Escape Artist Overcomes Trafficking, Trauma, Addiction, and More – Ep. 51

At age 5, she remembers being touched inappropriately; at 7, doing drugs for the first time; at 10, going into foster care, where she was a “lost child” until getting adopted in her teens.

As an adult and addict at risk of losing her own children, Chari sought help in the fall of 2022 and began a remarkable transformation. Join Julie and Charity in The Escape Pod as they welcome this special guest and OneHeart "rock star" to share her inspiring story of overcoming trauma and choosing a better life for herself and her kids.

Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers:

• Topic #1 1:04 Escaping the Zoom video preview? One co-host wishes she had!

• Topic #2 6:01 Meet escape artist and special guest Chari

• Topic #3 23:12 The truth about human trafficking

• Topic #4 31:44 Chari talks OneHeart, safety, and why she’s able to thrive

• Topic #5 42:36 Creating healthy family connections

Resources & Links

• Since its inception in 2007, the National Human Trafficking Hotline has received 909 signals and identified 175 cases of human trafficking in SD, with 579 identified victims. “South Dakota.” Accessed March 8, 2024. https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/statistics/south-dakota.

• Information obtained from the SD Department of Public Safety (DPS) via a public records request notes that in SD state fiscal year 2022, DPS Victims’ Assistance funds supported 12 victims of labor trafficking and 258 victims of sex trafficking; in state fiscal year 2023, funds supported 24 victims of labor trafficking and 253 victims of sex trafficking.

• A 2018 report from the Human Trafficking Institute found that SD ranked 8th in the nation for number of new criminal cases initiated; 11th for number of active criminal cases; and 22nd for number of defendants convicted.

• “2018 Federal Human Trafficking Report.” Human Trafficking Institute. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://traffickinginstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2018-Human-Trafficking-Report-SD.pdf.

• Federal and state law enforcement have worked together to make nearly 100 arrests (primarily for attempted commercial sex trafficking of minors) from 2009 – 2023 during the Sturgis Rally. A total of 39 trafficking arrests were made from 2019-2023, 92% of whom were SD residents, demonstrating the state’s demand.

• Hope, Native. “Human Trafficking at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.” Accessed April 10, 2024. https://blog.nativehope.org/sex-trafficking-during-the-sturgis-motorcycle-rally.

• Of all U.S. cities, Rapid City, SD, has the ninth highest number of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls cases not in law enforcement records.

• Lucchesi, Annita, and Abigail Echo-Hawk. “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls.” Our Bodies, Our Stories. Urban Indian Health Institute. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.uihi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Missing-and-Murdered-Indigenous-Women-and-Girls-Report.pdf.

• In 2019, Shared Hope International released its annual “state report cards” on human trafficking responses and services. SD received a “D” grade—the lowest given to any state—due to gaps in statutes protecting and serving youth victims of sex trafficking, including connecting them with specialized services.

• Ferguson, Danielle. “South Dakota Ranks Lowest in National Report Card on Sex Trafficking.” Argus Leader. Accessed April 10, 2024. https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2019/11/20/south-dakota-ranks-lowest-national-report-card-sex-trafficking/4227721002/.

•  Call to Freedom Stats

• In 2023, CTF served 419 clients and their intersecting needs; of these, 86% were below the federal poverty line, 53% had experienced homelessness, and 38% identified as American Indian or Alaska Native.

• We’ve served over 1,400 clients since our founding in 2016, and the majority of those individuals were from—and trafficked within—South Dakota.

• In 2023, a total of 36 clients served by CTF stated that their perpetrator was a family/household member; an additional 28 stated it was a parent.

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