TRANSCRIPT 🔗
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It's those that are vulnerable, are those we want to keep an eye out for.
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Welcome to Highlight Her, where we highlight women that are making a difference and female entrepreneurs.
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I invite you to hit that follow button.
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It helps the show get delivered into your feed.
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Today we're actually part two with Karen of Sanctum House in Oakland County in the state of Michigan.
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We had so much to talk about that we just had to turn it into a two-parter.
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And I'm excited to get back to the conversation with Karen.
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If you missed part one, you can find it wherever you listen to your podcasts and pick it up or listen after this conversation.
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Karen, thanks so much for coming back.
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Sure.
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Thank you.
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There's just so much that people don't know about trafficking because, like you said, it's easy to hide.
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And so I'm wondering, do you have some things that people can look for?
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It's so big and it could probably be overwhelming to those that don't know much yet, or maybe this episode is the first time that they're really thinking about things and they think, oh my gosh,$150 billion industry.
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How like I don't even know where to start.
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So what kinds of things can people look for if they want to watch out for people in need or people that are perpetrators?
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Give us some insight.
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Yes, one of the things we do a lot of training at the hospitals because the hospitals are often the first thonders when they um have the ability to talk to a victim because there's been so many victims that we have served over the years that said, you know, how often was I in the emergency um department because I was beat up or I was overdosed and nobody asked if I was safe.
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So we've trained at all the hospitals in southeastern Michigan and um the things, you know, um uh for social workers, nurses, physicians, um, you know, what are the things, you know, to look for if you suspect it.
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And there's no like magic thing like they've got a special tattoo.
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Yes, there are tattoos involved with trafficking, and some are a show of ownership.
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Many of our women have been tattooed in, you know, on their neck or someplace with the name of their trafficker, but it's more behavioral things to look for.
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If there is somebody there with them and they do uh the victim um doesn't feel safe to answer questions, um, if somebody answers the
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questions for them, or if you get a, you know, we always say trust your gut.
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If somebody's in there and it seems like something's wrong, um, start a conversation.
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You know, if there's from living in that the whatever geographical area and they say they've been, there is, you know, what what grade school do you go to if they don't know?
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Well, do you go to high school?
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You know, don't know, because if they had been moved around, um, start a conversation, just be attuned, be interested.
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And if you think something's going on, and if there appears to be somebody that is overseeing them, and it could be a woman, because these are very savvy business people, just say, Well, we need to go um do a test, like an x-ray or something, and she has to come back by herself.
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You know, take any opportunity that you may find to just say, Are you safe?
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And they might they live in fear.
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So they might say, Yes, I'm fine, everything's okay.
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Um, but asking if they're safe is the first step for them to think maybe somebody knows what's going on.
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And you never know they might be back because often they will go and the traffickers will ensure if they need um hospitalization, emergency care, they'll go different hospital to hospital to hospital so that they're not traceable.
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And we are working with hospitals on how to have confidential indicators put in the records that if somebody suspects that it can transfer across hospital systems.
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So we're doing work, you know, in the healthcare system to identify in schools, middle school, high school, traffickers target vulnerability, you know, and that's why teenagers are often targets because what 13 or 14-year-old isn't vulnerable and trying to figure out what they want and they're you know, the parents are stupid and you know they make me go, you know, get home on time and da-da-da.
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And traffickers are very savvy, they're smart, it's profitable business, so they'll watch for you know the vulnerability.
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And if there's somebody that you know may come from a compromised home, maybe mom and dad don't get along, maybe there's you know, alcohol, you know, some types of substance abuse at the home, or maybe the parents are traveling all the time.
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If their intrinsic needs are not being met, the trafficker can see that.
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And it's just it's a it's a slow, methodical grooming process.
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You know, they slowly develop the relationship, and little by little it's like, oh, okay, I know your parents don't, you know, get you the iPad.
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I'll get you an iPad, I'll get you an iPhone, or I'll get you the earrings you want.
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And it happens slow, um, because you know, the snatch and grab is very rare, like it's often in movies.
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It's the developing of a relationship, and then they willingly go, you know, mom and dad are never home, or you know, I don't get along with them, you know, or whatever.
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So they willingly go, looking for something that they're not getting at home.
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So um when we uh work, you know, talk to the students in schools and parents and you know, staff at the schools, say, you know, just watch for something that's changed.
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You know, if you've gone, you live in the same community, went to elementary school, you know, middle school, and uh starting high school with the same group, and then somebody is all of a sudden it's got different friends, or maybe not showing up.
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Just be aware, and maybe they don't get along with their parents and you don't feel safe talking to somebody, talk to a teacher, talk to a social worker.
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There's no magic in who it is, but it's everybody looking out for each other, you know.
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So in the schools and the healthcare system, um, but many of the um victims we serve are middle-age.
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I mean, they can it you're you can be in your early, mid-40s, any age, and maybe your marriage isn't going well, and you lost your job, or you want a career change, and all of a sudden, you know, you don't know what you want to do.
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Um, and this has happened to so many.
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And so, you know, they're offered opportunities, you know, to say, oh, okay, you know, come stay with us, and you know, we'll open some more doors or whatever, off they go.
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So it it crosses all ages, all education levels, you know, um, but it's the vulnerability.
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And I always think, I mean, I was a very overweight, you know, uh not an ugly kid.
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I really was.
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And um, I thought, man, was I vulnerable, but I had good parents, you know.
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So I always think I mean I could have been easily been a target, you know.
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I wasn't, um, but I had the the grounding that I didn't need to.
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And then, you know, I built my life and I grew up and I matured and I grew beyond that.
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But by the grace of God, that surely could have been me, you know.
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So it's it's those that are vulnerable are those we want to keep an eye out for.
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Now I know you serve only women that are adults.
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So what happens when you get a phone call and it's someone that is younger than 18, or maybe it's a boy or a man?
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How do you direct them?
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Okay, so we have a great intake team and we never just say sorry.
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Um, we respond to every call or every email.
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Most of our calls now come through our website, um, sanctumhouse.org.
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You can send an email in because it's also easier for somebody that is um in a compromising situation.
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They're not making a call, but we respond to every single one.
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And if it's somebody that doesn't fit the population we serve, we have partners across the state and across the country.
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We always do a warm handoff and refer them to somebody else.
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It could be women and children.
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We're not licensed to take care of children, but we have partners that do.
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It could be men and boys, we uh could be LGBTQ plus population.
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That's a very vulnerable population.
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You know, they've often been neglected by the family, kicked out of their homes.
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So um we have partners for, and we always do a referral.
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Yeah.
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I love that you're able to do that for people.
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And you've mentioned a couple of times the government.
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What kind of connections and how did you happen upon that where you had help from the government with your services?
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Well, um, this comes back to having partners in the community, Trinity Healthcare.
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She's now the uh Shannon Streebach, the president of Trinity, Michigan.
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She um, I was introduced to her just as we were opening up and she fell in love with our mission.
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She said, I want Trinity Healthcare and hospitals to help you.
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And so they've been there every step of the way.
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And um she also offered the opportunity to have a voice in Lansing with her advocacy team that are there for you know healthcare advocacy.
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Autta Moutman, um, who's on the advocacy team, is actually she's now on our board, um, made it open the doors for me to testify in Lansing.
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This goes back to 2022, because there was no funding by the state for services for um victims of human trafficking.
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There was a lot for domestic violence and sexual assault, but none for human trafficking victims.
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So she opened the door and I was asked to come testify on the importance of it, along with a couple other leaders across the state.
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And in 2022, after that uh meeting with Congress, state Congress, they opened up funding.
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We were one of the few agencies chosen, and we've maintained our funding at the state level, and other agencies are now funded too.
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And now is a challenging time with everything that's going on with you know public funding.
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Also, we now have federal funding for our expansion to buy the property and to expand to a three and a half acre healing campus.
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So it's all about you know working with our partners that really believe with us and working hard to, you know, um partner with them.
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And I always say working in such a dark world, we find the best of the best people.
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They whenever something happens, we need something, they're there.
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I'm glad.
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Yeah.
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So someone might be listening and want to know how they can help Sanctum House.
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Is there a way for them to connect with you?
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Yes.
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Um, our website is always the best.
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Um, there's info at sanctumhouse.org.
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We answer, actually, I I um look at those notes every morning um before I go into the office.
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And if somebody wants to, you know, donate or they want to volunteer, we have a very active volunteer group.
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We have a volunteer coordinator and we have a very, I mean, our volunteers just keep us going and they love it.
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They love working, you know, there with the women.
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Uh Jen Ma Scale is um works with um organizing our outreach into the community.
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So if you send a note into our website, we will um we'll definitely respond.
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I noticed a post from your Facebook page about a gathering at a library.
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So I'm thinking perhaps if people follow you on social media, in addition to the crafting nights that you have, they might run into something that's close to them where they can just have an informational evening.
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Sure.
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Yeah, we um we do as much outreach to the community because that's that's the only prevention.
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People say, well, we want to prevent it and stop it.
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Well, the only way you're gonna prevent it is to educate the community on what to do and what to look for.
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So Jen Mascell does most of those.
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If your community is
interested in learning more, you know, just contact us and we'll, you know, schedule something.
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Karen, if someone listening is actually in a trafficking situation, what is the best resource for them to call first if they're listening and they need help?
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Well, you can contact us website, probably the best and safest, or contact the hotline, uh National Hotline, which is, and Jen, catch me if I'm right, 888-3737-888.
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Did I do it right?
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Yep.
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Yep.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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Um, so either, you know, contact us on our website or call the national hotline.
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But national hotline is is really good because they collect the data.
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If you know, the beauty of the National Hotline is like say you're in Ferndale, Michigan, and you see something going on at Woodward, on Woodward, and you something doesn't look right, you might just call the hotline and say, you know, there's a car, you know, girls were getting in or whatever, get the license plate number, get as much descriptions.
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You call, it's anonymous, they'll keep that information.
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But if the next day somebody else calls, and somebody else calls, that's the beauty of the hotline, is they'll connect the dots and they will contact local law enforcement or the FBI or who.
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And that is often how these rings are broken up is that somebody sees something, calls the national hotline, and they're data collectors, they, you know, and they're only as good, that data is only as good as the people that call and the quality of the call.
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Right.
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So you just gave a very valuable tip that, you know, get as much clear information, grab a license plate number, maybe some descriptions.
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And like you said, calls only as good as the information you give them.
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So it's good for us to keep in mind how can I think clearly and calmly and get as much detail as I can to help the local authorities.
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Yeah, because if you see something and you think somebody is in a compromise situation, do not get involved because if the trafficker thinks somebody is aware that's um there's consequences for whoever might be giving a hint that something's going on.
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So uh never get involved, but get as much information and call local police or the hotline and let them know.
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Well, as we're closing up, I know in your first episode you shared a story.
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Do you have a short, impactful story of someone that's been through your program that would be inspirational reason for listeners to get involved and follow you and just make a difference?
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Yes, and this one is a very current story that she was probably 20 years old in the federal penitentiary in Louisiana.
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And she came from a very good family, but because she was vulnerable, um, she got caught into a trafficking situation.
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And as she said, she did the road trip all the way up to Michigan and she was trafficked every state up and um received um uh felonies in each one because she was charged with carrying drugs, whatever.
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So in uh Lansing, she was uh overdosed, they thought for the last time, and uh they propped her against a fire hydrant and left her there.
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Well, there's a woman that drove by and just she's an angel.
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You know, I know that this girl has more to her than to die right here.
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She got her to the hospital, got her into rehab, started her on the path, took her back to where to Louisiana to start the addressing all her legal cases.
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And this angel, her name's Barbara, was from Jackson, Michigan, and found you know, said, I'm gonna find you a place that will help you.
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She called us, she came, she was with us for 11 months, and she just decided I'm gonna, I'm, I'm gonna do this.
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And that was in 2024.
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She is now a student at U of M honors on the dean's list, and she's gonna get a degree in business and go on to law school.
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And she has testified at the state level with me for more support and um leniency for those that are victimized versus those that are the traffickers.
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And so right now she is uh working a very good job in business, and she's determined to walk the stage at U of M in honors.
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What a beautiful story.
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And how powerful is Barbara, right?
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Yeah, she's still very active in her life.
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Um, the the woman just uh went to her uh registration at U of M in Ann Arbor.
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Wow, what a fantastic story.
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Audience, remember you can follow Karen in Sanctum House on Facebook and Instagram, as well as discover more at their website, sanctumhouse.org.
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I really hope that you'll follow them on social media so that perhaps one day you can go to one of their local events and get to meet them.
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Remember, you can also enjoy their gallop on October 22nd Wings of Courage at the Detroit Zoo.
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Information is over at their website, sanctumhouse.org.