Encouraged. Everybody enjoyed their lunch. Great. Perfect. All right. Good afternoon. Welcome. Thank you so much. It is my leisure today to moderate. If i can have your attention drawn to the bags in your chair, we have a journal in their which is amazing. We are going to have a nice discussion today. I would like to introduce the first lady. First lady edwards, if you could come forward. Class good afternoon. Thank you all so much for inviting us to be here. To be a part of this panel. I am especially delighted to be with first lady georgia. Thank you so much. She presented on a resume some of that was started during covid. So glad you are sharing and doing this work in georgia. Amazing work. We have helped to educate and raise awareness and Human Trafficking in each of our states. I am grateful for all he is doing to help stop the terrible crime. I can tell you that when i became first lady, this was not on my radar. It was one of those issues i had never heard of. Like many of the people, i was the teacher and educator. I was not aware this was happening. It came to my attention and that became part of my initiative. I started my foundation as a former educator and music teacher. Start talking about teaching music, art and movement. Focusing on the whole child and how important that is. Working with our foster children and then came along the awareness of human sex trafficking. As a Public School teacher, i strongly believed it was interesting when i was volunteering at home outside of baton rouge, i actually used those skills. I would play piano with the girls. We made jewelry together. Because art is healing. It provided a way for us to communicate and talk to one another looking at louisiana. Got involved with our foster children and we really worked hard to ramp up the numbers. We had amazing numbers of adopted children. About 300 over the last seven years. One of the things we did was we extended the foster care age. He was 18. I remember at the time i was like i have an 18yearold son. I can imagine handing him a folder and saying this is all . This is your life in this folder . Good luck. I hope things actually work out for you. I stay was pushing because to the street. We were able to raise the age. It changes so much in our communities in our state. After the first year, we went back and tweaked it and added a combat clause in it. As you all know, all 18 euros know everything. They are like i got this. What is so important about that foster care addition to the Foster Care Program is i actually saw it happen where a young girl was 18, she had done all her work, received this and was ready to move on. You can stay there at the home under 18, you can stay there but of coarse, she said i am ready to get back. So she left and i was worried about her. I remember going back and reaching out and saying reach out if you need help. Lo and behold, a lady came up and said because of the Foster Care Program, i am able to help her and get her the resources she needs. 60 of foster children have experienced Human Trafficking. Learning and understanding all of this is so important to all of our children. During covid, we realized trafficking had not stopped and so we said what is that zoom thing . We got started on zoom and i was like why dont we just invite everyone in the country to come here this . If it is in my backyard, it has to be theirs two. You mentioned it takes a while to get this going. The more you learn, the more you hear, i have learned so much from all of you speaking today. Pages and pages of notes. It is important for us to engage like this. So with a resume, we were able to bring all of these confessionals to our resume summits and so that is where we started the idea of the National Coalition for the division of human sex trafficking to elevate the conversation. That is where it started. In 21, we had the first ever event in new orleans. The ncaa final four was there. Unbeknownst to me, the ncaa buys of every hotel room and every community. So they come in like a year or two before. This is really to work across state lines. And have a best Practices Program so you can come in and get ahead of it. Over there this particular event, we brought all the stakeholders together, Louisiana State police, the fbi, the local Law Enforcement advocate dinner, all these different agencies started sharing numbers and sharing information. A couple of things that came from that one thing and then what happened with that event. We had them come in and attend that one event. What came of that was we discovered on 11 did not have the go there for their operators. Our Governors Office of Human Trafficking prevention, giving them what they needed. That was one thing. We just trained so many people throughout that time. The hotel industry, the restaurant. You know the groups that are engaged in all of this. We trained all of the employees of the superdome. That was huge. It was a huge amount of people. There was a big opportunity for us to start spreading the need and for understanding awareness and prevention of human sex trafficking. One of the things that happened also is the was able to uncover a trafficking ring that came over from texas, no offense. They were able to really go in and figure all of this out. They had all of this all of these extra resources to pull from. They knew each other at that time. Bringing all of the stakeholders together that no one another and share information was huge. One thing that is exciting me about this opportunity, this passed the legislature this session. The louisiana gaming and control board it was signed into law by governor edwards. Basically, the bill will allow louisiana gaming control board to adopt rules and regulations demanding Human Trafficking the intention is inferred to be implemented starting in january, with the help of the office of Human Trafficking and the Gaming Division of Louisiana State police and Gaming DivisionAttorney Generals Office. Every employee in the gaming industry, which is for racetracks in louisiana. We have over 198 truck stops that have video poker, and we have 16 casinos. So thats going to be an estimated 25,000 employees. If we can take that and do that in every state, thats huge. Thats another breaking down and chipping away. Just wanted to share that with you, so honored and feel so blessed to be here and be able to share information with all of you. So, thank you. [applause] next i would like to introduce first lady kent. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me and i am so blessed to be here with the first lady of louisiana. Im so glad to be able to see her face because we have been on zoom calls and that was the world back then, but im very excited to be here facetoface to share so much about this evil industry. But i always appreciate the opportunity to share all that torture is doing in the fight against Human Trafficking, especially to an audience of leaders that can really help us move the needles on in important issue. When Biden Took Office in 2019, which he is actually here with us today, im so excited, we formed the georgians for refuge action known as the Grace Commission, which brought together public officials, Law Enforcement, forprofit and nonprofit organizations, faithbased institutions and subject Matter Experts to create meaningful change in supporting survivors and keeping traffickers off our streets. Four years later we passed eight pieces of legislation designed to make georgia a safe place for victims and offenders about hotspot for offenders. These bills have given new rights to victims and empowered by enforcement to pursue human traffickers. Im proud to say that all pieces of legislation received overwhelming bipartisan support because this issue rises above politics. Maybe one legislator voted against one piece of legislation, but we will work on him for the future. Lets make sure he understands. During the first term we created units in both the States Office and the attorney general and the gbi Georgia Bureau of investigation dedicated to investigating and prosecuting trafficking cases. Both of these units have had great steps. The gbi has investigated 45 Human Trafficking cases in this past fiscal year alone the Attorney Generals Office currently has over 40 traffickers under indictment and have brought even more to justice. The great news is, just this year they have also helped to rescue 115 victims. Thank you. [applause] so we are definitely proud of that work, as my husband always says, we cant wrestle on our own. We are building on our success and im thankful for the partners and business communities like you who can play such an Important Role in this fight and who do play such an Important Role in the fight. Whether its individuals taking our free online Awareness Training through the Grace Commission website, businesses posting notices and their establishment or encouraging employees to know the signs of trafficking or local Law Enforcement working operations to root out traffickers and bars the way people across this state have taken up this fight is truly inspirational. Leadership from ups is here and other Georgia Companies along with Dave Mccleary who is actually on our commission, so i appreciate you being here, dave. In their partnerships have been very incredible. Im also proud to share that the work of the commissions inspiring others to get involved in their own way at our latest meeting, we had a group of High School Girls attend who are concerned about this issue, so they are starting their own Junior Commission, so im very excited about that. Its so important that we educate younger generations about this people because they are being targeted. Traffickers are using social media to stock them and to exploit their owner abilities. That is the new frontier of this evil industry, and its one that i hope you can help us address. Because this issue doesnt respect borders. We are working hard in georgia to address it but its really an issue pacing communities all across the country and across the world. So thank you for your interest in learning more about this terminal enterprise. This event is a great representation of the power of this work. Once you become aware of this horrible evil that is Human Trafficking, you cant help but to try to get involved to fight it. Thats why we work so hard in georgia to make more people aware of it and thats why well gladly work with any of you to help keep victims and potential victims safe. So thanks again for having me, i look forward to our conversation, and god bless you. [applause] thank you so much. You hit on really extraordinary points. I think the last time i looked, Human Trafficking is almost up to 150 alien dollar industry. With the advent of covid and everything, its almost skyrocketed quite a bit. So i will start with you, first lady edwards. He spearheaded the louisiana firs foundation, which serves as a launching pad for programs that focus on educating the whole child and advocates against Human Trafficking to provide resources for children and parents in louisiana. What significant role has the statewide Public Education campaign done to combat human . What has been done in the last year . One of the things we did was the National Coalition for the Human Trafficking coalition. We started with a Campaign Working to educate every department, the department of transportation, Louisiana Department of health, we had every department involved and how they could use their resources, financial or otherwise, Human Resources to help us figure out how to get the word out. So we did the airport psa, in different ways, but getting the kids, its important for us to educate our children to understand and to be aware of it. Question . Is a champion of several legislation bills against Human Trafficking and empowering trafficking survivors, can you highlight one of the most significant pieces of legislation this year that you have in the state, specifically . I think sb 42, can you tell us a little bit more about that . We passed the eight pieces of legislation but this year we did senate bill 42, which was actually already on the books, but it was requiring businesses to post Human Trafficking information, like the airports, the rest stops were people come and go so often, so the businesses were not doing that, so instead of having a five dollar fund, we put into a 500 minimum find to get their attention to put it up. I may have noticed when i flew into your airport today, that there were no postings of any things in the rest anything in the restrooms. So i encourage all to get that piece of legislation passed here. Here really makes it to have those posted in different areas in the business is paying attention to that knowing that that fine is much steeper to have a posted. So proud of that. First lady edwards, as a champion of education awareness and Human Trafficking you talked about your education campaign, it stands for recognizing the signs, ifor educating others. A for acting immediately and l for listening and supporting victims. How has this campaign impacted local communities to have more awareness and prevention . I think just getting them involved in using that Campaign Across the state and really pushing it. We did it right before the event took place. So before the event took place when we knew a lot of people were coming in, we just really went towards making it a huge monthly campaign. We hit every business at all the emails and a way to get the word out there. One of the things, the word, how it came about, was using our Governors Office on trafficking prevention, our survivals counsel and they said so many people said this is not real. We want them to know what israel and it is happening. That was one of the ideals ideas that they came up with. First lady kent, when you have the georgians for refuge action Compassion Commission education we know it was to combat Human Trafficking, what significant landmark has a statewide education accomplished in the last year . Very excited about the Junior Commission that the young girls in High School Want to talk to the younger generation, which obviously thats where its going, younger and younger, unfortunately, but when the commission was formed, i really wanted to learn everything i could to bring everybody to the table that was already working on it. We did not need to reinvent the wheels of things that already had been done, but i realize it was education awareness. Im just like you, this does not happen in georgia. I have never heard a thing about it. I understand why people dont like to talk about it. So we did our Department Department of a ministry of services to the 30 minute training to teach you the signs to look for, so brian was not going to mandate that he was like every Government Employee should take this training, so he suggested probably 85,000 people. So now, the Government Agencies are requiring their individuals, their employees to take it, and i have people come to the great Grace Commission because we have open, at the end or anybodys invited to come and we try to get press to come but they wont air on the news, i dont know why, its very frustrating. But they really are like, what can we do to help . We are like, you can take their training, its 30 minutes, its on the website. Take that training and give you something to look for, and you can save somebody if you are going to the airport, if you are going grocery shopping. It gives you what signs to look for and we actually had a department of transportation individual, because they do require their employees to take it and a man pulled up beside him, he was working on a bridge down in savannah, and a man pulled up beside him and recite, can you help me with my child, i need to go to an aaron and hes like, you can go to Law Enforcement and they will help you and hes like, no, Law Enforcement is looking for me. He had taken the training and he said he looked in the backseat at of that little boys eyes and he said, you staying that training you will get that feeling and you will know somethings wrong. If you save somebodys life, thats pretty incredible. So he left and pulled around the corner, he called Law Enforcement, gave his license tag. Law enforcement approached him and he had gone around the corner and he had is carful of guns and nine munition and he was good i have a shoot out with Police Officers and they intercepted that before he could get off that. Education awareness is key where we have good examples of that. For city edwards, recently you held a first of a kind event, the National Coalition for their convention of human Sex Trafficking Committee to raise awareness, the leadership is made up of first spouses from several states across the country who pledged to use their leadership as platforms to elevate the cause. How does this summit make a difference, both of you all are in it for the summit, so if you can think of how do you think it made a difference, and what are a few takeaways from the summit. I gather once a year and its been going for two years. Quakes during covert we started, but having the first lady come on and present and share what you all are doing in georgia, like shes doing now, sharing what we are doing now with legislation and other awareness campaigns, and sharing across the state lines is huge, getting that word out, educating the public, there are 70 people who still say, oh my gosh, i didnt know this was happening right here. Still today. I didnt know that was happening. People remember stories more than they remember data, but remember when i first heard about the Human Trafficking and was asked to have a presentation at the Governors Mansion and i remember thinking, theres no way they are going to believe this is happening in our little town, which is very small. And this is like a foreign issue, theres just no way they are going to think this is happening. And a young girl was found in our hometown in our own backyard. In a kennel type cage with her own family and i thought, its in the paper, its everywhere. And we really needed to spread the word and we can best use it for leveraging these leadership roles to elevate the conversation, educate and bring awareness. Foster care is a real problem. Many times its family members who are selling their own children for slave labor. Having the awareness in their own spaces important, and then for you, what was the summit like for you, the key takeaways. Unfortunately i was unable to make it to the summit. We can really learn from each other i think the whole thing about all of this is just talking about it. As difficult as a topic of his as it is to discuss, and the sad thing to me is how i would be frustrated sometimes and talk a lot about it, how do you help children when their own parents are selling them . So i think and i said this at one of the Grace Commission meetings because i had some of the survivors come to the meeting. Like i said, we have public, at the very end, and i had to survivors come, and they stood up and they were like, you have no idea what you are talking about, you arent listening to us and i let them give it to me, that was fine. I said, you are exactly right, i dont, but if i can help one of you and if i could get that voice out to let them know they have a choice not to be in this life, that they have a way out, then that will be successful and i said, by the way, you are the reason, and gives me chills. You are the reason i am doing this because you are the one standing up. When i first learned about this, not even in the office yet, you were the one that stood up and gave your testimony as the stop traffic event in atlanta and you are the reason im fighting for you. She started crying at my was about crying and i was like, if i can help you, its worth it to me, completely. Quite so interesting what you just said, it reminded me we had an event at the Governors Mansion. I know some of you probably heard she was speaking and she said, i didnt know i was trafficked, i thought i was a prostitute. I say that slowly because i remember when she said that, it took a second for me to take that in. I didnt know i was trafficked, i thought i was a prostitute, but only when she moved away from that life and got away from that to she realize he didnt love her, he was her trafficker. But it took her moving away from that prostitution, that lifestyle where we had the survivors at that mansion that day and i heard her say, oh my god, thats how i am, thats how i feel, i i thought i was a prostitute, but i was actually being traffic. So theres a lot in that statement, if you just hold onto it, think about that, i tell that to people who have a preconceived idea about prostitution and about prostitutes. I think this is one of those awareness is where we say and Law Enforcement, we work with Law Enforcement and a lot of Law Enforcement today, they are running, they like that lifestyle, thats not true, thats trauma. So educating everybody on this and learning from each other is really how we are going to end up helping and preventing others from being involved. The average age in louisianas 13 years old. 13 years old. Its getting younger and younger, unfortunately. The part of the peace of our legislation had to do with helping educate Law Enforcement as well because a lot of times 99 of the time they are the ones that see them. So to get that to not be recognized as prostitution, that they are made to do this, and we need to get them out like our gbi director we talked about our last Human Trafficking meeting, he was like, when you see these individuals approach you at a Convenience Store at a gas station, they are asking for money, we need to ask the questions of, is somebody asking me to do that, is somebody making you steal, who is doing that . Lets have that conversation and let Law Enforcement look like their heroes to help them instead of being afraid of Law Enforcement, which there trafficker is telling them to be afraid of Law Enforcement. To just kinda change the mindset of that a little and i would encourage all to learn more about, if you have not learned about this, there was a book written by one of my Commission Members called rescuing hope and it helped me it stories of things that happened to one character, but it was true stories of what happened to victims in georgia. So i had brian read it and its a tough read. But it will help you understand how they get in this life and actually what to look for. Susan north is on my commission, and they have become a good friend through this, working together. She has a foundation as well, but i would encourage you to read that book. Most of the time its not a choice. Education is key, awareness is key. Also, kind of the Recovery Process of remediation within children and when folks get out of it, its so important like we heard about today, so, thank you for that. And last and final question, and we can do more, if youd like. How can each of us as individuals and businesses make a difference against the fight against Human Trafficking in our communities . What are some things we can do from an individual standpoint and from business standpoint . I feel like we heard of we heard a lot of that today. Its so encouraging. Weve written down ive written down summary notes from you all on the business side of it and getting involved. Its huge. I am going back and im really going to pound the doors on that. The secretary of iowa was talking about getting the secretary of state involved. Getting these different agencies in different groups involved is how we will chip away at this andreescu and save these lives. But it will take all of us. We cant do it just one of us, but we all come together and collaborate and share best practices, share ideas, and then we take that back to our states and we implemented and we work on it. That to me, what you all shared today, is huge. I was talking to brian on the fly over here, the Early Morning flight was canceled, we were running late. But a lot of these nonprofits that are working with these survivors, they dont have anything when they come out of that life, so they need a job, we have opened up to receiving centers in georgia to have them in place to go as opposed to going to jail because thats the only place they know to take them to. My goal is to have a receiving center in all the regions of our state. But also, just to join with a nonprofit i know ups, delta, they all do such great work, but we have to work. We have a labor of shortage as well. So we can get these young individuals into the workforce because they have nothing, they dont even have practically close on their back. I think that we pa great way to work on helping them by working with nonprofits to help them get jobs. Definitely. They are brave. They are just fantastic, very good. Thats about it, and less you all have something you would like to share with the group. Im going to say the website, go to each others websites. Ive been on your websites today and learning from those going forward. So, Human Trafficking. L. A. Gov was a website that was put together with the help of survivors and so, information that they need and they want to be able to look at, but also for all of us, an opportunity for the Governors Office, Human Trafficking and prevention who worked on this website and it has a really neat button at the end that they came up with this idea that the quick exit, and you cant go back on it. If you are looking for help and somebody grabs their phone, they can hit that. Theres just all kinds of Little Things that theyve added, even the logo, and thats the story listed there. I think going to one anothers website in between all of this and learning from one another is an opportunity to continue this engagement. Definitely talk to your legislators, they will pass the bills, laws and challenges to take on these hard topics and get them to make a difference because the legislation has made a really big difference in georgia. Also, just to let those survivors know that somebody cares about them. Thats another thing i left off. When she got upset after the meeting, when we were talking, shes like, nobody ever asked dust, nobody thinks about what we think. Cares about what we think. We had the survivors come to the Governors Office, and they played a part of the bill that we have, they actually talk to our attorneys and talk to our policy people and they helped create that. And they felt so empowered that somebody cared about them. And i think they deserve that. They have lost their childhood, so, talk to those legislators and put pressure on them. It so important about them working on those policies, because when those victims go to the four committees, and they talk about these bills deals, they really change the direction of the thought process of all of these legislators. So its huge to have the survivors there. If you look at the survivors and it doesnt break your heart, you dont have a heart in my opinion. They need to see that, like changing the age, they need to look at these individuals and see what they have been through. Thank you so much, thank you for the call to action, thank you for all that youve done, its really amazing. We appreciate you all. We are really thrilled by having you all here, so thank you so much, really appreciate your time. Glad to be here. [applause] this is hosted by the washington post