Tebow calls on Tri-Cities to fight against human trafficking

KINGSPORT — Hundreds of community members gathered Monday morning for the Rotary Human Trafficking Summit in Kingsport. The event was held at MeadowView Conference Resort & Convention Center and hosted by the Rotary Club of Bristol VA/TN, as well as Rotary Action Group Against Slavery. Former collegiate and professional football player Tim Tebow served as the keynote speaker for the event. Tebow is also the founder of the Tim Tebow Foundation, which focuses on anti-human trafficking and child exploitation prevention, care and rescue; individuals with profound medical needs; and special needs. During his speech, Tebow said it is up to all of us as a community to identify and stop human trafficking. He called the work of getting individuals out of these vulnerable positions of trafficking a "rescue mission." "When you say rescue mission, it means that there is someone that is hurting, and a group of people are coming together to plan and strategize to urgently get them out of harm's way as quickly as possible," he explained. "So that's why we say every day we show up. We're on a rescue mission as fast as we possibly can to get to as many of the hurting and suffering as we possibly can." He encouraged people to use their own platforms, resources and skillsets to help bring awareness to this issue. Trying to understand the topic of human trafficking and its complexities is only the first step. "In this fight, there's a lot of uncomfortable things," Tebow told the crowd. "But we have to be willing to be uncomfortable. So maybe that boy, maybe that girl, maybe that lady will be in a place one day of being comfortable because we were willing to be uncomfortable." While Tebow mentioned that he was unsure it would be possible to truly end human trafficking, he expressed that with the right resources and team — the region could make a "massive dent" in the problem of trafficking. "Because of our choices, we have the chance to radically change the trajectory of somebody's life," Tebow concluded. "What a responsibility, but also what a blessing that our lives could be used for something so important." Other speakers Throughout the eight-hour program, speakers from across Tennessee and Virginia led panel discussions about raising awareness, prevention and taking action against human trafficking. Trish Southerland, human trafficking task force director for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said Upper East Tennessee reports the second-highest amount of human trafficking tips — only second to Middle Tennessee. From January to June of this year, Sutherland said 125 tips came from Upper East Tennessee, with 95 of those tips being from East Tennessee. "You can attribute that to a couple of things: either we're very educationally aware and we're identifying these things, or we have been to training, and you're seeing signs and indicators, and we're reporting those," she said. "Or there's just misconceptions that we may be reporting that because we don't properly have the education or training." Hayley Griffith, education coordinator for the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking, dispelled some of the rumors related to trafficking that commonly circulate in this region. Her organization is based out of Knoxville and serves East Tennessee as a whole. "There's an idea that victims of human trafficking are always or usually kidnapped into trafficking, and that's not actually true," Griffith said. "National data reveals that only about 6% to 8% of human trafficking victims are abducted, so it can happen in that way. But it most often doesn't, and we certainly see that among the clients that we work with here in this region." She said realistic representation of the trauma surrounding human trafficking is rarely depicted in popular media such as movies. "Survivors really struggle to connect the ways that they experience this to the ways that it gets shown across those different mediums and platforms, and that's why these types of conversations are so important," Griffith said. Taking appropriate action Mike Filetti, who is with the District Attorney's Office of the Second Judicial District which serves Sullivan County, stressed the importance of leaving interviewing/case development for human trafficking to the professionals like law enforcement. "At a minimum, that child is going to have to tell that story at least three times, they're going to have to disclose it," he said. "They're going to have to talk to law enforcement, to [the Department of Children's Services] and do minimal facts, and they are trained to do that. Then they're going to have to go and have a forensic interview." More specifically, Filetti said this area mostly sees online trafficking — with children being exploited through gaming apps, Discord, Snapchat and other social media. He called on people involved in children's lives to ask open-ended questions if you suspect child abuse and report it if you find out something. "If you're a parent, ask questions to your children," he commented. "Talk to them about online safety. Talk to them about meeting strangers, one in four children have talked to someone online that they don't know, so that's the scary thing." More information To provide details of suspicious activity in East Tennessee, visit ccaht.org and click on the "Grow Free TN Online Referral Form" at the top of the page. Complete and submit the online form to share your tip. Tips can also be reported through ithastostop.com/report-trafficking. Other numbers to reach out to: Tennessee Human Trafficking Hotline: 855-558-6484 Be Free Text Line: Text HELP to 233733 National Human Trafficking Hotline: 888-373-7888 GrowFree TN Hotline (East Tennessee hotline): 865-292-0285 For more information, go to tn.gov/tbi/crime-issues/crime-issues/human-trafficking.html.