Episode 254: Training Programs to Combat Human Trafficking with Mark Brende

Episode notes

Do you know how to recognize and respond to human trafficking? Here’s what you need to know:

Hello Smart Firefighting Community!

Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy!

In this episode:

What is iEmpathize ?

How can human trafficking awareness become mainstream knowledge?

How can first responders successfully identify and assist trafficking victims?

Hear from Mark Brende - the Engagement Coordinator and Strategic Partnership Development for iEmphathize .

Mark talks about iEmpathize , a training program designed to combat human trafficking which focuses on promoting empathy among first responders. The program features survivor-led content to educate fire service professionals on how to recognize and respond to human trafficking situations. The training provides valuable insights into the red flags associated with trafficking and equips first responders with the tools needed for collaborative response efforts.

Many first responders who have completed the training have been able to identify and assist trafficking victims, resulting in rescues and family reunions. The program is available online for free and can be accessed individually or facilitated as a group, with the goal of making this essential knowledge mainstream within the fire service.

So take a listen to hear what he has to share!

Head to www.smartfirefighting.com to discover how SFF accelerates innovation for emergency responders, to find out when our next event is, or review our curated resources!

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Chapters

1. 0:00 Intro to the FRI miniseries
2. 0:36 Mark Brende joins at FRI
3. 1:02 What iEmpathize does
4. 2:26 What the training covers and what it changes
5. 3:47 Is human trafficking still a thing?
6. 4:15 Why first responders may have the best chance
7. 5:25 How a department can take the training
8. 6:16 A success story from Ohio
9. 7:18 Making it mainstream in the fire service
10. 8:13 Where to sign up
11. 8:33 Wrap

Questions answered in this episode

What is iEmpathize and what training do they provide?

Mark Brende says iEmpathize creates training for first responders to help them identify and respond to human trafficking victims. The training is survivor led, meaning survivors of human trafficking communicate most of the content, which helps evoke empathy in first responders.

Hear it at 1:21

What does the human trafficking training cover?

The training helps first responders understand what human trafficking is, what traffickers look like, who their targets are, what tactics they use, what red flags to watch for, and what a collaborative response looks like with partner organizations.

Hear it at 2:33

How quickly can a runaway be approached by a trafficker?

Mark Brende says a kid that is a runaway will be approached by a trafficker within 24 to 48 hours in any metropolitan city in the United States.

Hear it at 4:15

How can fire departments access the human trafficking training?

The training is free and available at iempathize.org slash first responder. Departments can facilitate it as a group setting or individuals can go through it online. The organization also provides guidance for any questions on how to do it well.

Hear it at 5:44

Has the training led to any real rescues?

Mark Brende describes how a paramedic named Kendra Gavi in Wooster, Ohio identified a victim who had been trafficked across the border five days after taking the training. She said the training taught her exactly what to do and she was able to get the victim back to her family.

Hear it at 6:29

Transcript

Machine transcript of the published audio. Names may be misspelled and some sections are missing.

Ep 254 transcript

Training Programs to Combat Human Trafficking with Mark Brende

Speakers: Kevin Sofen, Mark Brende

Source: Whisper medium.en machine transcription of the published Podbean audio (no original transcript found in Drive), lightly cleaned. Speakers were separated by voice clustering and then checked and assigned by hand at every speaker change. Gaps where the model returned no usable text are marked [inaudible m:ss].

[0:00] Kevin Sofen: Welcome to the Smart Firefighting Podcast. I'm your host, Kevin Sofen. In this FRI miniseries, we're taking a closer look at how technology and smart solutions are shaping the future of the fire service. From the role of artificial intelligence and assessments to cutting edge tools like wildfire drones, each episode dives into how these advancements are improving firefighter safety, efficiency, and real-time decision-making. Stay tuned for some great conversations with the innovators pushing our fire service forward. Enjoy. Back on the FRI show floor alongside Mark Brende, like trendy, with iEmpathize. Mark, how you doing?

[0:42] Mark Brende: Hey, I'm great. I'm great. Good to be here, Kevin.

[0:44] Kevin Sofen: How is FRI and how is your time in Dallas been treating you?

[0:48] Mark Brende: You know, it's a real privilege to be here at FRI sharing with chiefs about our first responder training that impacts the lives of vulnerable, victimized, human trafficking victims. So that's pretty awesome.

[1:02] Kevin Sofen: So I had never heard of anything like what you're working on. I'm excited to dig into it. But I also, I personally love the word empathy, and I live by that in every way, shape, or form in my life. So I was immediately intrigued by your name, but also with the line of work that you're in. So from a high-level perspective, give us the skinny of what is iEmpathize doing?

[1:21] Mark Brende: Yeah, that's a great segue. So because you mentioned empathy, We know that when we think about issues in the world, like human trafficking, what makes that possible? Really, it's the apathy that exists in our culture that really allows that issue to exist. Empathy is the opposite force at work. We know in the world that can eradicate issues of injustice, that can bring hope elevated in spaces. And so just imagine law enforcement officers or first responders that have empathy coming to a call as opposed to apathy. I mean, the difference could be huge. So, yeah, we create training really with that evokes empathy, we would say. And mostly that's because it's survivor led content. So it's survivors of human trafficking that are really communicating most of what we are presenting and their stories have an impact and igniting that empathy that can make the difference between somebody taking a call more seriously.

[2:26] Kevin Sofen: And so this training that you've developed, what's in the content and ultimately what does it accomplish once first responders take this training?

[2:33] Mark Brende: Yeah, so we'll do a training in person and say at a station and ask the question, how many of you as first responders know that you've had a human trafficking victim in your care during your time as a first responder? Just quick show of hands, no hands go up, right? And so we'll finish the training about 45 minutes later, ask the same question, how many of you now know you've had a human trafficking victim in your care during your time as a first responder? Hands shoot up, man, we've definitely seen this. Do you remember when they started talking about, you know, all these instances where they could, you know, look back and say, we knew this was something and now we know what it was. And so anyway, this training really helps first responders understand what is human trafficking, what's a trafficker look like, what are their targets, who are their targets, what are the tactics, but then we're breaking into what are the red flags, what does a collaborative response look like, who are our partners that we need to collaborate with and how do we do that? Well, so the training I think just has that impact where we're now talking about something that hasn't been talked about yet.

[3:47] Kevin Sofen: I mean, I will say that when I'm at the airport and I see these signs that say, like, if you are a victim of human trafficking, here is this resource, or here's what you can do. And for me, I remember talking to the wife of that, I was like, this is still going on? Human trafficking's still a thing. Any context you can provide in terms of how much of a issue it still is, and ultimately, again, what is the first responders and fire department's role in playing in this?

[4:15] Mark Brende: Yeah, great question. You know, the issue is absolutely relevant, probably more so now than ever, mostly because we see a growing demographic of very vulnerable populations of young people that are pushed out of a healthy environment, perhaps, and pulled into dark places. And so we know that a kid that's a runaway will be approached by a trafficker within 24 to 48 hours in any metropolitan city in the United States. That's a scary reality. Plus you have online thousands of predators, groomers, recruiters hunting for vulnerable kids on Facebook, on Instagram, Grindr, any social media app. They're there even on games where kids are playing Minecraft. There are people looking to make a connection with a young child. So the people that arrive at a call are the first ones there, first responders, may have the best chance at identifying something that could save a life.

[5:25] Kevin Sofen: And within this program that you've developed, the training that you have, you touched a little bit on the content, but how does it work in terms of like, if a fire department is interested in incorporating this into the training repertoire. Is it sort of like an in-person workshop? Is it something like an online combination of the two? How does that work?

[5:44] Mark Brende: Great question. So it's really simple. You go to iempathize.org slash first responder and you can really have immediate access to the training of which you could facilitate as say a training chief or a captain within your department. You could facilitate that as a group setting which we would encourage, or you can just go through the training online individually. It's a free training, so there's no cost, and we are here to also guide you through any questions you might have on what will help you do this well.

[6:16] Kevin Sofen: And this has started throwing you in the spot, but are there any success stories of your training working?

[6:23] Mark Brende: Yeah, absolutely.

[6:24] Kevin Sofen: What's causing you to keep going with this? Obviously, there's something that's going on.

[6:29] Mark Brende: Yeah, it's cool, like a few months ago, we did a training in Wooster, Ohio, population 27,000. would think, okay, you know, is anything going to come out of this? Five days later, a paramedic named Kendra Gavi identified a victim of human trafficking who had been trafficked across the border that very day. Other nurses didn't believe her. She said, because I went through this training, I knew exactly what to do. She was able to build rapport with that victim through really her empathy. And it was really awesome to see her get that victim back to her family. And that happened. You know, she said 100 percent through the training. So that's a huge win. But we know there are tons of stories that are surfacing now in other cities where, you know, we're hearing calls that have been made, victims have been identified, and saves have happened.

[7:18] Kevin Sofen: Yeah, man, that's awesome. And kudos to you. And again, something I hadn't really thought about, particularly the intersection, the fire service. But why is this something that fire service members should incorporate? And, you know, what do you think is a nudge or any ideas in terms of how this training can just continue to become mainstream within fire service knowledge?

[7:37] Mark Brende: Yeah, I think every station will benefit going through this training. I mean, it's only an hour, it's free, and it's very engaging. So you go through this training and you really want to finish this training. You want to hear Annika's story. She had been in several paramedic vehicles, never recognized as a human trafficking victim, and, you know, when you hear that from a survivor who went through what she went through, the trauma, you're like, okay, this is not going to happen again on my watch. And I think, you know, firefighters, they sign up because they want to be heroes. They want to be a part of opportunities to save lives like this. So I think it's great.

[8:14] Kevin Sofen: And you mentioned the website earlier, but if people want to get involved and connect and sign up for the training and learn more, how should they do that?

[8:21] Mark Brende: Yeah, iEmpathize.org. That's iEmpathize dot org.

[8:24] Kevin Sofen: Yeah say that five times fast Mark, I really admire and respect the work that you're doing. So keep it keep it up. Good work. And thanks for what you're doing awesome

[8:33] Mark Brende: Thanks, Kevin.

[8:34] Kevin Sofen: Thank you Mark.

[8:34] Mark Brende: Good to be here

[8:37] Kevin Sofen: Thank you so much for listening to this episode the smart firefighting podcast I truly would love to know what you think Send me a note post something on Twitter And if you were so inclined give us a review on one of the podcast channels that you listen to Have a great day and hope to hear from you soon