um start making an impact on you know um those who are marginalized, those who are being affected by human trafficking or sexual abuse or just neglect or abuse in general. And um Savannah gives some good insights as to um how we can like look for that. And honestly, some some honest feedback on, you may not be able to see that.
Building Genuine Relationships
00:02:02
Speaker
You may not be able to recognize these things, but if you know how to develop relationships with someone with the intent of loving them without anything in return, a lot of cool things can happen. And we kind of touched on that in our last podcast episode, talking with Ori. And if you haven't listened to that one, I would greatly appreciate encourage you to listen to our previous episode when we talk with Ori about Advocate Series Episode 2. I want to make sure I plug this in. If you haven't ah watched the Advocate Series, if you're not really sure where to find it, go to advocateseries.com and you can download all five videos for free as well as the study guide for free.
Educating Communities about Human Trafficking
00:02:39
Speaker
And um you can you can watch it and become become educated yourself. You can bring this into your church, bring this into your congregation. You can start a small group. You can start any group and ultimately help educate you and your friends and your family and your, your, your, your group of influence, your community on the signs of human trafficking, what to do about human trafficking, ultimately how Christ has called us to be the in hands and feet of Jesus inside this, this, this, this fight to end human trafficking. I have actually been involved in ah being educated about human trafficking since 2017. So, in and making this about basically six years now, and it has taken me six years to really get to this point. And so I want to encourage everyone to kind of start here and continue the journey. And so, um you know, as before we get into this episode, I want to make sure that if you haven't watched a series, you are watching the
The Power of a Loving Mindset
00:03:32
Speaker
series. And if you are watching the series and you're, you're diving deeper into this podcast, I want to encourage you to just remember it's mindset first is, are we, are we, are we, are we going into this with the idea that Christ has called us to be here? Like what, what has Christ done for me now?
00:03:52
Speaker
How can I spread that good news through not just preaching and stuff like that, but through relationships, through right?
00:04:00
Speaker
I want to make sure we all have that mindset before we even take a step into combating human trafficking and before we take a step into really doing anything with anyone in any relationships to have this mindset that um I am here to love on this person the same way Jesus is loved on me. And we start there.
00:04:18
Speaker
And if you have that mindset, I think you'll start thinking and and hearing a lot of ways to start combating this with your own strengths, and your own skills. And so I wanted to make sure I plugged that in as we're in the middle of this series to make sure we're remembering well this isn't just like a handbook of like, okay, do this and do this and do this and we'll end human trafficking. Come on, guys.
00:04:37
Speaker
It first a mindset because there is no handbook for this. It's bigger than that. But, but, God's bigger than anything.
00:04:49
Speaker
And so I want to make sure that um we have this idea in mind that God is going to win. Jesus will win. So we're not worried about losing here.
Savannah's Advocacy and Public Speaking
00:05:01
Speaker
We're just here to be the hands and feet of Jesus until Jesus ultimately says, okay, game over. I win. And I want us to remember that as we go into this.
00:05:14
Speaker
um So without further ado, let's get into our interview with Savannah. And I think you're really going to be blessed and educated and inspired by this. Well, hey, Savannah, thank you for being here and doing this podcast episode with us. we really appreciate it.
00:05:30
Speaker
You're welcome. Thank you for having me. Now some audience members may not know who you are. If they've watched episode three, they've seen, they've been able to see and watch your the story that you share and advocate, but um go ahead and let us know, like, you know, who are you? ah Why, why um how how did you get introduced to us and all that jazz?
00:05:50
Speaker
Yeah, I am a survivor of familial human trafficking. Um, in Central Florida. I grew up here and I now share my story to raise awareness of what's happening and to try to make a difference and be the advocate that I needed when I was younger and try to help put things in place that could have helped me when I was being trafficked.
00:06:15
Speaker
And I now do a lot of public speaking and do a lot of work with legislation legislatures to try to make changes, get laws put in place in Florida. And i am on the board of directors of Florida Alliance to End Human Trafficking.
00:06:33
Speaker
what What got you connected at all these different circles? Like, um you know, I know that you shared in your story that like you you didn't even know what really what human trafficking truly was. and And then you realized you were being trafficked. Like what what actually got you then connected with helping change legislation and helping you get in all these groups and stuff like that?
00:06:52
Speaker
Well, I went to a human trafficking awareness day, which is when I learned what human trafficking was and that I was, that the things that happened to me were human trafficking. And um it started with talking to the people that organized that first event that I went to. And, um but then after that, like I didn't plan to get involved with anything because I didn't want to share my story. I didn't want people to know what I had been through. But then it was just being introduced to another person and then them asking me to do something. And then i began just finding my voice and speaking and then opportunities just started coming.
Sharing Personal Stories: Raising Awareness
00:07:34
Speaker
And I saw how my story was impacting different things. And whenever there's been opportunities to share my story you, Anybody, like I take it if I can, just because I want to raise as much awareness as I can.
00:07:51
Speaker
So it's just pretty much all been word of mouth, um and meeting different people. And it's just gone from there. When it comes to like how you're trying to, ah you like you keep saying, you're trying to help raise awareness and and and help bla change legislation. And as soon it seems to be like your two main things, you're kind of going after it. Like um why, i in in your opinion, why is talking about this um and sharing your story with more people, like why why is that impactful um in your opinion?
00:08:27
Speaker
I feel like it's impactful because like I had heard about human trafficking um before I went to this Awareness Day event, but it wasn't, I didn't connect it to anything that I had been through. And like I saw everything that I saw about human trafficking before was people tied up um or from another country. So I didn't connect it with my situation. And it wasn't until I heard another survivor share her story that,
00:08:58
Speaker
that's when I connected that that's what happened to me. And so I feel like even now with human trafficking being something that's talked about a lot more and we have all these movies that are out, which is great, but I think we're still, we've now we've become desensitized to it.
00:09:15
Speaker
We see, we know it's a thing and we know that it's happening, but we don't connect it with a real person.
Understanding Trafficking Complexities
00:09:22
Speaker
um And so I think, I think the movies that are coming out are great, but I think it's also in a way hurting the reality of it because in no people don't see it, don't connect it with a real person that it's really happening here or even like the, the lifelong effects of it that people have. Um, because once you come out of the situation, you still have to deal with everything for the rest of your life. It doesn't go away. Um, and then like, I remember, um,
00:09:55
Speaker
being in foster care, this was before I knew that I was being trafficked. I wanted to know somebody that who had somebody that had been through something similar to me and was doing well because I didn't think it was possible. I didn't see a future for myself. And so now I try to be that person for other people. And I've had people come forward who have never told anybody that their mother had sold them to. One was a 75 year old woman who came to me after an event I spoke at and she said that she's 75 years old and has never told anybody that her mom sold her too. And she spent her life trying to make excuses for her mom.
00:10:35
Speaker
um And just knowing the pain that I lived with for so long and this lady who's much older than I am, she lived with that pain her whole life. And so i i try to bring a face to human trafficking, um, make people more aware of, um not just human trafficking, but the reality of it and how it is a lifelong journey afterwards and that type of thing. You know, I think for some of our listeners, and they they might be thinking to themselves, like, uh, how, how would anyone try to excuse their mother for trying to sell them? Like, like, uh, help us,
00:11:16
Speaker
understand possibly what's what what could be going on. And and maybe because i I think you experienced it too, just like, why would we defend the person selling us even if they related to us? Like what what is the connection there?
00:11:30
Speaker
Yeah. Like for so long, i wouldn't talk about um what happened to me, not just because I was afraid of what would happen to me, but because i didn't want anything to happen to my mom.
00:11:42
Speaker
And so I was protecting her, but then it's also, I still wanted her to be a mom to me. I wanted her to, like, I wanted her to want me and accept me and I, I would do anything to protect her.
00:11:56
Speaker
And so and well it's a lot of emotional stuff that's attached to it. Even though like my mom sold me to her drug dealer, who was my trafficker, she, she wasn't the one selling me to each individual person.
00:12:09
Speaker
So you didn't see her as like, you didn't see her as the one doing it per se Yeah. She wasn't the one doing it. She would, she would sell me to her trafficker, but then he would take her, not her trafficker. She would sell me to her drug dealer. Then he would take and sell me to all the other people. So in my mind, I felt like if I could just be good enough and make her want me, it would stop eventually.
00:12:35
Speaker
so you felt um So you felt that you were earning her love in this circumstance. like yeah Yeah. It's kind of maybe as what you look back now, it's like a totally different mindset, of course. But um I guess if you're a child in that circumstance, you're just like, you don't know what, I guess you just didn't really know what actual love was as a kid.
00:13:00
Speaker
Yeah, because I mean, i grew up with parents who were drug addicts and alcoholics. And like, in my mind, if I could just get her what she wanted, which was the drugs, it would be good enough. And like, eventually it would end. I didn't really know how because I was a child.
Recognizing Signs and Prevention
00:13:19
Speaker
um But then that's also all that I knew. Yeah. This was my like, before I started kindergarten, I was told that you don't talk about what happens at home. everybody I knew outside of school was drug dealers and alcoholics.
00:13:35
Speaker
um So I didn't have any other example. Like when I first heard your story, what broke my heart, Um, and many, my hers were in many ways, but like something that like stuck to me is like, cause you're, you're the first person to truly, um, tell me a story of familial trafficking.
00:13:54
Speaker
Um, I'd heard one other one. Um, but you're, you're stuck to me a little bit harder because I was thinking to myself, I could know a child right now that's dealing with this, but I would not know because you know you it was a secret in the household in that circumstance. like And I think maybe other viewers possibly feel that too. Like I would do not want this happening to somebody, but how would I know that it's happening?
00:14:21
Speaker
um What would you say to somebody right now who's like, I want to make sure I don't let another child go through that and and try to step in and so and so forth. But with all the dynamics of that child not wanting, you know, the child wanting to defend their parent, the child wanting to make sure that the their particular family dynamics not ah messed up or something like that. Like, it's a messy situation. How should, how should we approach this?
00:14:47
Speaker
I think it's, I mean, it's obviously a difficult question to answer because I'm not 100% sure, like, what somebody could have said or done to make me say anything because, like, um...
00:15:03
Speaker
The police were called a lot. DCF came in and asked me questions. And like, I've seen the reports as an adult from when I was a child where they asked if anybody did drugs in the home and I would tell them no, because that's what I was told before I started to kindergarten. You don't talk about what happens at home, but I think it's just in situations where you can like build a rapport with the children.
00:15:28
Speaker
um Maybe ask questions like if you have an opportunity. I always think that if somebody asked me if something was happening that I'm not supposed to talk about, that that would have let me know that I can talk about something. But I think there's a lot more familial human trafficking than we even know because it does happen in the home.
00:15:51
Speaker
And I think a lot of times it's often disguised as some form of neglect or abuse, but not actual human trafficking because nobody sees that far into it.
00:16:03
Speaker
um Yeah. But I think it's just building relationships and being a person that a child would eventually tell because it's it's going to take time.
00:16:16
Speaker
I mean, in in some ways, as I'm i'm thinking about it it's like, I guess... One of the things that made you kind of talk about it, one of the things that made you realize of the truth was, again, hearing stories, hearing something you could identify with.
00:16:31
Speaker
um and Do you think that's in many ways of how we kind of pull the truth out of certain things is the more we talk about this, the more we actually share stories, you might influence someone who's actually dealing with it, but it hasn't come forth to say it. Do you see that as a prevention technique?
00:16:45
Speaker
Yeah, and I think kids like now in Florida, human trafficking is part of the curriculum in all grade levels. And I think that's very helpful because mean maybe when I was 11 or 12, if I learned about it in school, that might help me disclose earlier.
00:17:05
Speaker
um So I think it's good that there is the awareness, um but then like the children need a safe person to talk to.
The Role of the Church and Community
00:17:15
Speaker
whenever they, if they, when, or if they do come forward to tell somebody is ah if they tell another family member, that's going to do the same thing. It's not going to do any good.
00:17:26
Speaker
Right. um and So that, that actually brings up a good, a good point, you know, like as this, as this, um as we're trying to make sure we're, we're helping educate and equip um the church and to kind of stepping forward in this um to not leave it to justice. We kind of want,
00:17:44
Speaker
a personable approach to this. You know, like, I feel like the state can do many things, which is extremely important, you know, like, like putting the curriculum in, in the school's hands and stuff like that, which is really great. I want to talk a little bit more on that, but um like, to me, I'm like, if, if we can get someone just ah people in society as someone that can, that's a safe person that someone can approach, um,
00:18:06
Speaker
um That would be extremely helpful. But how do we position ourselves as someone safe to approach? Because I feel like if in that circumstance, you as a child, not knowing what you know now, you would feel unsafe to approach really anybody on multiple levels, right? So like how can someone...
00:18:24
Speaker
how should how can someone um you know, position themselves as a safe person to approach and react accordingly that shows trust, that shows that child has their, have their best interest in mind?
00:18:40
Speaker
Well, I think it's hard because I think it's, like that person going to have to be a consistent person in their life, whether, i mean, like I'll use the example with my high school guidance counselor.
00:18:53
Speaker
um She was, she knew that um i had come from foster care and she was, um she, from the day that I met her, she was very um friendly and um let me know that she somebody that I could come talk to if I was having a bad day or whatever. And um she eventually became um somebody that i was very close with. And she knew that more had happened to me than I told her, but she never pressured me to tell her any more than I would.
00:19:27
Speaker
And she just, I went to church with her. i didn't like going to church at the time because I didn't know anything about God and I felt like it was boring, but I liked spending time with her. And so she just became a consistent person in my life that never pressured me to tell her any more than I was comfortable with. She would ask me questions. And I think that helped me know that she was, um that she cared about me, but it took time before I ever talked to her.
00:19:58
Speaker
what Yeah. what Like what, can you give me give like almost like a timeline? Like what was it?
Building Trust: Savannah's Journey
00:20:02
Speaker
ah Weeks, months, years, you know? It was probably... um, weeks before I would tell her anything, but then it was months and years before I told her like everything that happened to me.
00:20:16
Speaker
did You, you did eventually tell her everything. Yeah. I mean, it wasn't until after I went to counseling. Well, I guess I was in counseling. Um, that But she ended up being the first person other than my therapist that I told that about the trafficking and stuff. she's still ah She's still very involved in my life today.
00:20:37
Speaker
Oh, that's awesome. i mean and and so like give Give me an example of that. of like so That was in middle school high school that she met you? and then In high school, I was 15. and how old are you now?
00:20:48
Speaker
I'm 36. 36. That's quite a few years of just like staying and that's, that's awesome. And i I'm curious with your journey, like how did you get connected into even counseling and stuff like that? Cause like, I'm thinking of your, of of you at 15, who's paying for that? Who's providing that? How did how did someone get you to do that?
00:21:10
Speaker
I didn't go to counseling until, um 2013 when I was 26. It was after i was trafficked for the last time. um i ended up going to counseling. I had a job.
00:21:24
Speaker
um Thankfully, I had a job with health insurance and I was able to go to a therapist. um But I only went to talk about that last event that happened. ah And then it was in through therapy that I ended up going to a support group. And then went to this human trafficking awareness day with people from the support group. And then that's when I realized that what happened to me was human trafficking. And then I started talking to my therapist about like everything from the past after that.
00:21:55
Speaker
So I'm just saying like a kind of, 11 years, you know, like, so you started that relationship with a counselor and she didn't hear your full story for 11 years. And you know, something that ah this, this um the advocate kind of touches on and that I know that we wanted to make sure of when we first shared this, by all means, these are not episodes in like, it's not like you watch episode one and you like, there's, it's not a lot of closure to every single episode. And I know a lot of people felt that in the, in the previous episode too. of like, you're just going feel sad, a little angry. This one has a little more hope. um i
00:22:30
Speaker
But, um you know, i think i think in many ways, as someone who's involved or becomes involved in this, they almost feel the hopelessness as well. Like, how are we ever supposed to end this? I mean, it's just absolutely nuts about what's going on.
00:22:47
Speaker
And so you almost feel as hopeless as their survival. Like, you want obviously want to help, but... Man. So like when as someone experiencing that of, of maybe someone like your counselor, who just like 11 years of porn into this girl and we, we had a great rapport, but I, she didn't feel safe or trust me enough to share this. Like I can easily see, i grew up in church, right? I could see I'm offended. Right. um The ridiculousness of that. Right. But As we kind of prepare people to possibly become more involved and and and in in taking on more mentorship of of ah people in their community, whether it be an adult or child, like how can we prepare their mindset for survivors and understanding why this is hard and stuff like that? like How can we bring hope to that person that's actually trying to defend hope for that survivor?
00:23:44
Speaker
I think it's going to be with stories like mine because it is, i mean, it's a long process because like, if you look at just my life and I'm only one person,
Challenges in Support Systems
00:23:55
Speaker
i didn't have any one person in my life until I met my therapy or my guidance counselor when I was 15. And like, I didn't have my own mother. I didn't have my parents.
00:24:07
Speaker
I was moved around from school to school. I went to eight different middle schools in eighth grade. um Then when I went to foster care, I was moved from group home to group home. So there was no consistent person. So honestly, when I met my high school guidance counselor, i liked her and she seemed nice, but I was waiting until she wasn't there anymore because that had been the pattern of my life.
00:24:32
Speaker
So, I mean, it takes a long time and every survivor is different. Every victimbook is different. And, It's just, I mean, you can't take anything personal.
00:24:45
Speaker
um But and I mean, it's a long journey. Yeah. And yeah um I'm curious to know, like, did your counselor actually, was she like educated about like the different things of human trafficking and stuff like that? Or she was where she was just caring?
00:25:06
Speaker
Yeah. and She, like, I met her, I think, 2001. And so human trafficking wasn't really something that was even known or talked about.
00:25:17
Speaker
Even in 2013, when I realized, well, I guess 2013 was the last time I was trafficked. 2014 is when I went to the Human Trafficking Awareness Day. And it, like, I think I had started hearing about it for a couple years before that, but it was still pretty new. Mm-hmm.
00:25:36
Speaker
a new topic. Um, so she thought there would, like, she said that she had an idea that there was more sexual abuse and stuff, but she had no idea about human trafficking.
00:25:49
Speaker
So, and the you know, that's the, the thing, the key thing in doing the first approach that I want to make sure people understand that like through episode three is like,
00:26:01
Speaker
if you, if you step forward with this mindset of like, I want everyone to know that they are made in the image of Christ, that they are beautiful in and out. They are valuable. They are, um they're invaluable. They are, they are way more than any person could ever make them feel um that, and they don't have to earn that,
00:26:22
Speaker
from anybody else. they They are already specially made and stuff. It's like, if we can lead the way and always pouring that into someone's life, how much prevention can we help just in that basic mindset? That's not even about human trafficking. That's just about like humanity and how we influence culture in a society. Like, um did you have someone speaking into your life at all throughout your life?
00:26:48
Speaker
No. not until Not until my high school guidance counselor. I didn't have anybody in my life. No, outside of fam, obviously, you did you had a very bad household, right?
00:27:01
Speaker
But but like you obviously were involved in the community. You went to school. i don't Did you go to church? like Was it anything? I didn't go to
Overcoming the Past and Advocating for Change
00:27:09
Speaker
church. I mean, I i remember i remember going to some like Wednesday night things with some friends here and there, but nothing...
00:27:19
Speaker
yeah like I went just because i was able to get out of the house and go. i um I wasn't like, I didn't really understand anything. Even like when I started going to my, went to church with my high school guidance counselor, part of the reason why I didn't like going was because it didn't make any sense to me. Like you talk about a God who loves you and I don't even know what love is. I don't want any, I don't want to be loved.
00:27:45
Speaker
Um, that's my mindset. And I remember, um, my high school guidance counselor, she had two kids that are two and four years younger than me. So they're kind of like my siblings now.
00:27:57
Speaker
And her daughter would always tell me like that she loved me and stuff. And I remember she would get so upset because I wouldn't say it back to her because that's not something anybody ever told me before.
00:28:11
Speaker
Like I wasn't told that growing up. So it was just odd to me. Um, So until then, like, I didn't really have any other than my teachers and stuff.
00:28:25
Speaker
I didn't have a whole lot of interaction with people. Sure. And I mean, what, for the, for the times that you did, like looking back and if someone, someone's going to want to be like, okay, I don't want that to happen. And how, how do I communicate love for someone who doesn't understand what love is? How, how, how would you say, what would you say to somebody? I mean, I know there's no black and white answer. That's what everyone wants.
00:28:49
Speaker
I we're going to find out on this series. There's no black and white answer to any of this. except for Jesus. um But um ah it's like Christ and love is like really the only black and white answer, but there's no black and white answer of how to show that. um But if if, if you could try to help somebody out, like what would be, what was the thing that truly spoke to you for you to understand what love is?
00:29:13
Speaker
um I mean, i don't know at the time, but like, I know looking back, everything that, my guidance counselor and her family did was love. um And I wouldn't want them to change anything because i feel like it all, like God works worked it all together for good.
00:29:35
Speaker
um and I wouldn't be where I am now if they didn't, like if they stopped loving me, i wouldn't be where I am. Where do you think we're falling short in this fight against human trafficking? As we talk about ending human trafficking and combating it, ultimately, what where do you feel like um society is falling short? And maybe where do you feel like the church is falling short?
00:29:56
Speaker
I mean, kind of like you were talking about earlier, I think a lot of people hear about human trafficking and they want to get involved, but nobody is consistent enough.
00:30:07
Speaker
The programs don't last long enough. It's like we're trying to put victims and survivors on a timeline and if we don't accomplish what we want to in that period of time we're done.
00:30:20
Speaker
So the church stops whatever program they're doing or a organization they fail and end and so there's not enough consistent resources or people um to to really make a difference.
00:30:38
Speaker
Do you feel like, you know, we think about when I think about um getting into and, and you know, there's still a lot of I'm still learning, right? I was really first introduced to this about seven years ago now. um But I like.
00:30:53
Speaker
what are are we probably focusing on one thing too much? Like, are we focusing more on victim care than we are about prevention? Are we focusing more on, um, the arresting of traffickers rather than the, um, uh, like figuring out how to stop buyers from buying? Like, what are we not focusing on or we're focused on too much? Maybe.
00:31:11
Speaker
i think we focus a lot on awareness and it's funny because that's one of my big things, but everybody wants to spread awareness, but, um,
00:31:22
Speaker
And we we want to help people realize they're victims, but there's not enough for survivors. There's not enough to bring them from that that transition from victim to survivor.
00:31:36
Speaker
um And like a lot of the things that are out there, like they may have help for a year, but if I look at like how long it took me, that's not enough time. What kind of things do you feel like survivors are truly needing?
00:31:50
Speaker
If you were to, I mean, again, no no survivors is is the same, so I don't want to. but say treat eating Yeah. Like, I mean, what, what, what should we start as, cause you bring up a very good point. Well, even like safe houses and stuff for whether it's adults or children.
00:32:06
Speaker
mean, I know there's a lot of adults that want help or need help, but if they smoke, which a lot of them do, they can't go to this place. Or if they've had an addiction, they can't go here. They have to go here, but this place won't take them for whatever reason.
00:32:21
Speaker
You have to fit in the perfect little box to get the resources. Yeah. Something that I know that the, the U S Institute in its early days, early days, um, ah experience with, they actually opened up one of the first boys safe homes. And I knew that when they were opening it up, um, there was a lot of discrepancy on both sides on the LGBTQ community and the church, because it was like the straights, the state said like, Hey, we have a lot of boys that kind of need help, but a lot of them identify as girls.
00:32:50
Speaker
So are you cool with that being kind of a Christian organization? Yeah. And they ah they took a step back to think about it. And they're like, ah would I not give a safe bed to someone just because they consider themselves to be a girl? Should they continue being trafficked because they struggle with gender identity? No, that sounds ridiculous when you put it that way.
00:33:12
Speaker
um But you had both sides fighting in many ways. And to where the LGBTQ community said like, hold on, we don't want you like, having these people just to make them straight. Like, like this is their project child sort of thing. And the church was like, well, we better not tell speak, ah tell ah let them continue this sinful life. And, and ken it kind of came to an approach of like, Hey, how about we just care?
00:33:37
Speaker
Like, so I bring up that to say like, cause you bring up a very good point. It's almost like we take in victims to treat them as a project. Yeah. How do we change that mindset? Yeah.
00:33:50
Speaker
I think we can't have any expectations for one, but I'm not sure what the answer is. Sure. No, I hear you. I mean, ultimately we shouldn't treat
Building Hopeful Futures for Survivors
00:34:02
Speaker
people like a project. Yeah. I think is the first step, right? I mean, if you felt like you were being treated like a project from your school counselor, you probably would have seen right through that.
00:34:11
Speaker
Yeah. Like I wouldn't want anything to do with her. yeah don't want to be, and that's another thing, like even with like a lot of, victims don't know that they're victims and they don't want to be victims.
00:34:23
Speaker
They need help, but they don't necessarily want help. Um, and I mean, it's a, it's a process. And I think unless somebody fits into the perfect box, they're not going to get the help and the services that they need or that it's not going to last long enough.
00:34:45
Speaker
Um, um, And so I think part of that is why a lot of things end, like services, safe houses. um they end up not being Some of them end up not being used because they don't have the perfect victims that can go there.
00:35:04
Speaker
Do you think the church struggles with supporting safe homes because of, because they're kind of kind we're talking about right now of like, yeah like ah they don't, this, this has to be a witness, a a conversion, a you know, all these things again. I think it might be that or,
00:35:20
Speaker
Maybe it's like they don't get a success story out of it right away. And so then it's done. um they Maybe they feel like they're not actually helping because a lot of survivors end up going back into human trafficking because that's all that they know. That's what's familiar to them.
00:35:38
Speaker
Like coming out of it, I mean, a lot of people think that survivor or victims or survivors should be happy because they're not in that situation anymore. But that's for i mean like for me going out of it. Like I didn't want to be out of it. I wanted to be with my mom.
00:35:56
Speaker
so i didn't want to be in foster care. I don't want to be in a group home with people I don't know. I'd rather be with my mom. Um, so a lot of survivors and victims end up going back into human trafficking because that's what they know. That's what's comfortable to them. Even though it's bad, that's what's normal to them.
00:36:13
Speaker
For someone who is, you know, taken from their home in sense and put into a foster care and it could be like, you know, I would hope, uh, pray that it's a good, it's a good foster home, a Christian foster home that can speak and love into their life and stuff like that. But I'm sure. yeah Again, process, like they don't want to be there.
00:36:30
Speaker
Yeah. How do you show – would you want to encourage someone to show love and be patient with them and show a consistent love for someone who doesn't want to be there? Like we experienced that in episode three. of would talk orie talking about her story.
00:36:46
Speaker
you know, she would just go, she said she was, she wanted to like abuse them in certain ways, right? Like she would make them feel like crap. um And what spoke to her was them making, making sure that they, and that she understood it wasn't her fault.
00:37:03
Speaker
But I feel like in many ways, the church wants to be like, well, it is somewhat your fault. It's somewhat your fault. You know, you need to take responsibility. How do we, how do we, How do we approach that um in your opinion as there as a survivor, as someone who's who's talked to others? and I would say like the same thing with encouraging them.
00:37:26
Speaker
Like I remember like even my guidance counselor, she would always like, I would always say, well, nobody in my family has graduated high school. So going the school is pointless. And she would always encourage me that they don't have to be like my family. I can do well.
00:37:43
Speaker
And I think maybe like helping people like with the foster care situation, helping them realize that the things that happen to them don't have to define them.
00:37:57
Speaker
Even if you don't even know what has happened to them. Cause some people may not know. And just like, helping them realize that they're like the their past does not have to determine their future.
00:38:11
Speaker
Um, just helping them believe in themselves more.
00:38:18
Speaker
As someone who, um, is not letting their past define her, but rather using her past to, um, really in certain ways I would say empower or to ultimately um speak love and truth into other people's lives.
00:38:36
Speaker
you know how how um Where are you now? Let our our viewers understand, like where are you now in life to to just let them know like I'm not letting my past define me?
00:38:48
Speaker
Well, I ended up being the first person from my family to graduate high school and go to college. I am now a CFO and HR director at a Christian conference center.
00:39:01
Speaker
um i was appointed by Attorney General Ashley Mitty to the Board of Directors for Florida Alliance. And like my, i always say like, I don't let my past define me, but I always like, I want to, ah i feel like God is using all of the bad things that has happened to me to bring good. Like I like being able to see the good that's coming out of the horrible things that I went through. And it may have been horrible for me, but now I'm able to share my experiences to help other people.
Faith and Healing
00:39:38
Speaker
And I feel like, like i don't, I remember like always wanting a different life and stuff. And now it's like, even though what I went through is horrible,
00:39:50
Speaker
i Like i don't feel and don't feel sorry for myself or anything because I feel like it's like I would rather it be me than somebody else, first of all.
00:40:01
Speaker
But I like that i'm I'm able to use that to be an inspiration or hope for other people.
00:40:12
Speaker
That's awesome. How did you how'd you end up um experiencing Christ in your life? Well, all those trips to church with my guidance counselor, um, it ended like in one, I think 2009.
00:40:29
Speaker
Um, I, had I, I, so word I ended up becoming addicted to cutting myself and like self-harm.
00:40:40
Speaker
Um, after watching both of my parents try to commit suicide. And so I started cutting myself. And of course, back then it wasn't common like it is now. So they thought that I was trying to commit suicide. And this was when I went to foster care. So I was moved from group home to group home. and I stopped cutting myself for a little while. But then um as i once I got out of foster care and continued to be trafficked,
00:41:09
Speaker
um just like I still cut myself um on a regular basis, started breaking my own bones because the cutting wasn't enough. And i like i went through the motions in high school at church with saying a prayer and thinking that I was saved. But my life never changed. And it was after my pastor preached a sermon called Empty Plus Jesus Equals Full And he talked about how we try to fill our lives with different things and different addictions. And that was the first time he or i had heard that like an addiction doesn't have to be drugs. It can be something that you try to fill your life with. um
00:41:51
Speaker
And so that's when I realized that the cutting was an addiction for me. And I went and met with him and told him that like it had been 10 years and I'm still cutting myself on a regular basis. and he got me hooked up with an accountability partner and I would read scripture. She would give me scriptures to read that would encourage me and stuff.
00:42:11
Speaker
And one night I was reading 2 Corinthians 5.17 where it talks about if anyone's in crisis and new creation, old is gone and new has come. And that's when I realized that, like I said, a prayer in high school, but I didn't mean it. Nothing in my life changed.
00:42:28
Speaker
And so I ended up surrendering my life to the Lord. And after a couple months, I was able to stop cutting myself. And um as've like it's been i wouldn't be I wouldn't have been able to go through counseling and all of that if I didn't have God in my life.
Church's Role in Combating Trafficking
00:42:47
Speaker
That's, that's, that's an incredible story. And that's so, that's so encouraging for me to hear. And as the first time I've heard that about Houston and I, that's, that's just so just the reason why it's like the, I do feel like the key to this dent in human trap of, of, in the very least decreasing numbers, right. And the very least decreasing the purchasing and the, and and the, and the grooming of making it hard for traffickers to groom and so and so forth. Like,
00:43:15
Speaker
I feel like the key that's missing is the church, is is the body of Christ sharing that truth. like So when I first told you about the series about like how we're trying to bring the church into it, like what did you think about that as you've been trying to influence society, legislation, all that jazz? like but What did you feel when I first told you about it?
00:43:30
Speaker
I was excited about it because even like with foster care, there was never supposed to be a foster care system. Like the church is supposed to be that. Oh man.
00:43:41
Speaker
Preach. I feel like, I feel like we're losing a lot of kids to the foster care system. And feel like the church could do a lot more. Foster care seems to be something I think we're going to be pressing into a lot.
00:43:55
Speaker
Hey, Savannah, thank you so much. And um i I thank you for your bravery in this. um My prayer is that others have who who might be experiencing what you've experienced to come to grips about what's going on in their life, kind of like what you did. And and I pray that you influence...
00:44:19
Speaker
I pray that this influences if, if not one thousands, um, you know, to, uh, to be like that guidance counselor and just be consistent in someone's life and just ultimately sharing someone who shares the love of Christ in someone's life and a consistent and practical and just caring way as just going to plant seeds everywhere.
00:44:44
Speaker
Yeah. Savannah, thank you for doing this and thank you for being part of this. And I pray that God keeps on using you in multiple ways. Well, thank you for having me.
00:44:56
Speaker
Absolutely. Thank you for being with us on the Trafficking Free America podcast and in the season two of continuing and further discussion about our Advocate series. um If you have not heard of or don't know where to download our Advocate series, please go to advocateseries.com. And you will find a link to ultimately access all the videos, download our study guide.
00:45:21
Speaker
All this is for free. And we also put some additional resources on that website so that you can, as you deep dive into these episodes, you can access our resources to kind of get a better idea on on on educating yourself, getting some ideas on how you can get plugged into ultimately ah combating human trafficking if you feel inspired or you feel God calling you to to do more. The U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking created this Advocate series to help educate the church so that they know a little bit better of an idea of how they can react in a christ-centered way on combating human trafficking and one of the action steps we give is to is to actually become an abolitionist when i say become an abolitionist i mean by going to usiaht.org slash abolitionist and signing up to be an abolitionist it's our abolitionist project it is ultimately a way for you to subscribe and receive resources at the every time on a daily basis we're trying to create content and find more resources and more ways to um rally and unite ah the church together and others together to combat
Conclusion: Promoting Awareness and Involvement
00:46:30
Speaker
human trafficking. And by signing up it as an abolitionist, you get resources right away from us to do that. But we also ask our abolitionists to get involved in one of three ways. It is to either help raise awareness.
00:46:42
Speaker
That could be anything from sharing things on social media, just continuing ah continually continually talking about this with your friends and family, and those who are ah you can influence in your community, possibly even taking our tfc program our TFZ, Trafficking Free Zone Program, bringing that to businesses so that they can become TFC zone, uh, trafficking free zones and, may, or maybe taking this advocate series to churches or other, any group you want to, and, and helping raise awareness.
00:47:12
Speaker
Another way is to volunteer. If you want to volunteer, we have a program. We have several programs at the U S Institute against human trafficking that you can actually, um, uh, get involved in right away as a volunteer, but also, you know,
00:47:25
Speaker
This is a nationwide thing, and we are ah continually partnering with other organizations such as safe homes, foster care agencies that are in pregnancy centers, multiple places, multiple resources that are helping combat human trafficking or helping the marginalized that really affect, um you know, those who are being groomed or brought into human trafficking. And so if you are, if your heart is to volunteer, if you want to spend your time doing that, we want to help get you plugged in. So by signing up as an abolitionist and if you want to volunteer, you can actually schedule a consultation meeting with our team at the U.S. s Institute Against Human Trafficking to help get plugged in in the right way, like where where you're located, as well as your time, as well as your talents and skills and heart. We help try to partner you with the right with the right organization to to start start getting involved.
00:48:18
Speaker
And the third aspect is helping raise raise funds. um You know, even making this advocate series is thousands of dollars. ah Creating content and helping raise awareness on a continual basis costs a lot of money. These organizations that we're going to help you, help plug you into, everyone needs funds to help make this happen.
00:48:36
Speaker
um we are fighting a $150 billion dollars industry. And if we're coming in with um with ah pennies compared to that, it's going to be a longer haul, right? It's going to be a harder fight and and it's going to take longer and there's going to be more victims.
00:48:51
Speaker
um Money is definitely not power, but money is a natural resource to help those who are being marginalized. This entire thing started with money and we can combat it with good. um If you have a talent for raising money, I want you to help us raise money. I want you to help fundraise, whether it's giving yourself, whether it's getting others rallied around this to give to the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking, or it's rallying around your local organization that you know is combating human trafficking and you can help them.
00:49:22
Speaker
ultimately we need you to help raise funds. Ignoring the fact that funds are a need is ignoring the fact that people are in need.
00:49:32
Speaker
These funds will help those people. And I want you to make sure, I want to make sure you're researching. And if you want to talk to the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking to help make sure you're choosing a good organization that's truly putting, you know, their money where their mouth is, um that's another thing we're trying to help too.
00:49:49
Speaker
We're trying to weed out those who are doing good compared to those who are maybe just, you know, exploiting the fight against human trafficking, which is also real. So, guys, um thank you for listening to the two today's podcast. Again, if you're ready to get involved after watching the Advocate series, I encourage you to go to usiahd.org slash abolitionist and actually sign up.
00:50:13
Speaker
um And if you have not watched this advocate series, please go to advocate series.com and download and watch this five video series and then go and sign up to become an abolitionist because I promise you, um you're going to feel um pulled and into helping in any way possible.
00:50:36
Speaker
Thank you.