Episode 36: Recognizing and Responding to Human Trafficking in Gaming Environments

If you need support, confidential help is available through the Michigan Human Trafficking Hotline by call or text at 1-855-VOICES-4 (1-855-864-2374), or chat at www.michigan.gov/VOICES4.

In this episode of Double Down Michigan, MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams sits down with Tiffany Martinez, LMSW, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Human Trafficking and Special Projects Director, for an in-depth conversation on human trafficking and its intersection with the gaming industry. Drawing from her Human Trafficking 101 training, Tiffany explains the realities behind common myths, outlines the federal framework that guides anti-trafficking efforts, and highlights the vulnerabilities and indicators gaming professionals should be aware of.
 
Listeners will learn how trafficking situations often present in subtle and complex ways, why both sex and labor trafficking impact communities across Michigan, and how employees in casinos, online gaming operations, and hospitality settings can play a meaningful role in identifying and supporting victims. Tiffany also shares practical guidance on trauma-informed responses, industry-specific tools and resources, and steps organizations can take to build stronger prevention practices.
 
This episode serves as an essential introduction for anyone working in gaming regulation, operations, or public safety—and underscores the shared responsibility to protect individuals who may be at risk or in need of help.

If you would like to contact Tiffany Martinez, please reach out to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Human Trafficking Health Advisory Board at MDHHS-HTHAB@Michigan.gov

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hello? Where are you? The party started an hour ago. I got, um, you know, delayed. Wait, are you at the casino again? Casino? No, not at all.

SPEAKER_02 0:15

If gambling is getting in the way of your priorities, self-exclusion from the Detroit Casinos might be for you. Learn more at don'tregretthebet.org. A message from the Michigan Gaming Control Board. Have a gambling problem? Call the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800GAMBLE.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

On the Double Down Michigan podcast, we explore topics related to the gaming industry in Michigan. Host Henry Williams, Michigan Gaming Control Board Executive Director, discusses responsible to gaming, gaming legislation in our state, current trends, and more. We feature special guests from the gaming industry so you can get the inside scoop. Be sure to subscribe to Double Down Michigan, a podcast by the Michigan Gaming Control Board to stay up to date on the latest in gaming. Thank you for listening.

SPEAKER_03 1:15

Hello and welcome to this episode of Double Down Michigan Podcast, where we're taking a closer look at issues shaping the gaming landscape here in Michigan and beyond. I'm Henry Williams, Executive Director of the Michigan Gaming Control Board. Today I'm joined by a very special guest, Tiffany Martinez, a licensed master social worker with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Tiffany serves as the Human Trafficking Special Projects Director, where she leads statewide training and outreach to help communities better understand, identify, and respond to human trafficking. We're grateful to have her here with us today to share her expertise and help our gaming industry partners recognize the signs and play a role in preventing this crime. Tiffany, thank you for being here today.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Thank you. Happy to be here.

SPEAKER_03 2:04

Tiffany, thank you for joining us. Can you briefly share with our listeners your role at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services in the work you do as the Human Trafficking and Special Projects Director?

SPEAKER_01 2:17

Sure. So one of my roles, my main roles there at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is overseeing all of the anti-trafficking work of the Division of Victim Services. And so what that means is that I spend a lot of time with community programs that work directly with victims of human trafficking. I spend a lot of time with them building a network, training, providing technical assistance. And then I also spend a lot of my time with statewide partners, tribal partners, really with the main goal of improving our state's response to trafficking survivors, to make sure that they get what they need. And as a state, we're doing what we need and collaborating and coordinating with one another to give them that.

SPEAKER_03 2:58

Okay, great. What expi inspired you to pursue a career in this field and what motivates you to continue this work?

SPEAKER_01 3:06

So that's a pretty deep question. I will say that it's gonna sound pretty cliche, but I always knew I wanted to go into something that helped people. I didn't know exactly that what it would be until I was in college, and um that was in the 90s, and heard about this social work field that I really had never really even had heard about before. And so I was like, oh, social work, what is that? And uh I went to an introduction to social work class, um, was fascinated by what social workers do, and I knew that's what I wanted to do with my life. And so when I went on to grad school, my um first internship was at a community-based organization that worked with domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse victims. Again, this was in the 90s, so we didn't have the terminology trafficking. Um, and when I look back at my work that I did at that internship, and then subsequently I stayed on there and and uh worked with victims of domestic and sexual violence and child abuse. Um, I know that some of the people I worked with were were trafficking victims at the time, but again, we just didn't know it and we didn't have uh a term for it back then. Um but I was just inspired by the people that I worked with, all that they had been through, um, the strength that they displayed in spite of all of that, the resiliency, and I just knew I wanted to be someone that could help support them in their journey of healing. And that was 30 years ago, and here I am today.

SPEAKER_03 4:28

Yes, public service, I tell you. Um human trafficking is often misunderstood. Before we get into details, how do you define human trafficking in a way that the public can clearly grasp?

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Yeah. I think the most simple way to put it is that human trafficking is compelled service, whether that be compelled labor or compelled um uh commercial sex. And so traffickers use um force, uh fraud, you know, they trick people or they coerce people into compelled service. They take advantage of societal and individual vulnerabilities. Um, they prey upon those vulnerabilities to be able to ex and exploit them to compel people to engage, like I said, in either uh forced labor um or commercial sex so that they, the traffickers, can profit from that.

SPEAKER_03 5:23

Okay. And I think many people don't understand that there's just not commercial sex trafficking, but as she said, labor.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

Yeah. And that's one of the reasons why um when I was asked to come on and um and do this podcast, I said yes because I want to make sure that when we talk about trafficking, we talk about it in its totality. Many people often just talk about sex trafficking, and I wanted to make sure that we also talk about labor trafficking. Um, particularly within the gaming industry, there's there's there's a place to talk about that, and it's important that people have that awareness as well.

SPEAKER_03 5:54

Well, absolutely. And the gaming industry is such a large industry, and there's definitely um different um areas of work that we may not even think about or people may not even recognize um that someone may be forced labor.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

Right, exactly. Or where or how that could happen. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:14

Absolutely. Okay. Tiffany, many people assume human trafficking always involves kidnapping or smuggling. What are some of the biggest myths and misconceptions you encounter?

SPEAKER_01 6:25

Well, I think one of them is one that we just talked about, um, that that when we talk about trafficking, we're only talking about sex trafficking, but there is labor trafficking as well. And I know we'll get into that a little bit more as we talk today. Um but the other big one is what you just mentioned, uh, and I think it's because of the name, I mean, human trafficking. Trafficking, people think of trafficking, they think of movement. Um, and that doesn't have to be a part of human trafficking, and oftentimes it's not part of. So I would say that's one of the biggest myths. People oftentimes conflate or confuse human smuggling with human trafficking. And the best way to think about that is human smuggling is a crime against borders, so it's moving people across borders, and human trafficking is a crime against an individual. And so there doesn't have to be any movement for that to happen. Um, so that's one of the biggest myths that we come across. I think one of the other myths that's oftentimes related to this movement myth is that trafficking survivors are often kidnapped and then held against their will, like physically held against their will. And the reality is that oftentimes with survivors that um we speak with, the information that we have about what trafficking looks like is that uh individuals can be trafficked and are often trafficked by people that they know. So a family member, somebody who has um built or developed a relationship with the victim. Um the victim sometimes might think that it's their um you know intimate partner and they're sort of traffickers leveraging that relationship to be able to exploit them to get them to do the things that they want them to do. Uh so that's another big myth is that um people are often trafficked by, you know, uh someone that they don't know or a stranger. That's just not the case. Some of the other things I think that we look at as myths in the trafficking arena are that only girls or women are trafficked, and and we know that's not true. We know men and boys um and and people who maybe are non-binary or don't don't define themselves as a certain gender, um, that they also um can be trafficked as well. I think some of the other myths really, and and this this ties into how media portrays the issue, I think, uh social media, uh news, um, that they portray victims oftentimes or the imaging that they use. You'll see victims in chains or you'll see them with bruises all over their bodies. And what we again, what we hear from survivors is that although for some physical abuse that force may be a part of it, it's the coercion, it's the psychological coercion, it's the threats that oftentimes is what keeps victims in that situation. So one way that I've heard um survivors talk about it is it isn't the the physic being physically kept in the situation, but it's the psychological coercion or abuse that keeps them in the situation. So they may be able to walk around freely, um, but that doesn't mean that they feel that they have the ability to leave because there's fear of repercussion of what will happen to them, maybe their children, maybe their family members if they do walk away from that situation.

SPEAKER_03 9:25

Wow, so almost um emotionally trapped.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

Right. I I mean you hear survivors talk about that often, that they feel emotionally, like you said, trapped in that situation, um, that that psychological con coercion is really strong. And and then the other thing that I just have to mention um that I think is a big myth is that um most individuals who you know escape trafficking do so because they're rescued. And I and if there's anything that I can get out today in in this podcast is that um the survivors that um that I've met, that I've worked with, um, the the limited amount of research that we do have where survivors have had a voice, it's really clear that it is their own strength, it's their own resiliency, it's their own resourcefulness that typically leads from them escaping the situation. That doesn't mean that we don't all have a role to play, you know, um in the public, of course, service providers, community service providers, law enforcement, um, public health, you know, mental health providers. We all have a role to play, but ultimately when you talk to survivors, it is really their own strength and resourcefulness that gets them out of that situation.

SPEAKER_03 10:35

Wow, very good. Um in your statewide training presentation, you draw on an important distinction between sex trafficking and labor trafficking. For our listeners, what should they understand about the prevalence of each?

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Yeah, I I think, you know, with that training in particular, it was really important um for me then and then again now to talk about both labor and sex trafficking so we don't forget that both both exist. Um I think it's really important that people though understand that because of the nature of this crime, it's it's a hidden crime. There's a for for survivors, there's a lot of shame. Um, and and that shame oftentimes is um purposeful. The traffickers use that as a psychological uh coercion to to make victims feel as if they are responsible for getting themselves into the situation that no one's gonna believe them. Sometimes traffickers um force them to commit crimes, um which mean that survivors are not gonna want to reach out to possibly law enforcement or others because they are concerned, um rightly so, for the repercussions of what might happen because of what the traffickers have made them do. And so it's a it's a hidden crime, which means um there aren't people walking around saying, I'm a survivor, I'm a survivor, I'm a victim. There aren't people who are calling law enforcement all the time because of some of those concerns that I just um raised that survivors might have. And so our prevalence data is not great. Um, we don't have a lot of really good reliable data around um how often this happens, either sex trafficking or labor trafficking. Um so I would suggest that when people hear statistics um or they hear, you know, I've heard the number thrown around, you know, Michigan has been number two, Michigan's number four in trafficking, there's just no reliable data for that. And so for people to really take any statistics that they hear with a grain of salt and to understand the context of those statistics, and then just know that we just don't have great great data. What the data that we do have, so there's the National Human Trafficking Hotline, so it's a national number where victims can call if they want connection with resources, if they want support, and individuals can call if they want to make a tip. And what we do know from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, they record all that data. And in 2024, there were 764, what the hotline calls as signals, that means outreach, you know, to the hotline. 764 signals from the state of Michigan, and of those 764, 219 were victims or survivors of human trafficking. Most of those identified as sex trafficking uh victims, but there were um quite a few, I would say close to 100 that also identified as labor traffic survivors or labor and or sex. Um, but again, I would say part of that disproportionality has to do with just the lack of awareness around labor trafficking that it actually exists, and that lack of awareness also impacts survivors of not identifying themselves as someone who's a victim of that, so less likely to kind of reach out for help. Um I also want to talk a little bit about a project that we're doing here in the state. Um, uh one of my roles is to oversee a grant that we receive from the Department of Justice to look specifically at improving outcomes for children and youth of trafficking. One of the things that we've done as part of this grant is to do a statewide uh assessment about what is trafficking, what's the nature of trafficking here within the state of Michigan. So, through this, we have received information from over 350 um different community-based and statewide organizations throughout the state. So these are people that cover every county of the state who have all reported that they have served and worked with victims of human trafficking. So, although we don't have the best prevalence data, we know that it happens in Michigan, we know that it impacts and and can impact every community in Michigan, and that's why important it's important that we do things like this to raise awareness.

SPEAKER_03 14:33

Okay, great. I was just um listening to Detroit City Council. I don't I'm a Detroit resident. I was just listening to Detroit City Council public meeting um yesterday, and I believe it was Councilwoman Callaway, where she mentioned a new requirement for the city of Detroit where I guess at hotels it has to be placed in a prevalence uh viewable space, they have to post the 1-800 number and also a 313 number for victims of human trafficking. That they're required now to place these numbers in a visible place where people can see them.

SPEAKER_01 15:10

I think that's great. I think the more that we can get information out, um, particularly um for individuals who may be experiencing trafficking of where they can reach out for help and support um and to let them know that that people care, that what they're experiencing isn't okay, and there's somewhere that they can reach out to again to get help and support. I think the more we can do that, the better.

SPEAKER_03 15:29

Okay, great. Now, sitting here speaking with you today, um, I may need to reach out to the councilwoman to because they probably need to place these in bars as well, right? Require these signs to be placed in bars.

SPEAKER_01 15:42

Yeah, I uh again I would advocate for for wherever we can get information out to the public that um gives accurate information about what human trafficking is, that um that there's help and support for survivors and where they can contact someone to get that help and support, the more the better.

SPEAKER_03 15:59

Okay, great. Um when it comes to recognizing vulnerabilities and indicators, what sign should employees working in regulated gaming environments such as casinos, sportsbooks, online platforms, and even for my regulation officers officers, um what should they be watching for?

SPEAKER_01 16:20

Yeah. So this is uh sort of a difficult question that I think has a nuanced answer of like it depends on lots of different things. Um, you know, as I stated earlier, I think everyone has a role to play. Everyone can have a role to play and should be educated around what trafficking is and how to help someone who may be in need. And uh it's really difficult to see from an isolated behavior that something may be trafficking, unless it's just, you know, blatant. So it's very difficult to see from a few behaviors in isolation that, like, oh, that's trafficking. I need to call somebody right away. Um, and so I just want to preface this conversation with that. Um, something that's a little bit different, I think, um, particularly in an in-person, you know, gaming establishment, is that typically people are going to be there for more than a few minutes. Typically, you people don't usually come in and come out. It's not a it's not usually a quick encounter, I wouldn't think. So there is an opportunity in those types of environments that when there are certain things that make individuals think, hmm, that seems a little odd, that maybe those uh indicators might make that employee think, I need to alert somebody, not to like step in and now we're calling law enforcement, to but to maybe um pay closer attention, to maybe observe a little more, um, spend a little more time observing that individual or that situation. So, really, time and context helps to better understand the behaviors that you're seeing. So, so some of the behaviors that might show up um in gaming uh industry is maybe you see someone who doesn't appear to have the freedom to move freely. Although, like we talked about earlier, a lot of individuals who've experienced trafficking, whether that be labor or sex trafficking, they can move freely. They're not kept locked behind doors, they're not kept in chains. Um they can move around, but it's really that psychological, you know, coercion that keeps them in that victimization situation. But that could happen. You could have someone who doesn't really have freedom of movement and always has somebody sort of at their side that's controlling their movement. So that would make, if I was somebody working in the game, the gaming industry, that would make me think, hmm, I wonder what's going on here. I might want to pay closer attention to that individual or that situation. Um, maybe you're working with somebody who doesn't really know, you see somebody who doesn't really know where they're they're at, um, doesn't understand, doesn't know what city that they're in, or and again, you may overhear a conversation that that that cues you into that, that that person doesn't really know where they're at. Doesn't necessarily mean they're a trafficking survivor, but might mean you want to pay a little close attention to what's happening in that situation. Um maybe you want to observe that a little more. Maybe you're uh notice that you're an employee at one of these establishments and you notice that there are people that seem to be working very long hours. Um maybe there's somebody who looks school age who's working late night hours or who um is working during school hours. And so that might make you think, hmm, why is this person working? They look like they should be in school. Why are they working at 11 o'clock at night? Why are they working at midnight? Why are they working during a school day? Again, doesn't mean they're a trafficking victim, doesn't mean they're being labor trafficked, possibly, but it might cue you into I want to pay a little more attention to this situation. Um, maybe you have gaming establishment that's also connected to what you know has a hotel. And so if you have somebody who always has their their do not disturb sign up, somebody maybe who doesn't want cleaning services ever during their time. Again, I mean, I actually do that. When I go and I travel, I put my do not disturb. I don't want anybody in there, even if I'm there like three days, I usually keep that up. Some people do that. Doesn't mean I'm being trafficked, doesn't mean I'm trafficking someone, but it might raise a red flag that, um, maybe something's happening here that I'm just gonna observe a little more closely and see if there's anything else that's going on.

SPEAKER_03 20:29

Okay, all right. And you probably answered some of this, but um, just as a follow-up, what about the general public? What should everyday people be on the lookout for?

SPEAKER_01 20:40

Yeah, I I think it's the same sort of thing. And so um again, it's really hard, particularly for someone in the general public who might just see a passing incident. You know, I was at the airport a while ago, and there was um what appeared to be a father carrying his child, and the child was like screaming, it was a toddler, and he had to throw the toddler over his shoulder, and like, and the the guy is saying, like, it's okay, I'm their father, like I'm not doing anything, you know. That's I don't know, um, for those of us who are parents, uh there have been lots of times I've had to pick up my screaming kid and you know, walk them out of a grocery store or out of a restaurant or take them forcibly, what appears to be forcibly against their will, away. I would have hated it if somebody would have called law enforcement and said there's a suspected trafficking kidnapping situation going on, right? It's not that I don't want the public to step in if they see something that, hey, this looks really off and I think someone's in eminent danger. Of course you need to call law enforcement, of course you should call nine one one. But it's really difficult to tell from uh two or three second interaction that what you see in front of you may be trafficking, and now I'm gonna call law enforcement. Um, again, unless you see something really blatant or something that uh That that makes you believe someone's in imminent danger. I don't ever want to stop anyone from calling 911 or for law enforcement, but I think the best thing that the public can do is really be educated about what trafficking really looks like in that kidnapping situation is less likely trafficking, right? So not to say that kidnapping doesn't happen. We know that that happens. But if anyone listening to this or any of you have been on social media, you see these same very common stories circulated around about the person waiting under the car at the Meyer parking lot or the person following somebody around at Walmart. It's sort of like the same type of stories circulated. And again, I'm not saying that doesn't happen, but trafficking situations typically happen when someone has a relationship with the person that they're trying to traffic. They build that relationship or they have an existing relationship and then they leverage that relationship to compel the person through forced fraud or coercion to engage in forced labor or commercial sex.

SPEAKER_03 22:58

Wow. Okay. Yeah, and I think you you I think you're right. The public or even TV, because I watch some TV shows, especially I I watch a lot of law and order types of things, and and that's what you see, right? You see people being like the border, they're being um moved around in trucks and vans and and um it's not that they knew them, that they were sold or snatched or exactly.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

And and again, not to say that that does not happen, um, but the vast majority of trafficking, like I said, happens through established relationships. I think the other thing that's really important I want to get out is that um there we do actually have a Michigan-specific helpline. Um it's a 24-7 helpline dedicated uh to supporting survivors of trafficking, um, or you know, family or friends who maybe they have questions, maybe they have someone in their life that they're concerned about and they wanna um they want to talk to somebody who's trained uh to talk with them about what they should do, how they should handle it, what resources are available. And so I just want to make sure that um I put that hotline out there. It is 1-855 voices 4. Again, that's 1-855 voices 4 and 4 as in the number 4. Uh, there is both a website and a hotline where people can call, they can get Michigan-specific help, and they can talk with a trained professional if they just have questions like, hey, I just saw this, or I have a friend or neighbor I'm concerned about. Can you talk through this with me? And again, 24-7, they can chat, they can text, or they can call, they can get Michigan-specific um professional help.

SPEAKER_03 24:39

Okay, great. Thank you. Um, many victims know they're traffickers or may not recognize themselves as as victims. How does that um complicate identification and intervention?

SPEAKER_01 24:53

Yeah, I think that goes into a lot of what we were just talking about, um, some of the sensationalization. I mean, that's the reason why that's the TV show, right? It draws in viewers, so they have to sensationalize things to draw in viewers. And the difficulty with um the TV shows, the the movies, um maybe the social media posts, um the the pictures that we put out there with survivors in chains and bruises is that survivors they're part of the public as well. And so when they see that, they think, well, that's not that's not me. I'm not kept in chains, I'm not, you know, bruised and battered, I didn't get snatched from the parking lot. I must not be a victim. And so I think that how we um portray this issue um is very important to survivors because when we make this issue appear as if it is um only people who are kidnapped or only people who are chained up or only people who are, you know, can't move or are are locked in a basement, then people who are experiencing trafficking and that doesn't line up with what they're experiencing, they think, well, I'm not I'm not a trafficking survivor, I'm not a victim. I don't I don't need to reach out and ask for help. So I think it's really important again, things like this that's getting accurate information out there, that helps survivors to identify as survivors, which then leads to them being able to reach out for help.

SPEAKER_03 26:15

Wow, that's a great point. Yeah, great point. Um Tiffany, what are some proactive steps gaming operators and frontline staff can take to help identify and support potential victims?

SPEAKER_01 26:29

I think getting educated about the issue is really important. And so um there are some gaming establishments who ensure that everyone who works with them has at least some basic understanding and training and awareness around what human trafficking, both labor and sex trafficking, what that looks like. Um and not only just initial training, but ongoing training. You know, we've all sat through a training, we've heard information, and then a year later we don't remember what we learned. So it's important to have initial training and then ongoing training around what trafficking looks like. And then for organizations to establish policies and procedures around what what do we tell our employees to do if they suspect something. I mean, we certainly don't want individuals being vigilantes and trying to you know break up what they think is a human trafficking situation that happens right in front of them. I mean, that can be dangerous for everyone. Um, but organizations should have policies and procedures that their staff are really, you know, trained very well on about what do you do when you suspect something is off? What are the next steps that you should be taking? Um I think all of those things need to be informed by the experts. So the experts meaning survivors who have experienced trafficking. Hopefully, um organizations are would work with survivors, pay them for their time and their expertise to help them develop these policies and procedures, work with community programs that are experts in in human trafficking, work directly with victims on a regular basis, work with local task force, um, work with law enforcement, um, uh, you know, tribal police departments as well. I mean, I think just working together collaboratively as a community to address this from every angle and then develop the response of the gaming establishment is really important.

SPEAKER_03 28:21

Okay, great. And I think you you somewhat addressed this already, but um expanding beyond the gaming environment, what should everyday people or family members do if they suspect someone may be a victim? Should law enforcement be contacted and do concerns around immigration status or fear interacting with law enforcement impact a victim's willingness to seek help?

SPEAKER_01 28:45

Yeah. Um so I would say if you are someone and there's someone in your life that you're concerned about that may be a trafficking victim, um, it will might look a little bit different if the person is an adult versus a child. So let's just talk first about if this person is an adult. I think the first thing you need to do is listen without judgment. Um listen, understanding and knowing that that person is sharing with you, they're trusting you with some really vulnerable information. And that the best thing you can do is to not give your suggestions about what you think that they should do. That you should allow them to just talk, give them resources. Again, the 855 Voices 4 number would be a great number to provide them. Let them know that they're not alone, that you care about them, you want to help support them, and you trust that they'll make the best decision for themselves. Whether or not to contact law enforcement, there are lots of reasons that I talked about earlier that a survivor might not want to call law enforcement. Immigration issues might be part of that, even if they're here legally in the U.S., I think that's one of the myths that I didn't talk about earlier is that trafficking happens to U.S. citizens, uh, people who are here in the United States legally, um, as well as people who may not have status in the U.S. So this isn't just something that impacts non-citizens. But even if you are a citizen of the United States or you're here legally, you may have concerns with going to law enforcement. You may have concerns and fears around immigration being involved. Um and so it's it's important that people who have friends or family or someone that they know who they think might be trafficked understand that there are things that this victim or survivor is dealing with that we don't know. Um the trafficker may have forced them to commit illegal acts. The trafficker may have said, hey, if you go to law enforcement, I'm going to do A, B, or C to your children, to your family members, to people that you love, to your pets. Again, that's part of those threats and coercion that keep people in that situation. So allow that survivor to make their own decision. If you're dealing with a child who you suspect may be hurt, um, may be a trafficking victim, of course, you may need to call child protective services, you may need to call law enforcement. Um, they may not have the same level of um ability to make those choices for themselves, but I would still say whenever you can give them choice in that matter about you know being part of that call, um how that call happens, I think that's still important to let them be as involved in that decision-making process as possible.

SPEAKER_03 31:36

Absolutely. Um, Tiffany, can you share more about the resources available in Michigan, hotlines, apps, training tools that can help staff respond safely? And additionally, are there resources or supports available for family members or loved ones of individuals who may be involved in or affected by human trafficking?

SPEAKER_01 31:57

Yeah, so I I think um there are again, we're very fortunate here in Michigan to have a Michigan-specific hotline that's 24-7 that people can call. Um so I would really encourage if if that's a great starting place for people who are just looking for information, looking for resources uh across the state that could help them. Uh, and that number again is 1855 voices4. And then they can also go to the website, which it's um Michigan.gov backslash voices for, again, the number for. On that website, they can again chat someone, they can be connected with someone immediately, and then they can also find services near them. Um services that may provide housing for survivors, might provide legal services for survivors, um, might provide uh crisis support for survivors, they could provide um mental health services or support for survivors. So I think that's just a great place to start, and you have people there who are trained professionals that can connect you with um resources across the state that would would meet that need, or they can just sit and have a conversation with you to talk through whatever difficult thing it is that you're dealing with.

SPEAKER_03 33:16

Okay. And finally, how can people contact you or your division if they need guidance or want to schedule training?

SPEAKER_01 33:23

Sure. So if people want to reach out, um they can reach out to mdhs h tab at michigan.gov. So that's mdhs-ht h at michigan.gov. That's our human trafficking health advisory board email box. Um we monitor that regularly, and that's just a great place for people to reach out and to get in contact with us, and um we try to get back with people as soon as we can.

SPEAKER_03 33:53

Okay, and before we wrap, um Tiffany, is there anything else you'd like to share with the public that we haven't discussed already?

SPEAKER_01 34:01

I think uh uh one I just want to um say thank you for having me here. I think this is a great way to get, again, um accurate information out so that we can wait raise awareness to the public of both the dangers of labor and sex trafficking. So I want to say thank you for that. Um and I would just say that what people are looking for more information, um, they want to um be educated on this issue, that there are some great places that people can go, some um here within the state, and I already gave that that number in that website, but nationally, um, for example, the Polaris Project is a great place for people to go where there's um pretty trusted, accurate information around what trafficking looks like because there is a lot of misinformation out there, and it's really important when people are getting their information, they go to trusted sources to do that.

SPEAKER_03 34:49

Okay, Tiffany, thank you for sharing your experience and insight with us today. Your work and the resources you've highlighted played an essential role in helping Michiganders understand the realities of human trafficking and how each of us can contribute to prevention and support. To our listeners, thank you for taking the time to learn more about this important issue. As regulators and industry partners, we all have a responsibility to stay informed, remain vigilant, and act with care when something doesn't seem right. If you'll like additional information, training, or resources, we encourage you to explore the materials Tiffany mentioned and reach out to her team at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Together we can help protect our communities and support those who may be at risk. Um thanks again for joining us and remember to call 855 Voices 4.

SPEAKER_01 35:41

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03 35:42

Yep, thank you so very much, and we'll see you all next time. Thank you.