Emancipation: Disrupting the Modern Slave Trade

Bailey had the unique and great opportunity to work with KID News Radio putting on an event called Emancipation: Disrupting the Modern Slave Trade. I'll give a little background on how this came about, because we feel like it was a huge blessing in Bailey's life. KID News Radio has started a quarterly conversation series, and decided that human sex trafficking would be the first one they did. Since this was a trial run, they had no idea what to expect from the community. They contacted the 4 area high schools to see if there were any seniors who could help with the event for their senior project. Bailey had met with her school counselor at the beginning of her senior year, and she talked to him about going to Boise State in the Fall, and studying Criminal Justice (the law enforcement side), and specializing in domestic violence and human trafficking. The counselor remembered this, so he called Bailey down to his office and told her about the event. She had already completed her senior project, but still jumped at the chance to help. She was the only high school student in the city to respond. She worked her buns off, and helped put on a VERY SUCCESSFUL event! Here's what the event entailed:

Disruptor Podcast Series- Sydney Jensen put on an awesome podcast series that focused on the impact and presence of human sex trafficking in Southeast Idaho. She interviewed local experts, a survivor, law enforcement, and advocates. The hope was to disrupt the current view on trafficking in our area, and teach people how to protect themselves, their families, and their communities. The podcasts were awesome! Bailey got to sit in on some of the interviews, and loved it!

The Abolitionist Documentary- The Monday before the event, there was a special discounted screening of The Abolitionist Documentary at the Paramount. The movie was so eye opening and disturbing. I recommend everyone see it!

The Event- This is where all of Bailey's hard work came into play. The event was held at the Hillcrest Performing Arts Center. They had a panel of experts on the stage, and Neal Larson and Julie Mason hosted the event. After the panel was introduced, the audience could text in questions. Sydney and Bailey screened the questions and sent them to Neal and Julie on stage. Then the experts were asked, and the questions were answered. There were booths in the lobby from local organizations working to fight human trafficking, or things that put people at high risk. People could visit the booths before or after the event. Bailey was in charge of the booths. She got in contact with local organizations and arranged for them to come. She set up the area, and helped make that whole part of the event run smoothly. They were hoping for at least 100 people at the event, but really had no idea what to expect. It ended up being very successful. They are estimating that over 300 people showed up. The booths were a huge success! Some of them had so many people visit that they ran out of stuff to hand out! The community really stepped up and realized this is a global problem that not even our small town is immune from.

Through Bailey helping out with this event, she has made several incredible contacts in a field she plans to be very involved in. She is no longer going to Hawaii for her senior trip. She leaves the day after graduation to go to Haiti on a service mission with Operation Shield. She will be volunteering with other organizations here, and in Boise once she leaves for college. I'm so proud of her! She is dedicated and determined to make a difference in this world! 

The Booths:

ATA Martial Arts had a booth. This is where Bailey takes all of her self defense classes that she loves so much!

Off the Grid Investigations: this booth was very interesting. It's a private investigation firm that deals with things like child custody, missing persons, cold case investigations, etc. They have linked a lot of the cold cases to human trafficking. They also teach a class called, Prepared Not Paranoid.

This is cute Julie! She's in Mark's BYU-I ward, and we love her! She works at the Family Crisis Center in Rexburg.

The Bonneville Youth Development Council is a great organization that helps keep kids away from substance abuse.

Operation Underground Railroad's booth was a huge hit! They work to eradicate child sex trafficking throughout the world by rescue and recovery.

Operation Shield is another great organization dedicated to preventing and treating victims of child sex trafficking. Bailey will be going to Haiti on a service mission with them right after graduation.

This booth was a domestic violence and crisis center in Idaho Falls.

Stewards of Children is a great organization fighting against child abuse. She gave a statistic that 60% of children are physically abused before they are trafficked. Bailey might be helping them with a Survivors and Advocated Benefit they have coming up.

Meet the panel: Stephanie Silva-a survivor that was trafficked right here in Idaho Falls. She is now an advocate. Dr. Deirdre Caputo-Levine- a professor of sociology, social work, and criminology at Idaho State University. Chief Bryce Johnson of the Idaho Falls Police Department. Dr. Jim Hopla- an expert in addictions (drugs and pornography), and how the brain works. He is a professor at BYU-I. Matt Smith- Executive Director of Operation Shield.

Julie, Bailey, and Neal. Julie and Neal are the hosts of KID News Radio, but they are also our good friends and neighbors. Bailey was so excited when she found out they were the ones hosting the event!

Bailey and Jim Hopla. Jim was interviewed for a podcast, and he was on the panel. He's another great friend of ours!

Sydney, Julie, and Bailey. Sydney was the one responsible for pulling this event off. She did a great job. Bailey really enjoyed working with her. Julie ran a booth for the Family Crisis Center, and we love her!

We were a little nervous that people would just leave after the event, and not stop at the booths. That didn't happen! The booths were packed with people after the event was over. Some of them even ran out of handouts!

Crowded booths!