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Michigan Is a Top 5 State for Human Trafficking: Warning Signs Every Grandparent Should Know · It's A Grand Life

• 0:08
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• 0:16
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• 0:24
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• 0:26
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• 0:49
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• 1:00
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• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another episode of It's a Grand Life.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, my name is Craig Nash.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'd like to welcome you to another It's a Grand Life.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: And this is going to be what I believe is one of our most amazing podcasts ever.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: If you're watching this, I want to encourage you to get a cup of coffee, get a glass of water, and sit down.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because our guest today, Barbara Roush from Hope Against Trafficking, has got all the data behind human trafficking as it believe it or not, is uh represented in the state of Michigan, and I'm sure it's in your state wherever you reside.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but this is going to be a pivotal podcast for Instagram Life, and we're just so delighted to welcome our guest today, Barbara Rausch, who's one of the founding members of Hope Against Trafficking, as well as a board member.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Barbara, thank you so much for joining us on Instagram Life and welcome.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having me, Craig.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Can you give our audience an idea of the full extent of this trafficking problem, even in our state?
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Just start with that, because you you just really kind of blew my mind the other day when you were reciting what's been going on in our neighborhoods.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: Back in 2012, when I started getting involved with some friends from my church, they said, we got a problem in with human trafficking in Michigan.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, What do you mean?
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: Isn't that over there overseas?
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: Isn't that, you know, uh Philippines and India and just these other places?
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: And and they said, no, it's really huge.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, we got to do something about it.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: They had been traveling around the world and and and seen it themselves, thinking the same thing.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: But when they came back and they started talking to you know some of the police and sheriff's departments and such, they found that we really had a big problem in Michigan.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, Well, how bad is it?
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: And we uh found out that it was in every zip code in the state of Michigan.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: And the truth is, since you've got a larger audience here, it's in every state.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: It is in every zip code nationally.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: So we have, while we've been, I guess, not even seeing the problem, our eyes haven't been opened up.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: This problem has quadrupled since the time I began even looking into what is going on with human trafficking in Michigan.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: Then we found out from another organization, All Worthy of Love, that there were 1,200 people, women in a 12 in a three-square mile radius of Detroit.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: 1,200 in a three-square mile radius radius of Detroit that were prostituting themselves in order because they were enslaved in trafficking.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they were producing about 12 20 uh 20 different um uh John's and night to give their traffickers uh all the money, and they they got none.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: So we started hearing these stories and we was like, holy cow, we have no idea how bad this is.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: And then uh decided that we needed to figure out, well, is there anybody doing anything about it beyond these people trying to reach them on the street?
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: And we found that uh there were some people that were trying to open up their homes to safe homes because there wasn't enough places to go.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: But what was needed really was a long-term program.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: Once they got rescued, uh most of them are addicted.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: Either they were addicted going into trafficking because now you're vulnerable because you need the next fix, and those traffickers know that.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: Oftentimes the drug traffickers themselves uh recognize that they can make more money selling women than they can selling the drugs because they have to sell the drugs over and over and over, and a woman can just keep keep performing for you.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: So it was a it was really uh a critical thing for us to find housing and homes and things like that to a program that can help them be restored.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and but first they have to get through their addiction.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: So they come to us from uh an addiction management program for drug or alcohol or both um treatments facilities, so maybe 30, 60 days there, and then they can come and apply to our program.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: But it became a big problem and we had to do something about it.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: And uh that that's just amazing, but that uh that affects our grandparents raising grandkids as well, because a lot of these ladies and gentlemen on the streets, um, they left children behind.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: And they and are you seeing any of that as well in your research on this uh phenomenon?
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it's a combination, Craig, of both it it if you're vulnerable, you're trying to make money, so you know, uh recall the old this the Julia Roberts movie where they glamorized prostitution, you know, uh it's a way to make money.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what what I thought uh people did just uh because it was their career, so to speak.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: And in 99% of the cases, it's it's the exact opposite.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh desperate people do desperate things, and uh they get they get into it to maybe make a little bit, but then these um uh people are out there targeting people on the street.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: So they literally roll down the their window and say, Hey, do you do you need some food or do you need a safe place to stay tonight?
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: Runaways uh are kind of like that, and then the drug addicted are looking for the next spix, so they'll do anything.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: So, oh well, if you just do this, I'll give you a place to stay.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: If you just do that, and before you know it, you've been lured right into their trap.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: So they're very vulnerable.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, from a child children perspective, oftentimes then the perpetrators are getting the woman pregnant in order to keep them there.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: Because a a a woman you know won't leave their children.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so, yes, there are situations where somebody was addicted and had children at home and you know then got caught up.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, there's also the opposite, and probably in more cases, that once they're lured into trafficking, then if they get pregnant, um they'll either allow one to be born, potentially two, but uh oftentimes they just keep on forcing abortion on you uh over and over and over, and you know you you don't have a choice in the matter.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: So uh so it's a combination.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: They don't want to have to spend money on all the kids and you know the time, etc.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: But they want to to control the person that that uh that is under them.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: They typically have five or six, so if you can imagine that that household, uh what that looks like.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, just so they could have five or six ladies and they could each have one or two kids.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's like the one of the busiest daycares you could imagine.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: And um and and once they're stuck, they're stuck.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: Once they're stuck, they're stuck.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: And the and the the the reason why they're stuck is because the part of the control and the manipulation is the threats.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the the traffickers know everything about you.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: They're unbelievably more advanced than our police are in terms of computers, software, programs, things that can get information about you, the dark web, etc.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: They are so far ahead.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: And they will find information out about you.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: And as a matter of fact, that's how kids are lured today.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: You you have a 12-year-old granddaughter, and uh anybody that's online today, and our kids are really the most uh susceptible to this, they are getting lured by people that aren't even who they say they are, but they appear to be a bo potential boyfriend, uh you know, a friend that then becomes a quote unquote boyfriend, right?
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: And and in the interest of trying to look for love in all the wrong places, because something happened in their life to you know challenge them, right?
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: The adverse childhood experiences that our kids have.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: Over half of kids have that today.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um so in in the interest of looking for love, they don't understand that you know who's behind the curtain there, and that there is usually somebody behind the curtain.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I can tell you many, many, many stories along that line.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, the average age that people are targeted is 12.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's just a mind-blowing statistic right there.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: And and that the average age is 12.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: And uh that's uh that's too close to home.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's one statistic you gave us last week when we were talking to Barbara Rouse was uh that one in four, if I'm tell me if I'm wrong, one in four young people is a victim of sexual abuse.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so uh basically um when we talked about those adverse childhood experiences, um uh, you know, like even when they surveyed the adults in Michigan, 61% reported that they had at least one adverse childhood experience.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: It could be uh a sex act against them, beating them up, uh anything like that.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and in today's world, it's now um they have three or more ACE factors.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's crazy how much more abuse, but by the time they're 18, these kids are going to have some form of sexual abuse uh put upon them, usually in a boyfriend, uh, girlfriend relationship, but it does happen in the home.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um uh we have one out of every eight children are being abused in their home today.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: One out of every eight.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: One out of every eight.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: And that statistic is continuously moving up.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, it'll be one in four sexual abuse by the time that they are uh 18.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: So it so it's a lot of it about how do I know what to do in a dating relationship, what is safe and what is unsafe, you know, how do I know what a safe adult is?
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: How do I know I'm safe online, right?
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: There's many things that our children need to be taught that aren't being taught in school, aren't being taught by parents, uh, even you know, grandparents, because we don't know how to in today's world.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: We talked about stranger danger, and stranger danger, you know, in the old days was oh, just be careful for that car driving up to you and luring you by candy or you know, uh some giving you a gift or something like that because they're there to nab you and take you in the car.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: And that does still happen today.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: However, the majority of our kids are getting lured online uh to for that, like I said, that boyfriend, girlfriend lure.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes it's a talent, like, oh, you want to, you know, um be uh a model, do you want to, you know, be an actress, a singer, whatever.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: They lure you by what our kids long for.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, and those are the things that that they're being told are you know exciting and important in life, and it's just not the truth.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, unfortunately, they they don't they're not being taught that.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: So it's uh they're they're they're vulnerable.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: They're totally vulnerable, and it's like um I know as a grandparent raising a granddaughter, we're kind of clueless because you know we we we thought we were all done with the child rearing, and now it's we're raising kids in a very different world, and it is um extremely sobering.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: And and uh you know, um, and I think one of the stats you gave me last time that 70 per six percent of the abuse are from a parented a parent or a guardian.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: There's a trusted relationship.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: 76% of children that that are abused.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: So again, back to that stat, um, you know, we're uh average of of one in eight.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they're gonna be victimized by a parent or a guardian.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'll just give you a couple examples.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: There's a grandfather watching the the granddaughter and in in the afternoons, and uh instead of watching the granddaughter, he was selling the granddaughter to make money for himself.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so you know, but he was trafficking her.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um but children who experience that sexual abuse coming in out of the home are 28 times more likely to be arrested as part of um human trafficking related prostitution, you know, when they get older than those that did.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: So they're more vulnerable.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and a lot of it has to do with, again, like I said, looking for the love in all the wrong places.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: They didn't get that need met when they were young.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: And it's so it's really critical to when you're treating your grandchildren um with respect, uh, give them choices, you're setting boundaries, you're not doing it out of anger, you're doing it out of love.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: I love you, and because I love you, I have to share this and whatever.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: Those are the things you have to be teaching your child with love so that they get the love that they need that they lost by not having the parental relationship, and and uh they're always, you know, they look at their friends who have parents, and I don't have a parent or you know, an active parent in my life, or whatever.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: And um, there's just those feelings that are never gonna go away, uh, and they have to be filled somehow, somewhere.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: And and there's a total need for that.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: I've seen that in in our own situation, and and um respect and boundaries, and yet they still are normal preteens, you know, they want to push back on everything, uh, and that that's very normal.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: But um, if you're speaking to our audience today, grandparents who are raising their grandkids and uh uh Barbara Ralphs, we are tired some days.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: We get home from a normal day's activity, we're not 30 or 40 anymore.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: And what what would you say to us as far as hey, you know, you you've got to be aware of this.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to, you know, this is you gotta watch the online presence, you gotta watch being concerned with every relative, every relative that is with your grandchild.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, and then and you add where where you see feel led there.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's just it's it's a very serious, you gotta suspect everybody, don't you?
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: You you have to be aware, and and I mean, uh it's everybody.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I'll tell you the story about the local um single father um whose daughter um was a friend of a of a of a gal, and the gal got invited over to this this friend's house for a sleepover.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: And what she didn't know was that the father was trafficking the daughter, and the daughter brought the friend over, and the friend was then trafficked.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what they do is they again use manipulation to say, I know your parents, if you say something, you're gonna I'm going to kill them.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: And a child will do anything to protect their parent, no matter how good or bad the parent is, it's a form of manipulation like no other with child young children that have not been taught, you know, what you know the uh the evil world is today versus the good good world, right?
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: You have to what is a safe adult, what is an unsafe adult?
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: What is what is you know, a safe adult doesn't keep secrets, a safe adult doesn't manipulate and control and threaten you with the with uh killing somebody, right?
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: That's not a safe adult.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: So see, what do you do if you're you know around somebody in that situation and you've gotten lured into it?
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that's that's that's another uh uh story about how to get out of it and such, but for the grandparent, you need to know who the people are so you can know the children, but you have to know the parents that you're sending your child into their or your grandchild into their care.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: And how would you know that?
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's not like you're going to understand that this person was a trafficker, they're very good at hiding things, but maybe it's not safe for your children to have sleepovers somewhere else.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you know it's got to be multiple parents, like uh, you know, maybe it's the other way around.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: You have the sleepover at your house instead.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: So it's okay to say no.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: It is not um, it is not a bad thing to say no when you uh in your heart of hearts know that you don't know this person, you don't know the situation yet.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it it is not always safe.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: You really do need to know the parents.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: If there's only a single parent, that's another reason, right?
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: There's multiple things that could have gone on with that person.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: And have you done a check of the sex registry to make sure that this individual's not on it?
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, there's there are ways to check some things, but you can't be perfect.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: You just need to start um, you know, engaging with the parents in a little more thoughtful way uh and checking some things out before you allow the the child to do an overnight.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, another thing is social media too.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: You gotta you gotta really inter intercede.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um parents have allowed children uh it has become a babysitter, right?
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: The internet is a babysitter, and and because you're allowing free reign to the children in terms of oh, they can do anything, it's their entertainment, quote unquote.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: The problem is, is as we keep talking about, there's so many lures.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, for boys, I'll just tell you this too.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: It there is so much sexual material coming across, um, child sexual abuse material coming across online, and kids are curious.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes they don't even, they're just playing and all of a sudden they click, but they're not trying to click on that thing, and all of a sudden it's clicked, and now they're seeing things that you really can't erase out of your brain.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_01: And and then you and then you uh it keeps coming at you faster and faster because you clicked on the once, and now they're gonna keep keep throwing things at you, and it's and it just keeps coming.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: So sometimes it's not the program you're watching, it's the things that are popping up while you're watching it.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and then right, and and so you gotta really be careful um uh uh what restrictions you have, and what we're hearing from the the police and sheriff's department is that you need to basically control when they can look at the internet, time box it, and never allow them to use it in bathrooms and bedrooms by themselves, because that's when they're taking pictures of themselves to send to the quote-unquote boyfriend or girlfriend, and before you know it, it the the adult that's behind the curtain is starting to make threats that then this child will again protect, protect the grandparents, protect the the the uh the parents, and and uh in and and you have to make those decisions as as a parental figure to to control that uh in a thoughtful way, um, to stay on top of it, to look at their social media, to see what they're saying to one another, to there's ways to link together so that you can actually know where they're at.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I know everybody says, oh, well, they need a phone to stay safe.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: No, they don't need a phone with a full internet to stay safe.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: There are phones that there's phones that you can give them that that don't allow all that stuff that that are much, much safer.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: But um you said a lot there.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: You said that you know, number one, you gotta know who the parents are, and you gotta evaluate this whole sleepover business.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: There's a big push to have sleepovers.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: And that all I found in in 50 years of being around kids is that you know you get tired of kids the next day if you give them a sleepover.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: There's I mean, I know they're fun, but um, is it safe?
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: Is it a safe environment?
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta watch the social media, you have to check the this section.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Actual registry on these parents and folks that the kids are hanging out with.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Grandma and Grandpa, I know you're not used to that, but this is very important.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta know the parents of the kids that your grands are hanging out with, and this big the internet is their babysitter, Lord have mercy, but they can't do it in the bathroom or the bedroom.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: So it's gotta be in the general area of the house if they're on the internet because we don't want any funny behavior.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: But you made such a good point that I've never thought of.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: Once they make the bad decision and look on something, the predator knows what to say to your grandchild to get them to protect the grandparents.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't do A, B, and C, you know, we're gonna go after the grandparents.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: And and the kids love us because we're you know we're all they have right now.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: This is um this is so sobering, Barbara.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: Well, let me let me just give you a statistic that will just uh totally blow your mind.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's an estimated half a million predators online every day.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: Half of them half a million actively looking online at social media every day, targeting our children.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: Okay?
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: Now, children and these predators in combination, because children are sending pictures, but the predators are taking pictures and putting them online as well.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: But there's an uh probably um close to 40 million reports of suspected uh child sexual exploitation materials um online every day.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: So digital grooming is impossible to ignore.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: These images are out there, and basically, when your kids are sending images of themselves with all sorts of technology and all that, I mentioned that they're ahead of everybody else on technology, um, all of our police and all that, they have invested a lot of money into knowing and understanding how to use technology to do this illegal activity.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: And and so the child's sexual material is out there, and and then the because of the internet, the demand is high, and that's why this has quadrupled in 20 years, uh, or actually last 13 years.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's quadrupled.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_01: Why?
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_01: Because our well, mostly men, but I was gonna say men and women are are being becoming sexually addicted online, just like our kids are now becoming addicted to pornography earlier.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: Eventually you will act out what you're seeing online, and whether it be static pictures or then you move into the movies and the films and things like that that are out there with this terrible um you know stuff, then you they're acting out.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: And so now you need a market.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: You need our children, are the victims that are being used for people who are acting out their sexual addictions by buying prostitutes.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_01: So 99% of those prostitutes are enslaved.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: There are children being used to serve the sexual addiction.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so if you see and understand that problem, um and then you kind of look at well, how how what do we do?
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: How do we uh you know, how do we stop this trend?
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: Well, there's many different aspects of that problem, but but but really we've got to step up and first open our eyes to see what is there and why it is such a threat to our children today.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: So we this has just been amazing.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so I just want to make sure that our audience gets it.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: What if if you could put the cookies on a lower shelf for our grandparents who are raising their grandkids?
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: In summary, Barbara Rouse, what would you say?
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: I would say that you have to take the time to know and understand what environment your your your grandchildren are in right now.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_01: Who are they hanging out with?
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: If they go out to an over overnight, you're not sending them to one child alone and you don't know the parents.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's if you do anything, it's with a group, and it would be best if you still did it at your own home to to kind of control it because there's multi multi multiples of you there.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you have to watch what they're doing online and and and find ways.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: We actually have some partnerships uh uh that are coming forward to help here, uh, help our parents and grandparents know how to keep the kids safe online.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: We we've got Family Shield, it's called, but it'll allow you to control that phone that has the internet on it and control any apps that they're uh uh wanting to get into, like Roblox and other things, which are very, very dangerous.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, those are those those applications are very um desirable for kids to be in because everybody's on it, but what's on it is very evil.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of stuff on there that you don't want your kids seeing.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: So you have to you have to become knowledgeable about what um what's going on around, and then you gotta look for signs that if your child, grandchild is being trafficked out of your own home, meaning that they're being manipulated to go do things, you'll start to see it in things like your uh grades will start being impacted, uh sleepless nights, you know, like a lot of times they're sneaking away in the middle of the night.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, while you're sleeping, they're they're being taken places.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: That's happened many, many times.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's uh you just got you have to be aware, uh, no, and you have to keep the that conversation open with the grandchildren so that they are able to tell you when something's happening.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be that safe adult that they go to, that they will tell you anything.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: We always say, no blame, no shame.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: You can't make them feel bad to come to you or blame them for doing this or that.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_01: You have to listen and support them in finding ways out of whatever they're involved with in a kind, loving manner.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: But if you're gonna blame them and shame them and all that because they got into something that they shouldn't have, uh they're not gonna tell you the next time.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't work.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: It never has.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: Blaming and shaming.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, our guest today on It's a Grand Life has been Barbara Roush, and Lord willing, hopefully she will join us many times.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: And especially with this new information regarding the Family Shield, we want to hear all about it.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're interested in more information on Hope Against Trafficking, and I hope you will support this organization.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: They are doing amazing work right here in Southeast Michigan and making a huge impact uh for the uh men and women who are being abused.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not just the ladies anymore, but it's uh uh it's absolutely terrific.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: I mean horrific where we are.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's just uh um top five in the country.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: We're top five in the country.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: We're top five in the country in Michigan.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: I never would have guessed that.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: But uh um hopefully you'll come back again and keep us updated on what's happening in in the trafficking arena.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: And and I love what you've said to grand families and uh very interested to find out about this Family Shield program.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: But uh Barbara, thank you so much for joining us here on It's a Grand Life and can't wait to have you back again.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Craig.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining us today for It's a Grand Life.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's a Grand Life provides vital content, regulatory updates, and subject matter experts that are committed to supporting the 2.4 million kids and their caregivers from every neighborhood, every city, every tribe and territory nationwide.
• 30:31
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• 30:36
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• 30:42
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• 30:45
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• 30:51
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• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: If you have a suggestion for a future episode, please reach out to us.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: But we'll see you next time for another It's a Grand Life.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining us.