24-046 Human Trafficking Awareness Month

1:05:06Okay, we'll move on to R three.

1:05:12Um if you are here for National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, please step to the podium.

1:05:23Oh, you bought a whole crowd with it, uh

1:05:27Hmm.

1:05:32Almost everyone's in blue.

1:05:34Right.

1:05:36All right.

1:05:37Yes, the day.

1:05:39R I'll go I'll go ahead and read the resolution. Resolution number twenty four dash zero four six, a resolution by the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, declaring the month of January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in January eleventh, twenty twenty four as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in Pasco County. Whereas human trafficking is a crime against a person whereby through exploitation an individual is compelled to work or engage in a commercial sex act through force,

1:06:09fraud, or coercion, thereby being stripped of their na of their rights and humanity. Traffickers typically use multiple means to control their victims, including beatings, rape, isolation. Forced drug alcohol dependency, Withholding of documentation and psychological and emotional abuse. ANRAS, the International Labor Organization, conservatively estimates that there are over forty-nine point six million victims of human trafficking worldwide, and that this crime is

1:06:39second only to the illegal drug trade in terms of the speed of its growth and the profits that it generates, as human beings can be sold repeatedly. NRAS Human Trafficking has been reported in all fifty states. Florida consistently ranks third in the nation in both the number of calls made to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. and the number of case of cases identified. In Florida in 2021, there were 781 identified cases of trafficking

1:07:09involving 1,253 victims. with a hundred and fifty one being children. Unrest human trafficking is occurring in Pasco County. Through the Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking, our community has united to combat. It has united to combat this horrific crime and restore dignity to survivors by bringing together the sectors deemed critical to effectively combat human trafficking. such as law enforcement, schools, child welfare, nonprofits, businesses, faith

1:07:40based organizations, survivors, and more. And RAS, despite these dedicated local efforts, more awareness, education, and advocacy are needed to eradicate human trafficking. Every resident of Pasco County is called upon to declare that the exploitation of people for profit has no place in our world and that we need to work together to restore freedom, dignity, and justice to all. ANRAS January is annually declared as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month,

1:08:10and January eleventh as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Now therefore, be it resolved by the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, that said board hereby declares January 2024 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in Pasco County, Florida, and that all citizens are encouraged to participate in education, awareness, advocacy, and prevention efforts to combat human trafficking. Dennon resolved in regular session with a quorum president and voting this ninth day of January, twenty twenty four.

1:08:39Move to a print.

1:08:40Second.

1:08:41Got a motion and a second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All uh all against? Like sign? Yep. Motion passed. 5-0. Welcome guys.

1:08:54Good morning members of the board. Brian Hoban, Director of Community Services. Just wanted to take a minute to thank you all for your continued support for the Commission on Human Trafficking. They do phenomenal work in the community, mainly prevention and educational services. We're really proud um that in twenty twenty four one of our major goals is to make sure that some of that education comes back to Pasco County government and we're gonna start a campaign to make sure that there's an opportunity to to bring that educational component to every uh team member here at the county. Also want to take a minute to thank Tracy Toner.

1:09:25She is our misdemeanor probation manager and our County Liaison with the coalition. And uh wanna introduce Liana Dean, uh the chairperson, so she can say a few words.

1:09:36Good morning everyone. Thank you so much for recognizing that January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. We really appreciate that. We want to thank you for your continued support. I don't know if you guys are aware, but September 2024 the commission will have been in existence for ten years. So we were the first commission established in the state of Florida. We've been looked to for guidance not only in the region but around the state. Um and we could not do the work that we've done without you. So I just wanted To take a minute and kind of highlight some of the important things that we've done over the last decade. We've trained close to 15,000

1:10:06people. That's a conservative estimate, both here in the county and around the state of Florida. Some of us have also spoken nationally. Alan advises state and national leaders about the issue of human trafficking. We've also made an estimated six million impressions with the campaigns that we've put together. And not just in Pasco County, but in the Tampa Bay region. And our in-person events and things that we've done have reached thousands of people as well. So I feel like we've really made an impact over the last decade. We were the first county in the state of Florida to get human

1:10:36trafficking curricula into all of Pasco County schools. That was huge before the state mandated it. We got calls from all over the state of Florida. How did you all do that? So I feel like the things that we've been able to accomplish have really positioned us as a leader in the state of Florida when it comes to addressing human trafficking and preventing it. This last year alone, we worked with a group of students, Teams Battle Human Trafficking from High School here in Pasco, and we created three public service announcements, which you hopefully will see on television, on NBC and ABC here in the next month.

1:11:07And that is messaging that the kids put together. They were so concerned about the messaging that they were receiving on social media, the things that they were bombarded with, the attempts to recruit them, the the attempts to groom them, but they wanted to address it. So those public service announcements were made in partnership with Digital Light Bridge and will be out on television here in the next few weeks. We are also educating RV parks in Pasco County. We touched every RV park in the county and gave them information and education about human trafficking. So that was another big initiative that we did last year. We partnered

1:11:37with Go Pasco to put information on public all the buses in Pasco County, not just for the general public, but to reach potential victims as well. So those just highlight some of the things that we've done. We worked with law enforcement, all five law enforcement. Enforcement agencies to get information out. We hope to partner with Bio Rescue to launch the same campaign. And I have the privilege of just introducing our survivor representative, Laura Henderson. She is with One More Child, and she's actually been invited to speak at a state press conference up in Tallahassee next

1:12:07week as a survivor to give advice and guidance at the state level. So I'm just gonna hand the floor to Laura for just a moment. so she can share with you what we have planned for 2024. Thank you.

1:12:19Good morning. Uh my name is Laura Henderson and as the Survivor Representative and Vice Chair, it is my honor and privilege to share with you the plans that the Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking has for the year 2024. We plan to train all 3,300 county staff on human trafficking and provide them with a wallet-sized card that outlines indicators and red flags as well as how to report. County staff will also be provided with materials on how to seek

1:12:49help that they can give to potential victims they may encounter. We plan to promote the free public service announcements created for youth by the group Teens Battle Human Trafficking. These PSAs will be on TV, streaming, and on social media as well. We plan to host an event with the Free Network in order to engage businesses in Pasco County. To partner with Pasco Fire Rescue to create awareness materials, create a mailer that can be

1:13:19sent out to households across Pasco County. Partner with the USF Advocacy Lab and Trafficking in Persons Lab to further regional anti-trafficking efforts, as well as taking steps to address labor trafficking. And I just also want to thank you so much for your ongoing support in the work that you do. It is very much appreciated. We could not do all of this without you. Thank you.

1:13:46Thank you. Mr. Bradford.

1:13:49Mr. Jack had a few comments. As a former law enforcement officer, I'm extremely proud to put this resolution forward. The work the Pasco County Commission What human trafficking does toward it. educating not only individuals but entire organizations is hugely important and I thank you for your efforts. This month I urge everyone. to learn how to identify the signs

1:14:19of human trafficking and report potential illegal activity to the local and state law enforcement. Thank you.

1:14:28Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

1:14:31Oh thank you. Um I'm really excited that you're here. This is such an important topic. Um as the clerk of circuit court This is something that my team sees every day, day in and day out. Last year, um Attorney General Ashley Moody put out um the call for being part of the 100% club, which is a proactive way of getting training for all employees. So my office is uh in part of the 100% club. I would love

1:15:01to continue that training. So if you have um business card that you can give me before you leave, I would appreciate that. I'd like to continue. Yeah. I just want to say thank you for the work that you're doing. I know that January eleventh is um the day that we are going to have awareness for human trafficking. I see you all in blue. Um that is the color to support it. Um and my office will be wearing blue on that day, and I think that it'd be great if um all our local um partners could remember to wear

1:15:31blue on January. 11th as well. But thank you for the work you do. It is so critical and so important. Um it is it is sad that this happens in in our community and happens in our state, in our country, in the world. And we're going to help you get that word out so that we can help put a stop to human trafficking. Thank you.

1:15:52Yeah, I wanna thank you for um all the work you do and the w and the awareness you bring to um human trafficking and I'm so proud of our county being first in so many ways on on this topic. Um and I just want to shout out to our survivor. Um thank you so much for the courage to to come forward. I know that's not easy, but um I think it's first hand testimonies and uh participation by survivors that really make this uh uh uh really

1:16:22resonate in everyone. So I just thank you for your courage. Thank you very much. Okay.

1:16:28Right. I'd like to thank you all as well. Um the congratulations on your survival and the leadership you're showing now to to help others get out of that situation and have uh educate others as well. So thanks for all the great work you're doing.

1:16:41Thank you. Yeah, last year we had a horrible incident where a minor was traffic through the adult businesses in our county and more in central Florida and working with our state legislature and I think this board was pretty unanimous in in finding a way to to reel in, you know, those activities. It'd be nice I don't know if we can require it, but the literature that you all have, you know, be bold and go to the novelty stores and the the adult establishments

1:17:12and and have to you know put your information up on the wall like workers comp fly in in businesses. Uh that way if folks are in there they can see it and it it keeps keeps keeps it on people's mind. So you know you guys are doing the embolden what you do and we're here to support you. So so thank you for doing doing very difficult and probably uncomfortable work at times. We're proud of what you do.

1:17:38Okay. I don't know guys. Yeah, I'll continue making uh headway on newer and better ways to take care of these issues. I spent my first six years as a commissioner with your committee and your group, so Um I remember Alan going out to teach and go to different schools and all of teach and all the awareness and you not only made us proud here in Pasco County but in actually in Florida and a lot of people don't realize that you are nationally known also

1:18:08because of all the good work you've done in the past and and you continue to do so. So uh I certainly appreciate everything y'all have done and that we look there and I'm here and I'm sure the rest of the board are here to help you any way we can for the future. So we'd be more than happy to help you. So if Mr. Bradford would go down and present the uh resolution and we'll stay up here on the dais.

1:18:57I got my bigger.

1:19:00I got big heels.

1:19:03I brought my puppy with him over there. Single.

1:19:11Okay, spacing on the Interesting. Get back to like a second. But we can spit you right. Can you see?

1:19:22Before we start, I just want to say it's never a good age to break the female though. What

1:19:29thing?

1:19:31Everybody right here, please continue with that.

1:19:39Thank you all. Appreciate it.

1:19:40I still do the main thing.

1:19:54Absolutely. Cross stripes that kind of jumpy bringing it in.

1:19:58Yeah, all I don't want to just keep it.

1:20:01I don't care what