The Hidden Reality of Human Trafficking

Human trafficking isn't just something that happens overseas or in major cities. It's happening in neighborhoods across America, often hidden in plain sight. In this powerful Conversations with Rich Bennett roundtable, Rich sits down with Linda Aluoch of HopeWorks Global, Wendy Beck of Rage Against Addiction, and Teresa Ragsdale of The Parents' Place of Maryland for one of the most important conversations you'll hear this year.

Together they explore the realities of human trafficking, addiction, mental health, caregiver burnout, vulnerable populations, and why prevention starts with education and compassion instead of judgment.

In this episode you'll discover:

• What human trafficking actually looks like today

• Why addiction, mental health, and trafficking are often connected

• The warning signs every parent, teacher, and community member should know

• Why caregivers need support just as much as the people they're helping

• How local organizations can work together to better protect vulnerable individuals

Teresa also shares the deeply emotional story of losing her daughter after years of navigating chronic illness and mental health challenges, while Linda explains how traffickers manipulate vulnerable people and why community awareness can save lives.

Resources mentioned include:

• HopeWorks Global

• Rage Against Addiction

• The Parents' Place of Maryland

• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

• National Human Trafficking Hotline

A special thank you to our sponsor, Freedom Federal Credit Union, for supporting Conversations with Rich Bennett and helping us bring meaningful conversations like this to our community.

If this episode moved you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone you care about. One conversation can change a life, and together we can make our communities safer.

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Transcript

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Wendy & Rich 0:01
Coming to you from the Freedom Federal Credit Union Studios, Hartford County living presents conversations with Rich Bennett. 

I love Rich Bennett, I love Rich Bennett. You're not going to show up. You're going to be the one who's going to watch. It's kind of a few second hours of work and I think I'm going to have to wait. No, no, no, it's not. It is. 

Rich Bennett 0:27
I had a young lady on 9. 

And we were talking about human trafficking and we've discussed human trafficking a few times on the show. But I wanted to do a roundtable discussion because we know that human trafficking is there throughout the world here in the States. Even in county, it's 

Teresa Ragsdale 0:51
really 

Rich Bennett 0:52
I think a lot of people don't realize that. So I have Wendy here from Rage Against Addiction, I have Linda from Hope Works Global and I have Teresa from the parent's place of Maryland. I didn't say the parent trap. I got a good I got it right. Alexis, yeah. Her and Alexis kept cracking on me because I kept saying the parent trap by mistake. I mean, I don't purpose it was by 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:23
great. 

Linda Aluoch 1:24
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 1:25
let me tell you Alexis corrected me right away and told me she is not Lindsay low. I was like, okay, but I think that was a remake anyway. So I don't think that was the original. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:35
Yeah, I like actually liked what 

Wendy Beck 1:38
Both. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:38
is it? 

Wendy Beck 1:38
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:40
You 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:40
have the it's two of 

Wendy Beck 1:42
the then freaky Friday. Is that the same one? Yeah, anyway. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:46
But they 

Rich Bennett 1:46
are. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:47
want 

Rich Bennett 1:47
I 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:48
my Kate and Ashley. 

Wendy Beck 1:50
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 1:51
yeah. 

Okay. Okay. Yeah. I don't want you to need them movies. So Linda, you're probably best at answering this question. What is human trafficking and what are the forms of it? Because I don't think a lot of people realize all the different. 

Linda Aluoch 2:09
Wow. All right. So I'll give you the what's considered to be the federal definition of human 

Rich Bennett 2:16
Okay. 

Linda Aluoch 2:16
trafficking and a very 

very important thing. So, for the school. The trafficking is the exploitation of someone else for financial gain. This can actually be either through manipulation, co-action, or force. And I disclaimer here, it's actually for anybody that's under the age of 18 for a minor for a child, they don't have to prove force, they don't have a minor manipulation. It's straight up called trafficking and especially when it comes to sex trafficking. So you ask me about the forms of trafficking. There is many different forms. When people hear human trafficking, the first thing that comes to mind is. Sex trafficking. 

Rich Bennett 3:07
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 3:08
That's the most common 

Rich Bennett 3:09
know. 

Linda Aluoch 3:09
one, you 

Rich Bennett 3:09
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 3:11
But we also do have labor trafficking, you know. For example, is instances where people are geared into this workforce opportunities and they're not. The working conditions are actually not meeting the legal expectation. So for example, someone is in the country illegally and they're looking for a job. So that's a prime environment for labor trafficking. Why? Because they can only get a job where they can be paid under the table. 

Rich Bennett 3:50
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 3:50
Because they can be paid 

Teresa Ragsdale 3:54
under the table. Yes. 

Linda Aluoch 3:56
This, I mean, basically, the person is being trafficked. Sometimes 

Rich Bennett 4:01
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 4:01
it's working the long hours. We see labor trafficking also in places like landscaping construction. We see it a lot in agriculture. 

Many people don't want to talk about these but it actually exists and it's organ trafficking. 

Rich Bennett 4:22
Yes. Yeah. That's 

Wendy Beck 4:26
scary. 

Linda Aluoch 4:26
organ trafficking is a thing 

Wendy Beck 4:28
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 4:29
and we've seen this. It's starting to show up. I cannot really verify the numbers in the U. S. but in most African countries we've actually seen cases where people or foreigners I hate to put it like this from the fast world countries who have been on the wake list for so long going to what's considered third world countries to buy cheap organs. That's exactly that's another form of trafficking. Online exploitation. This actually is very much tied to sex trafficking but this has to do primarily with mostly with children because it's very much either familial or a neighbor or a relative that's trafficking the child and it's done online as the ones 

Rich Bennett 5:27
there. 

Linda Aluoch 5:27
So we're seeing online becoming a bigger problem compared to someone just being kidnapped or abducted and taken to a brothel down this 

Wendy Beck 5:38
They establish trust and then 

Linda Aluoch 5:40
exactly. 

Wendy Beck 5:40
they create a space so the person or the child thinks to meet. 

Linda Aluoch 5:45
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 5:46
Yeah. Yeah. And it's outside of the parents or caregivers visibility. 

Linda Aluoch 5:50
Yeah. And also with online exploitation too like that's where the it's actually considered to be the prime pornography environment and it's 

people performing this sexual acts on children while recording them. Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 6:12
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 6:13
Yeah. I forgot to tell everybody. Listen to the reason I have these three on rage against addiction. Of course Wendy helps women in recovery. Hope works global of course. Your main thing is human trafficking and the parents place of Maryland. Not just mental health but what else is that you guys do? 

Teresa Ragsdale 6:38
We help us as caregivers with mental health substance use gambling addiction. 

Rich Bennett 6:44
so human trafficking is there in all those categories. 

Wendy Beck 6:48
Well there's 

Rich Bennett 6:48
And yeah. 

Wendy Beck 6:49
and 

Rich Bennett 6:51
yeah. 

Wendy Beck 6:51
The thing that they have in common is we're dealing with 

Linda Aluoch 6:54
vulnerable 

Wendy Beck 6:55
the 

Linda Aluoch 6:55
popular. 

Rich Bennett 6:55
Exactly. Right. 

Linda Aluoch 6:56
Exactly. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 6:58
Yeah. So what are some of the biggest misconceptions 

that the public does not? I guess see or whatever. 

Linda Aluoch 7:08
One of the things that we've seen is 

this denial. So people tend to think it's not happening in my community. I live in a safe neighborhood. I live in a safe community. It's happening everywhere. Human trafficking does not have to cross borders. 

Rich Bennett 7:28
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 7:28
Happening locally. That's one of the myths that people have in their heads that for someone to be trafficked they need to be taken across to a different country. 

Another myth that people tend to have is that only women and girls are affected? No. Men are also trafficked. Men and boys are also trafficked. And any population that considered to be marginalized be it the LGBTQ community be it the disabled community be it any community that sideline from resources that sideline and creates a vulnerability. So think about 

when you think about the myths and you assume only women. Think about how many people are in your community that look different from you. Do they have the same services that you do? That's actually one of the opportunities for human 

Teresa Ragsdale 8:34
trafficking to 

Linda Aluoch 8:35
happen. There's people who tend to think trafficking happens only in poor countries. 

Rich Bennett 8:42
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 8:44
Sorry. It's happening in the rich countries. 

Rich Bennett 8:47
Oh yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 8:48
As well. 

Rich Bennett 8:49
Probably maybe even more. 

Linda Aluoch 8:51
Yes it is actually. 

Wendy Beck 8:53
The question. 

Linda Aluoch 8:55
That's 

Wendy Beck 8:55
But 

Linda Aluoch 8:55
okay. 

Wendy Beck 8:56
obviously I mean without saying names of like what's all over the news and like what's happening. 

Linda Aluoch 9:02
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 9:02
That it's kind of in everyone's face 

Linda Aluoch 9:04
now. 

Wendy Beck 9:04
right 

Linda Aluoch 9:05
Uh-huh. 

Wendy Beck 9:06
How is that impacting your work? 

Linda Aluoch 9:10
So 

Wendy Beck 9:11
without saying. 

Linda Aluoch 9:12
Yeah. Um, right now the biggest challenge is, um, human trafficking prevention right now is being defined based on party lines. 

Rich Bennett 9:27
Huh? 

Linda Aluoch 9:39
Yes. And again, which is wrong, and then again, however this case is being or cases are being handled, it's going to determine the audacity or the boldness that traffic as well. Because if I can 

Teresa Ragsdale 9:58
do 

Linda Aluoch 9:58
it, then I'll just keep doing it. 

Wendy Beck 10:00
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 10:01
And if this person was bastard, because, uh, probably the people around them, um, were not trustworthy, then the strategies are going to So it's going to become even, um, harder to identify. It's shifting. That's why when you look at the cases that we've seen in the past, we've seen maybe kidnappings and kids or girls are recovered or the victims are recovered. But now it's shifting to the cell phone. 

Rich Bennett 10:33
Hmm. 

Linda Aluoch 10:34
It's shifting, shifting to the computer. So how do we, police that? And that's driven by how 

Teresa Ragsdale 10:43
these specific 

Linda Aluoch 10:45
cases are being handled. And it's interesting you ask because last week I was literally at the congress. There is a bill that we've been trying to lobby through IGM. it's called stop system international justice mission. Yeah, and it's a, it's called stop system and system is child sexual abuse material and stop system basically is a bill that's pushing for a lot to be enacted, 

Teresa Ragsdale 11:15
Uh, 

Linda Aluoch 11:16
where there's going to be accountability of social media platforms where the child sexual abuse materials are being spread. 

Rich Bennett 11:27
Good. 

Linda Aluoch 11:27
Right now the reporting mechanisms don't exist and I'm still responding to your question. The reporting mechanisms, the reports that organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, what they get last year, they received close to 21.5 million reports. They could, they were only able to investigate like maybe half, I don't want to put number 

Rich Bennett 11:54
there. 

Linda Aluoch 11:55
But they were not able to investigate all these reports, because the information they got was inadequate or insufficient for them to go by for prosecution to happen. So in responding to your question right now, everything that's going on we know it exists. 

Wendy Beck 12:17
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 12:17
And survivors. How survivors are going to be handled. 

Teresa Ragsdale 12:22
How have 

Linda Aluoch 12:24
been 

Teresa Ragsdale 12:24
treated. 

Linda Aluoch 12:25
And I'll put it out there. 

Teresa Ragsdale 12:26
How survived in 

Linda Aluoch 12:29
And files is actually going to 

Teresa Ragsdale 12:31
the, 

Linda Aluoch 12:32
determine how survivors are going to be treated 

Wendy Beck 12:34
how survivors. 

Linda Aluoch 12:35
for every other file for every other case. 

Wendy Beck 12:37
Right? 

Rich Bennett 12:38
That makes sense. 

Wendy Beck 12:40
Yeah. Well, 

Teresa Ragsdale 12:40
up. 

Wendy Beck 12:40
it's setting 

Rich Bennett 12:41
It is. 

Wendy Beck 12:42
Yeah before 

Linda Aluoch 12:42
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 12:43
Right. 

Wendy Beck 12:43
That's kind of why I wanted 

Linda Aluoch 12:44
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 12:44
to know like what like this is kind of like the 

Linda Aluoch 12:48
open. 

Wendy Beck 12:48
national 

Linda Aluoch 12:48
Exactly. 

Wendy Beck 12:50
Yeah. So, okay. Everyone's paying 

Linda Aluoch 12:51
attention. Right. 

Wendy Beck 12:52
And we're having all these people. 

Linda Aluoch 12:54
And 

Wendy Beck 12:54
they're providing resources that were never there before. We're listening. We're treating them with empathy. 

Linda Aluoch 12:59
Yeah, 

Wendy Beck 13:00
we're doing all of this stuff. But you're just like, this is the very beginning of that. 

Linda Aluoch 13:04
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 13:05
Very beginning of that. 

Linda Aluoch 13:06
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 13:07
What can we do? And I think like with rage, the recovery homes, the schools, especially kids that have mental health issues. What can we do as a general public to raise awareness and to I guess educate everybody on what to look out for. 

Linda Aluoch 13:29
So, 

we all work with vulnerable populations. 

Rich Bennett 13:35
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 13:35
Your 

Teresa Ragsdale 13:36
people 

Linda Aluoch 13:37
struggling with addiction. Some of the people you're 

Teresa Ragsdale 13:39
with 

Linda Aluoch 13:39
working mental health issues. The vulnerabilities. Let's start looking at those vulnerable 

Rich Bennett 13:47
population. 

Linda Aluoch 13:50
We live in a society today where somebody will see for 

the streets. Someone on the street who's literally about over because they just ingested 

Rich Bennett 14:05
to. 

Linda Aluoch 14:05
something, 

Rich Bennett 14:05
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 14:05
or used, and as long as it doesn't affect me, it's none of my problem. We need to go back to having those hearts of compassion. Let's look at everybody as a human being. 

Rich Bennett 14:21
That's 

Linda Aluoch 14:21
where it sat. Unless I acknowledge that everybody around me regardless of their skin color, their gender, their, whatever, economic status. 

Rich Bennett 14:35
Yes. 

Linda Aluoch 14:36
Exactly. 

Rich Bennett 14:36
Yeah. All 

Teresa Ragsdale 14:37
of that. 

Linda Aluoch 14:37
Unless we move beyond that, then we'll not be able to accurately help recognize 

or even just identify some of the signs. Hmm, 

Wendy Beck 14:51
mm, I 

Linda Aluoch 14:52
because, 

Wendy Beck 14:52
get that. I 

Linda Aluoch 14:53
get that. Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 14:53
Because, I mean, that is obviously the target audience. 

Linda Aluoch 14:57
Mm-hmm. 

Wendy Beck 14:57
This type of thing. But how are we handling the predators? Like, how do we, how do we identify? Ho do we stop it? How do we change it? Like, these are sick people, sick people. 

Linda Aluoch 15:10
So, with predators, I know, that, that's a very good question. And I'm like, I'm trying to, 

Wendy Beck 15:15
what's 

Linda Aluoch 15:15
I'm you 

Wendy Beck 15:16
happening. 

Linda Aluoch 15:16
think like, 

Wendy Beck 15:17
I, why do 

Linda Aluoch 15:17
how do they 

Wendy Beck 15:18
can just do this? 

Linda Aluoch 15:21
Because, go ahead. 

Teresa Ragsdale 15:22
You know, for the most part, especially when you're dealing with the vulnerable population, most of the time, they don't look, you're, they have a label on them. So, for that, because they're labeled, what they're saying can't be worth anything. 

Linda Aluoch 15:37
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 15:37
And that's the thing. We have to shift the 

Wendy Beck 15:38
perspective. 

Teresa Ragsdale 15:39
A lot of times these, you know, these, the population that we work with, they're, they're not heard. Because, one, they have met, they know, they suffer with mental health. So, 

Rich Bennett 15:50
Mm-hmm. 

Teresa Ragsdale 15:50
that can't be true. Or, in, um, right now with the, the, the, uh, developmental disability, there's a lot of cases that we don't even hear about where they're sexually assaulted, 

Rich Bennett 16:03
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 16:03
you know. And these things are happening. But, because they have an intellectual disability, you don't hear them. You don't, you're not listening. And a lot of times, because we work with them. And sometimes they have these fantasies. We take everything they say with a grain of salt. 

Linda Aluoch 16:19
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 16:19
Yeah. Yeah. You know, and, and that's the thing we need to remove the labels, remove the labels from, from people and just see people as people. Everybody's, 

Rich Bennett 16:29
yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 16:29
Voice. And although today I, my voice may, may be a little off and wonky, don't just not hear what I'm saying. Listen what I'm saying. There's some truth in there, somewhere, 

Wendy Beck 16:41
Right. 

Teresa Ragsdale 16:41
you know, 

Rich Bennett 16:42
and a 

Teresa Ragsdale 16:43
matter of, we have to consider everybody. And, you know, weed it out. Okay. So I hear you. I'm gonna listen to what you're saying today and I'm gonna look at this situation a little bit closer. Because if I look at it a little bit closer, I might see, might see something that I'm witness in before, 

Linda Aluoch 17:02
and pray that as to like, 

know why 

Teresa Ragsdale 17:08
you 

Linda Aluoch 17:08
trafficking exists because it's easy to do it. There are opportunities. 

Rich Bennett 17:14
Wow. 

Wendy Beck 17:14
I mean, because of money. 

Linda Aluoch 17:16
Yeah. There are opportunities. So 

Wendy Beck 17:18
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 17:19
if we make it harder for them to do it through our laws. If we make it harder for them to do it through education, which is one of the things that I've made it my mission, to educate the public, this is what trafficking might look like in your neighborhood. For you as a teacher, this is what trafficking might look like in your classroom when that child comes in. So with all the trainings that we're doing, we tailor them to the audience because we want you to recognize trafficking in your environment 

and in your home. So predators do it because it's easy and they do it because they are opportunities. And the minute we have an educated population, the minute we have an educated community, it becomes harder for them to do it. 

Wendy Beck 18:13
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 18:14
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 18:14
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 18:15
Wow. 

Wendy Beck 18:19
Well, but you need, you need to have, you know, law enforcement's backup. Exactly. You need to have, Just slate of backup. You 

Linda Aluoch 18:27
exactly. 

Wendy Beck 18:27
need to 

Teresa Ragsdale 18:28
have, 

Linda Aluoch 18:29
yeah, 

Wendy Beck 18:29
resources for the people that are affected. And, 

Linda Aluoch 18:31
yeah, 

Wendy Beck 18:32
you know, again, like I'm not trying to keep bringing it back to what's going on right now. But, you know, you still have people who, you know, are buying into this never happened, kind 

Linda Aluoch 18:44
yeah. 

Wendy Beck 18:44
of thing. These people are liars. And we have to get to a place beyond that. Because I know for a fact that when my daughter started struggling with addiction, you know, it had never even crossed my mind that this was something that could happen. 

Linda Aluoch 18:59
At all. 

Wendy Beck 19:00
And when it started happening, and I've said this on the show in a million times, when I've talked to people, like my first thing was I wanted to shout from the rooftops, hey, look what's going on. And so when I did that to her friends, families, I was getting shut down. I was getting the door shut. I was getting-- don't send an email to my family email asking me questions about my kid, because I don't want my husband to see it. Because maybe one parent knew what was 

Linda Aluoch 19:28
going on. 

Wendy Beck 19:30
Yeah. Yeah. Didn't. So you kind of have like this, you know, you're just a mom who's pleading, somebody help me, somebody tell 

Linda Aluoch 19:36
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 19:36
me what's going on, I'm chasing this as hard as she's chasing whatever she's chasing. And I came to a place where there felt like there was just no hope, 

Linda Aluoch 19:46
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 19:46
or help. And I feel like that's kind of what's still happening today, even in an abundance of resources. 

Linda Aluoch 19:54
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 19:55
And yes, there's abundance of resources, but you know, here I am sitting here after doing this for 12 years, and I'm never even heard of this. You 

Teresa Ragsdale 20:03
and 

Wendy Beck 20:03
know, or even your foundation. So nonprofits have voice within their specific community because there's a need. 

Linda Aluoch 20:12
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 20:13
But beyond that, it's hard to figure out what's out there for people. 

Linda Aluoch 20:18
It's time-- the last time we had this conversation, I remember we talked about, it's time we come together, especially as organizations just within our county. Maybe can't take the lead. 

Wendy Beck 20:30
Well, there has been collaborations and community, I guess, resource things. But again, it's like, how does everybody know about it? You know, like, you weren't there. I was there. 

Linda Aluoch 20:44
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 20:45
It's just one of those things where-- 

Teresa Ragsdale 20:46
keep 

Wendy Beck 20:46
but you got to 

Teresa Ragsdale 20:47
doing it and you got 

Linda Aluoch 20:48
to keep doing it. And the most difficult 

Teresa Ragsdale 20:54
thing, 

Linda Aluoch 20:54
if you invite me to a community fair, right? Half of the county just recently had one at HCC. 

Wendy Beck 21:02
Yeah, that's where I was. 

Rich Bennett 21:03
There. 

Linda Aluoch 21:03
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 21:04
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 21:04
So that 

Wendy Beck 21:05
right? 

Linda Aluoch 21:05
happened, 

Wendy Beck 21:05
Were you there? 

Linda Aluoch 21:06
So. 

Wendy Beck 21:07
Were you guys there? 

Linda Aluoch 21:09
So 

Wendy Beck 21:09
Oh, okay. 

Linda Aluoch 21:10
you give out your flyers and your information. Yes. Guess what? When I go back to my office, I have so much else to do. This flyer 

Wendy Beck 21:22
I did not encounter you. I did not see 

Linda Aluoch 21:25
Okay. 

Wendy Beck 21:25
you there. 

Linda Aluoch 21:26
No, we did not come for the thing. We 

Wendy Beck 21:27
Oh, 

Linda Aluoch 21:28
signed up, but we had a family emergency. 

Wendy Beck 21:30
okay. 

Linda Aluoch 21:30
Yeah. here's 

Teresa Ragsdale 21:31
But 

Linda Aluoch 21:31
the thing. When you go back, unless you start digging through to find out, like, what exactly is going on here? And as you're doing that, you need-- you'll probably need to take some time off work. Why don't we create an opportunity where it's not just about me giving you the flyer. It's about me sharing with you. What's human trafficking? How does it affect your organization? How does it affect your organization? Okay. I 

Teresa Ragsdale 22:03
want 

Linda Aluoch 22:03
people in recovery. How are they being targeted? So that level of collaboration is something that we are still lacking in our community. We are still very much siloed in the sense that we have the recovery organizations in one silo, the mental health organizations in another silo, and we all play with cards against our chest. 

Wendy Beck 22:32
Yes, absolutely. 

Linda Aluoch 22:33
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 22:33
Absolutely. And again, because it's 

Teresa Ragsdale 22:36
competitive. 

Linda Aluoch 22:37
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 22:42
Pot 

Linda Aluoch 22:42
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 22:42
of funding and that kind of thing, which makes it difficult. And I like how you said cards close to your chest, because it is very-- oh, we don't want to speak to them about this, because then they might take my opportunity or that type of thing, which is not really happening. But it's like the mindset that 

Linda Aluoch 22:59
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 22:59
it could happen, 

Linda Aluoch 23:00
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. 

Wendy Beck 23:01
because everybody's doing something that's beneficial in the community in some way. And like I'm interested in the training. 

Linda Aluoch 23:08
like 

Wendy Beck 23:08
I would 

Linda Aluoch 23:09
to 

Wendy Beck 23:09
train me in some 

Linda Aluoch 23:10
capacity. 

Wendy Beck 23:11
If that's possible, 

Linda Aluoch 23:12
Mm-hmm. 

Wendy Beck 23:12
because 

Linda Aluoch 23:12
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 23:12
I do, like-- you know, just like mental-- do you guys do mental health 

Teresa Ragsdale 23:16
Sure. 

Wendy Beck 23:16
first aid? 

Teresa Ragsdale 23:17
So that we do mental health. Our goal is to what PPMD do. We're peer support. So like you said, how do we get that part? So what we do is when the caregiver comes to us, we're going to offer the emotional support for the caregiver. But we're also that organization that say, hey, Ranger, 

Ranger gets addiction is over here, and they offer this. 

Wendy Beck 23:43
right, 

Teresa Ragsdale 23:44
You have, um, hope works over here. And this is what they offer. So what we do is we connect the caregivers to the resources in the community. 

Wendy Beck 23:54
Well, here's a really good example. I got a phone call this week. I don't know what day it's Thursday. So I got a phone call this week. They answered the phone, and it was from a family. A, prior resident, and that resident needed a higher level of care, um, mental health rather than just addiction. And sometimes we 

Linda Aluoch 24:14
um, 

Wendy Beck 24:14
don't know is the chicken before 

Linda Aluoch 24:15
really 

Wendy Beck 24:15
the egg 

Rich Bennett 24:16
or 

Linda Aluoch 24:16
yeah, 

Rich Bennett 24:16
what 

Linda Aluoch 24:17
yeah, 

Wendy Beck 24:18
catalyst to what's happening right here. You know, and we are sober living. So we are not technically equipped or 

I want to have someone that's in crisis because it disrupts the whole, 

Linda Aluoch 24:32
yeah. 

Wendy Beck 24:32
the whole house. 

Linda Aluoch 24:33
Mm 

Wendy Beck 24:33
So you kind of have to 

Teresa Ragsdale 24:34
hmm. 

Wendy Beck 24:34
pick and choose what, you know, this person obviously needed a higher level of care. And then when they they left us, we placed they went there. They still need a higher level care there. They left there. They were placed. And then they were literally taken out of that situation. At that facility and dropped off in another state at a family members house. And when they woke up, the person 

Teresa Ragsdale 25:02
was on the back 

Wendy Beck 25:02
door in crisis. So I get the phone call because that was the only thing that was the, that 

Teresa Ragsdale 25:10
silence. 

Wendy Beck 25:10
was a The person 

Teresa Ragsdale 25:12
had, 

Wendy Beck 25:12
in crisis 

now they're in another state. I don't know how to help them. I don't know the resources there. And it just kind of went in this Mary go round type of 

Rich Bennett 25:23
but 

Wendy Beck 25:23
situation, where I'm kind of saying, well, you need to kind of take them to a mental health facility. And I don't want to name drop it like shepherd Pratt. I'm 

Linda Aluoch 25:31
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 25:32
Yeah. Your area. She 

Linda Aluoch 25:33
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 25:34
said, okay, that is something, but, eh, you have to get the person to agree to go. 

Linda Aluoch 25:39
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 25:39
And once you agreed to go, you have to get them to agree to stay. And that was not happening. So now we have a family that doesn't want this person there because they can't handle it. You know, they have children in the home. This is, this is chaotic situation. And it's just heartbreaking because at what point, you know, do you have to let go? And like say, I don't have any more resources for you. 

Teresa Ragsdale 26:04
So, so for 

Wendy Beck 26:05
that, 

Teresa Ragsdale 26:06
what what happened is, okay, so you get that phone call. 

Wendy Beck 26:08
Mm hmm. 

Teresa Ragsdale 26:10
You refer them to points, please, Marilyn. What we will do from that point is, why we're going to help that caregiver find the resources with, but we're also going to work with that caregiver to say, hey, they have to want to do this. And we help them to understand or try to give them tips and tricks on what they can do in this time so that they can feel comfortable about what they're doing. Because let's be clear, when you're dealing with a loved one and you're in crisis, life is life and the last thing you're thinking about is, How you feeling what you do, the only thing I'm thinking about is I need to get these resources. So now we're going to take the wait off. They're not trying to find the resources, PPMD is going to do that 

Wendy Beck 26:54
right. 

Teresa Ragsdale 26:54
for them. So we're going to connect them to that. And most states, their other organizations, like ours. So what we try to do is just make all the connections that we can. And 

Wendy Beck 27:06
you 

Teresa Ragsdale 27:06
in 

Wendy Beck 27:06
help with other states, would you would? I'm just saying, for instance, would you have been able to like, 

Teresa Ragsdale 27:11
so, so, 

Wendy Beck 27:12
at that point, 

Teresa Ragsdale 27:13
at the, at the, at the, the The very least, what we could do is try to find the organization in that place, like from what I understand, New York has several 

Rich Bennett 27:26
right. 

Teresa Ragsdale 27:26
there, just like our organization, which is family peer support. So it will start there, so then we connect them to the different resources. But as we're connecting them to the resources, we're now talking about, okay, now what are you doing for you? Have you put yourself on the list? Because you may not make somebody else's list. This is how we got to do this. Now let's talk about how we get your caregiver to get your loved one to this place. They choose not to get there. Now I'm going to try to help you be okay with the fact that they don't want to get there, you know? And it's, do I live the experience that we're able to do this? We're able to say, okay, I was there. I know it is like to look out my window and see my daughter across the street at three o'clock in the morning and Baltimore city believing that she's safer over there. No, I can look, I want to rent, but she's like, because she has this, you know, she's in crisis dismantling how things going on. I don't understand it, but. The girlfriend over here has been through it and she understands 

Rich Bennett 28:28
yeah, 

Teresa Ragsdale 28:28
yeah, so that's what it is. That's how the family peer support work with PVMD. We're able to say, okay, I know what it's like to feel that so this is what I did. This is how I get how about you try this well go over that fridge against addiction. They may have something over there for you. They may be able to help you over there. They come to you. You don't have, okay, well, let's go over here. They have voices of you know visions of hope we we have that. That's what we do when we come out to. The resource is fast, we're collecting all the resources that we can, because we want to be able to direct that caregiver to whatever resource that they need, but not only that we're looking at the whole person. So it's not just getting them to a resource. We want to make sure you get to a resource, but we want to make sure that you're able to advocate and say, this is what the need is and how to do that. 

Linda Aluoch 29:25
One of the things we need to start looking at also and I agree with you Teresa, the holistic approach and I love the fact that you giving the resources or pointing to the resources. And one of the things that we've done as Hopeworks global is we have a pool of resources and if we're going to create like a task force and I know somebody is struggling with addiction and that's why they were sex traffic. 

will not tell them, go, I'll do a warm, hey, I have this person, 

Wendy Beck 30:09
I 

Linda Aluoch 30:10
I've created this, well, it's, it's a tool that I have. And with all the resources, before I release somebody, I'll say, let me call this person and find out literally two weeks ago, I got a call. Traffic in victim, what do they need? They already have an attorney helping them figure out like the custodian everything. Actually, no, they already have an attorney helping them figure out like paper, I can, all that. So we've come in with the custody issues so we're already seeing further ahead than the victim is or the survivor is and we're already calling the attorney to say, hey, I have this case of this person. As soon as they're done with 

Teresa Ragsdale 31:00
this, 

Linda Aluoch 31:01
they'll be handed off 

Wendy Beck 31:02
to the next 

Linda Aluoch 31:02
space to the next space. 

We're 

Wendy Beck 31:07
covering treatment where we might get to treatment 

Linda Aluoch 31:11
and yeah, you know, 

Wendy Beck 31:12
they stay at a three point. 

Linda Aluoch 31:15
Yeah. 

Yeah. Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 31:21
Independent living. So yes, you have that hand off. It's like, what is it called? 

Linda Aluoch 31:26
I just call it the warm hand off, honestly. 

Wendy Beck 31:28
Yes. 

Linda Aluoch 31:29
Like, 

Wendy Beck 31:30
like there's 

Rich Bennett 31:31
no. 

Wendy Beck 31:31
no, there's 

Rich Bennett 31:31
Make sense. 

Linda Aluoch 31:32
There's not 

Teresa Ragsdale 31:32
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 31:33
exactly. 

Wendy Beck 31:33
So gaps in so they 

Linda Aluoch 31:34
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 31:34
can't fall through the 

Linda Aluoch 31:35
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 31:35
cracks, but yeah, but I love what you were saying. I really do. And I think that that would be a really good community nonprofit. 

Linda Aluoch 31:44
Exactly. 

Wendy Beck 31:45
So I think that's a group that 

Linda Aluoch 31:46
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 31:47
everybody could give a presentation instead of sitting there and coming and just getting this. Because now I know you, I know your face, I know what you. I can take what you say in terms of this presentation 

Teresa Ragsdale 32:00
And 

Wendy Beck 32:00
from that workshop and then the next person. 

Linda Aluoch 32:03
Yeah. 

Uh-huh. 

Wendy Beck 32:06
Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. I've gotten back to that. So there was like, I didn't get the full thing, but I also think having light things, having light things that, having light things, I think I've never been there before. 

Teresa Ragsdale 32:27
Really minded, 

Wendy Beck 32:27
resource-oriented, or resources that can overlap would probably be beneficial, not that food insecurity is not important to people. 

Linda Aluoch 32:35
Mm-hmm, 

Wendy Beck 32:35
mm-hmm. But maybe we need to have the trafficking, the mental health, and the addiction as a very specific kind of workshop presentation. I-I like 

Linda Aluoch 32:46
that. But we also need to acknowledge in half of the county that we have a problem. 

Rich Bennett 32:54
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 32:54
Right now, we are all in denial about everything, not just about human. 

Wendy Beck 33:01
Not the ones, not us, 

Linda Aluoch 33:04
the- 

Wendy Beck 33:04
it's 

Linda Aluoch 33:04
Yes. Yes. When I say- 

Rich Bennett 33:06
The community makes a 

Linda Aluoch 33:07
I'm 

Rich Bennett 33:07
lot of- 

Linda Aluoch 33:08
not trying to point to the finger. 

Wendy Beck 33:10
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 33:12
We are in denial that these problems are happening. 

Rich Bennett 33:16
Uh-huh. 

Linda Aluoch 33:17
I hate to put it like this, unless we acknowledge that homelessness is a problem in half of the county, unless we- let's start by acknowledging that the problems exists. 

Teresa Ragsdale 33:31
Uh-huh. And 

Linda Aluoch 33:32
then we'll be able to appreciate the- 

Rich Bennett 33:35
Mm-hmm. 

Linda Aluoch 33:35
That are coming in. That's why those are getting shut when you come in because nobody wants to admit that their child is actually an addict. 

Wendy Beck 33:44
Right. And, you know, they don't even want to house them. We're 

Linda Aluoch 33:47
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 33:47
having a housing crisis, and I, the mantra for our- program is that, um, healing 

Teresa Ragsdale 33:54
The 

Wendy Beck 33:54
begins with safe housing, 

Linda Aluoch 33:55
exactly. 

Wendy Beck 33:55
I can't heal unless you have a safe 

Linda Aluoch 33:57
do- 

Wendy Beck 33:58
place to 

Linda Aluoch 33:58
So when we start peeling the onion, let's get to the root cause fast. Let's, right now we all have solutions around this table. Like seriously. 

Rich Bennett 34:08
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 34:08
We have solutions around this table. But the root problem. I challenge you and please call me or text me or text reach or comment on this podcast, whatever you can go 

Teresa Ragsdale 34:24
ask your- 

Linda Aluoch 34:26
whatever representative leader is, go ask them about homelessness in half of the county. Make it 

Rich Bennett 34:33
local. Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 34:35
Make it local. Don't ask about Maryland because Maryland includes Baltimore and everything. 

Rich Bennett 34:40
Just 

Linda Aluoch 34:41
ask 

about half of County. Ask about addiction in half of County. Ask about trafficking in half of County. We in the election season right now. Ask about, for every meeting that I've gone to, my question has been you're running for office. What are you going to do about? 

Rich Bennett 35:02
Uh-huh. 

Linda Aluoch 35:04
Regardless of who the person is. Be it the sheriff, be it the council, be whoever regardless of whoever it is. Because I want you to acknowledge as the leader in this county that we have a problem and that way we can start 

Teresa Ragsdale 35:21
it. 

Linda Aluoch 35:21
addressing 

Why is it that last month or two months ago? We had 

Teresa Ragsdale 35:27
three guys. 

Linda Aluoch 35:28
Think. 

Rich Bennett 35:29
Oh yeah. Aberdeen. Yep. 

Wendy Beck 35:34
Terrifying. 

Linda Aluoch 35:34
So let's talk 

Wendy Beck 35:36
terrifying. 

Teresa Ragsdale 35:36
And they don't listen to us. You can tell the, 

Wendy Beck 35:38
Well, they'll 

Teresa Ragsdale 35:39
you can tell 

Wendy Beck 35:39
you'll 

Teresa Ragsdale 35:39
the 

Wendy Beck 35:39
also see 

Rich Bennett 35:40
yeah. 

Wendy Beck 35:40
if you, like let's just say for 

Teresa Ragsdale 35:42
example. 

Wendy Beck 35:44
That shows up on your Facebook feed 

Linda Aluoch 35:46
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 35:46
and it's this precious person that's doesn't matter what color they are, what neighborhood they're in. You're going to see immediately all the comments. they're going to be like, oh, well, I think that she had addiction issues or her family's not this or, and so you have this is your community talking about someone who is in a situation that probably 100% doesn't belong in this situation. And we're judging them, and we're judging them. 

Teresa Ragsdale 36:20
And 

Wendy Beck 36:20
I just look at that stuff and I just seem like I just can't even believe you want to cut. 

Rich Bennett 36:29
Never stop. It's never stopped you before. 

Wendy Beck 36:33
I'm trying to be a little 

Teresa Ragsdale 36:35
more 

Rich Bennett 36:37
by 

Wendy Beck 36:37
respected using my vulgar words, 

Rich Bennett 36:41
but 

Wendy Beck 36:43
you know what I'm saying? So that's 

Teresa Ragsdale 36:44
there. 

Wendy Beck 36:45
right 

Teresa Ragsdale 36:45
Right there. I mean, and also 

Wendy Beck 36:46
Well, that's 

Teresa Ragsdale 36:46
that's 

Wendy Beck 36:46
a 

Teresa Ragsdale 36:46
a 

Wendy Beck 36:46
free 

Teresa Ragsdale 36:46
free 

Wendy Beck 36:47
platform where they feel like they can say whatever they want, but that's really how they feel. 

Teresa Ragsdale 36:50
file. But 

Wendy Beck 36:51
That's how they feel. 

Linda Aluoch 36:52
We feel that way, again, going back to if it doesn't affect me, I don't care. 

Wendy Beck 36:58
Right. 

Rich Bennett 36:58
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 36:59
Mm-hmm. 

Linda Aluoch 37:13
A 16 year 

Teresa Ragsdale 37:14
role, 

Linda Aluoch 37:14
a 12 year role missing doesn't break your heart that you immediately go to judging the parents or judging the child. I hate to put it like this, but there's a problem with you. 

Teresa Ragsdale 37:27
And 

Wendy Beck 37:27
I 

Rich Bennett 37:28
agree. Yes. 

Wendy Beck 37:29
I agree. Well, and I think that we are straying away from having values. We become desensitized because of the social media platforms. So, you know, you're going to, you're going to pass by this and it's going to, it's going to hit you right when you see it, and then you're not going to think about it again because our brains are seeing so much that it's not even relevant. 

Rich Bennett 37:51
Yeah, we're seeing too much on 

Linda Aluoch 37:53
there. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 37:55
Yeah. I 

Teresa Ragsdale 37:55
tell them everything. 

Rich Bennett 37:56
Yeah. Me 

Teresa Ragsdale 37:57
crazy. Dros, me crazy. You're talking about everything, but what you should be talking about. And that's how we're going to get our people free. 

Rich Bennett 38:05
Uh huh. 

Teresa Ragsdale 38:06
No free from addiction, free from sex trafficking, free from just being victimized all together, you know. 

Linda Aluoch 38:14
Do you know 

Teresa Ragsdale 38:15
the talk about what they 

Linda Aluoch 38:16
yeah, 

Teresa Ragsdale 38:18
to 

Linda Aluoch 38:18
give you context of the trafficking issue and this affects the populations that you bought. That's our last year, 

Teresa Ragsdale 38:31
the 

Linda Aluoch 38:32
Nasdaq illegal crimes report financial crimes reported that trafficking 

Rich Bennett 38:40
up 

Teresa Ragsdale 38:41
report, 

Linda Aluoch 38:41
went 

Rich Bennett 38:41
by 

Wendy Beck 38:42
23%. 

Linda Aluoch 38:44
From 

236 billion dollars in 2023. I don't think I saw the 2024 report, but in 2025, 528 billion dollars globally. 

Rich Bennett 39:03
That's scary. 

Wendy Beck 39:04
Well, and because there's no punishment. 

Rich Bennett 39:09
Well, it's like, she said earlier too. 

Linda Aluoch 39:13
It's easy. It's easy for them 

Wendy Beck 39:14
and no one's going to believe 

Linda Aluoch 39:15
you. Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 39:16
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 39:16
You said it earlier, so this will actually. Let me give you context of how I got into this. All right. So I worked for a different organization in half of county. This lady came to me and she was struggling with addiction. She just needed help to get out of the situation. We started like talking, you know, how we can get into a cent and everything. And while it's one time I remember calling her and she told me it's a good thing you called me. I just came from the hospital because like that doesn't make sense. 

Teresa Ragsdale 39:58
No, 

Linda Aluoch 39:59
backtrack, actually, before I called her that second time, I'd called her before and all I had was, I need somebody to blow my effing brains out. And I'm like, what's going on? She was like, I went prostituted myself. All I wanted was a tiny dose of coke. And it was laced with whatever it was laced with felt like her brains were going to blow up. So I hung up called 911, I called her back and listened to them as they administered NACAN to this woman who was overdosing, that was such a timely 

Teresa Ragsdale 40:39
call 

Linda Aluoch 40:39
because the kids who are at school came back 

Teresa Ragsdale 40:43
home 

Linda Aluoch 40:45
to 

Teresa Ragsdale 40:45
CPS 

Linda Aluoch 40:46
waiting for them at the house. And it was just because when they came back home all they saw was 

Teresa Ragsdale 40:50
with 

Linda Aluoch 40:50
blood everywhere. 

Teresa Ragsdale 40:51
everywhere 

Linda Aluoch 40:51
This woman had been bleeding and everything. Two weeks later, I called the lady just to check on her, you know, it's one of those gut feeling call I called and she said, you just called me at the right time. I just came from the hospital today. They held you for that long for two weeks. She was like, no, actually, I was taking in two days ago because I was being suicidal. I was like, no, that doesn't sound like you like knowing you in my gut. I knew that was not the truth. So I was like, OK, cool. Can we get together. I want to buy you dinner. She stood me up. But I knew where she lived. So I was like, OK, I'll just come, you know, I went over to her house and Who was struggling with addiction and now we are at the point of mental health crisis? uhm, is telling me about, I've gone with one of my friends and is telling us about how this guy, she met at one of the recovery meetings, is her soulmate. So the guy had listened to her story at one of the recovery meetings. He came back and told her the story of her life so she thought this guy knows me. What does that sound like, 

Wendy Beck 42:14
Looking 

Linda Aluoch 42:14
manipulation? 

Wendy Beck 42:14
in the recovery 

Linda Aluoch 42:16
Yes, 

Wendy Beck 42:16
meetings? wow. 

Linda Aluoch 42:18
So that was the start of the gaining trust, like... 

Wendy Beck 42:25
That is the vulnerable populations? 

Linda Aluoch 42:28
Yes. 

Wendy Beck 42:28
Hot spot, right there. 

Linda Aluoch 42:30
Exactly. So the lady was like, 'Oh my gosh, I just found my soulmate, he's gonna marry me and he's gonna take me to this place and this place'. Uhm, as we are talking, I ask her, like, how did you end up at the hospital? And she says, 'I woke up one of the nights, I was just feeling so tired. But when I woke up and looked up, this guy looked like the devil'. And he basically... I got up and I was trying to break away from him and he's the one who called 911 and said I was being suicidal. Long story short, this guy had been dragging this lady, raping her, recording, selling on the dark web. What is that? Trafficking. 

Rich Bennett 43:22
And 

Linda Aluoch 43:24
then... 

Wendy Beck 43:24
Oh and she didn't 

Linda Aluoch 43:25
know? When she was kind of getting census of what was going on, he called and claimed mental health so she was treated as a mental health case, and not as a trafficking victim. 

Wendy Beck 43:38
Wow. That went full circle. No! Seriously, honestly, it... And I don't think that it's gonna get any better until some of these things start to change. And that's the scary part. It's 

Rich Bennett 43:52
They 

Wendy Beck 43:53
so 

Rich Bennett 43:53
have. 

Teresa Ragsdale 43:53
scary. 

Linda Aluoch 43:54
It's so scary and personally, my own sister, 16 year old, 16 years. For 13 years, all she did was, man after man after man, after man, drug after drug, probably we don't know. But the last time I saw my 

Teresa Ragsdale 44:15
sister, she was named on a bed. 

Linda Aluoch 44:18
On the last stages of HIV AIDS. 

Wendy Beck 44:21
Hmm. 

Linda Aluoch 44:27
For 13 years, month after month, day after day, and we were surrounded. We talked about why the community doesn't respond. The way we were talking about the stigma, the judgment and everything. It's because of such things that trafficking, addiction, mental health issues will go unrecognized, because people don't want to talk about them because of the judgment. 

Rich Bennett 44:55
We 

Linda Aluoch 44:56
did not talk about my sister being a victim of trafficking up until recently actually. It took me 22 years 

Wendy Beck 45:04
to figure it out. 

Linda Aluoch 45:05
Right. To figure it out. And to verbalize 

Wendy Beck 45:07
Right. 

Linda Aluoch 45:07
it. 22 

Wendy Beck 45:10
Well, 

Linda Aluoch 45:10
years. 

Wendy Beck 45:10
yeah, yeah. I mean. 

Teresa Ragsdale 45:12
It's scary. It's 

Linda Aluoch 45:13
scary. It's 

Wendy Beck 45:13
scary. 

Linda Aluoch 45:15
And we have to talk about this thing. Let's normalize the conversations here. And start saying there's a problem in the world that we are living 

Rich Bennett 45:25
in. 

Linda Aluoch 45:26
If we are waiting for the elites to come and solve the problem, they're not going to solve it. 

Rich Bennett 45:31
You're going to be waiting 

Wendy Beck 45:31
But 

Rich Bennett 45:32
for 

Wendy Beck 45:32
see, 

Rich Bennett 45:32
very long. 

Wendy Beck 45:33
that's, you know, we're the people that are sitting here, that are in the trenches. 

be waiting for the elites to come and solve the problem. 

And we're going to be waiting for the elites to come and solve the problem. And we're going to be waiting for the elites to come and solve the problem. 

And we're going to be waiting for the elites to come and solve the problem. 

And we're going to be waiting for the elites to come and solve the problem. And we're going to be waiting for the elites to come and solve the problem. 

And we're going to be waiting for the elites to come and solve the problem. 

And we're going to be waiting for the elites to come and solve the problem. 

Linda Aluoch 46:30
And we're going to 

Wendy Beck 46:44
hmm, that's what, that's what we've all done, 

Linda Aluoch 46:46
mm 

Wendy Beck 46:47
and even if you didn't found an organization in 

Teresa Ragsdale 46:49
work, 

Wendy Beck 46:50
your 

Teresa Ragsdale 46:51
not 

Wendy Beck 46:51
you're 

Teresa Ragsdale 46:52
going to find

Wendy Beck 46:53
a job in that field if you don't have a heart for it. 

Linda Aluoch 46:55
Mm hmm, that's true, that's true. 

Rich Bennett 46:59
You're listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. We'll be right back. 

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Teresa Ragsdale 48:24
That's the one thing about, with PTMD, when I was going through it. I mentioned earlier, when I was going through the mental health thing and with my daughter and her illnesses and trying to struggle with her life. I didn't know what to do. Like, what do I do? Nobody was there to say, "Hey, try this organization or try that organization. You can, I'm here to help you." to talk about what I was feeling and the feelings and what I'm dealing with and how to deal with that thing. So, that's one of the things that I really, really appreciate about organizations like Pierce Place, Maryland because you have what I call "Google Girlfriend", that don't 

Wendy Beck 49:14
have, but it's it. 

Teresa Ragsdale 49:15
I call a "Google Girlfriend" and have 

Wendy Beck 49:17
I dad. 

Teresa Ragsdale 49:18
mad And that's that girlfriend that you can go and talk to and she can say, "Hey, let's do this." what you can do, you know, we don't work with the victim. We work with the 

Wendy Beck 49:29
Well, 

Teresa Ragsdale 49:30
caregiver because, you know, as caregivers, we don't know what to do. We need that support. You know, you, you go into, my thing was, I'm trying to tell the doctors what's going on with my daughter. And then it treated me like, you just want to check, you know, and like, they, they did not hear me. I'm like, I don't know what to do. I would go, I could not work. They, and they're like, well, you just don't want to work. You just want to check. Trust me. I don't 

Wendy Beck 49:57
check. 

Teresa Ragsdale 49:57
want your 

Wendy Beck 49:57
I don't want to. I could have her healthy, 

Teresa Ragsdale 50:01
If 

Wendy Beck 50:01
I could go live my own 

Teresa Ragsdale 50:02
Yes. 

Wendy Beck 50:02
life. 

Rich Bennett 50:03
Right. 

Wendy Beck 50:03
Instead of 

Teresa Ragsdale 50:04
spending the past, trying 

Wendy Beck 50:06
to help somebody that there's no other 

Linda Aluoch 50:11
resources. Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 50:12
So, yes, I get that. And being the caregiver is very isolating. Your family and friends tend to like step away because they don't want to invite that into their lives or it's exhausting. They don't want to hear about it over and over and over again. And until you have some kind of resolution, it's going to be something you talk about continuously or you pull back and you don't talk to anybody and you're very isolated and then you become 

Teresa Ragsdale 50:37
sick. Yes. Exactly. Exactly. So that's why I, I breathe this work because I do not want another caregiver to be in a place where they just don't know what to do. You 

Rich Bennett 50:54
I, 

Teresa Ragsdale 50:54
don't 

Rich Bennett 50:54
yeah, 

Teresa Ragsdale 50:54
know what to do. Come on over here. We know what to do. We've been through that. Well, we don't know, we're going to find out together, but what's not going to happen is you're not going to be alone. We're going to do this together. So here it is. What do we need to do? What's the issue? What's the problem? What are we? How can I help you get to that next step? That is the biggest role of a family peer support specialist just to let somebody else know you are not alone. You don't have to do it alone. I thought it was so hard 

for me because I didn't have anyone. I don't know how to pass that 30. 

Linda Aluoch 51:33
Probably, and I think you're starting 

Teresa Ragsdale 51:34
Do you 

Linda Aluoch 51:34
to 

Teresa Ragsdale 51:35
have 

Linda Aluoch 51:35
talk 

Teresa Ragsdale 51:35
any questions? 

Linda Aluoch 51:35
about it and you've talked about it in bits and pieces, but just for the sake of our listeners, maybe. Um, I don't mean to take you down or take you back into that, but do you mind just sharing like your story? 

Teresa Ragsdale 52:00
And, um, Grave's disease, which is hypothyroidism, which affected her moods and all these different kinds of things and diabetes. And, um, from that, she was on insulin. Um, three times a day, and she began to feel as if, uh, you could look at her and tell that she was sick. And then, of course, when you're a kid and you're going through just being diagnosed, the doctor's like, Oh, she has type one. No, it's type two. She doesn't need, oh, she needs insulin. And my daughter developed this thing like, the doctors don't know what they're talking, 

Rich Bennett 52:35
and 

Teresa Ragsdale 52:37
came from there. It was on depression anxiety disorder. She would get anxiety had have these anxiety attacks so bad to the point where she would start up for days. And, um, people would think that she, um, was had a intellect was intellectually challenged. Um, and she wasn't very smart. And, and then on top of that, that led to her being bullied. So then it was, she would go into the school system, go into the schools and when she would get to school, I would get a call. Soon as I'd be walking in my job and I'm getting a phone call, you need to come and get her. I went to the school system for help. I went to DSS for help. I went to all these people trying to get help for my daughter. And they just looked at me like I was crazy. You're not saying they would not hear me. Well, we don't see this here. Well, we don't 

Rich Bennett 53:28
at 

Teresa Ragsdale 53:29
school, you know, I tried to get an IP. I tried to get a 504, but of course she's, she has, um, chronic she has a health disease. Well, they don't they don't, um, 

Wendy Beck 53:42
apply to this. 

Teresa Ragsdale 53:43
Right. And diabetes, they don't consider a chronic illness. Okay. So here it is. Right. Because if her sugar levels drop, she's going to pass out. Right. Um, I got a phone call one day that my daughter was laying on somebody step. She had blackout, had an anxiety attack. So bad. Where she was laying on somebody step out of it because that anxiety took 

Wendy Beck 54:06
bad. 

Teresa Ragsdale 54:06
over so 

Wendy Beck 54:06
It was debilitating 

Teresa Ragsdale 54:06
her. Yeah. And she at that time, she was about 16. Well, let's fast forward. 

She went into the school system. Um, no child left behind, right. I'm asking for help all this time. She goes into school. My daughter came out of school this summer to 20 seconds. She never went back until the next school year. And then I told them, keep her in the eighth grade. They sent her to the ninth grade. I ended up then having to have my daughter go into. She was in John Hopkins Day Hospital. I tried to take her there to have her admitted because at this time I don't know what's going on. I'm struggling. I mean, I just had a new baby. I have no clue as to what's going on. And then I had another a middle daughter. But my daughter's. She's struggling. And from that diabetes diagnosis took her all the way to through a whole lot of mental health diagnosis at 18. She graduated high school. We ended up having to take her. She went into when she went back into school. After I had to go all the way to the board of education to Roger Shaw at the time was over the board of education in Baltimore City and they had this new school that where you could do. She went for three years in three years. So you could go from sixth grade all the way through high school. And she went into that school because they were going to after telling me that she could not stay back. Take her to Hopkins, get her together. And then we go. Back into the school system where they had to bring my daughter had to go to school with her therapist, therapist sitting in the back of the room for about two months, 

Linda Aluoch 55:47
while 

Teresa Ragsdale 55:48
twice a week. And then they had to win her back into the school system. She's driving doing well. The following year they come and tell me she has to stay back. 

Rich Bennett 55:59
Jesus. 

Teresa Ragsdale 55:59
She can't go forward because she didn't get enough. She was missing one credit. And I said the devil is a liar, what you're not going to do is set my daughter back because the moment you set her back, you're not only setting her back in her education, but you're setting her back mint and her mental. That's when I had to go to Rajashtani. She ended up going to the Baltimore community high school where she finished four years and two years. She graduated, went to hair school graduated. Well, guess what, she didn't get sexually assaulted. 

Rich Bennett 56:30
Ehm, et cetera. 

Teresa Ragsdale 56:31
set her back some more. So now she's trying to deal with the, the the diabetes. And now that this time she's now on, um, 

Rich Bennett 56:40
It 

Teresa Ragsdale 56:40
insulin three times a day because she just didn't think that she had diabetes fought me at all cost, of course. 

Rich Bennett 57:00
Hmm. 

Teresa Ragsdale 57:01
Mom, so now I'm depressed, but I got to put it on, put the face on, because I have two other kids. 

Rich Bennett 57:08
Right. 

Teresa Ragsdale 57:08
Make sure she's okay, right? So, my village, I have a wonderful village, but they didn't understand. They didn't know what I was dealing with. Because there came a time where I would say something or talk to my village about these things, because they don't know, understand it, oh, she just wasn't attention. 

Rich Bennett 57:26
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 57:26
You need to do that. She need to be punished, you know. And so, what do you do as a caregiver, you shut down, because you don't understand what I'm dealing with. So, it's no need of me talking 

Wendy Beck 57:35
It's 

Teresa Ragsdale 57:35
to you. 

Wendy Beck 57:35
easy for people to judge what they would do. 

Teresa Ragsdale 57:38
Right. 

Rich Bennett 57:38
A lot of people think they're therapists and doctors, and they don't have the license. 

Teresa Ragsdale 57:41
Don't have a clue. Don' have a clue. You don't know what to do with my supermarket. 

Rich Bennett 57:45
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 57:46
So, moving forward. She ended up, she graduated hair school, she moved to North Carolina to go to school to become a teacher. And it was just things that was happening down there to mental health. She was ending out up and down the highway, like clockwork. If I get a two, get that North Carolina 2-5-2 on my phone right now, my daughter has been deceased for three years. If I get that phone call, everything in me is going off. 

Wendy Beck 58:16
Yep. 

Teresa Ragsdale 58:16
Just to see the number. You never get over that, you know. 

Wendy Beck 58:20
Yep. Yes. 

Teresa Ragsdale 58:20
And so, when she was there, they told me my daughter would not make it to 30. Well, 

Wendy Beck 58:27
because of the diabetes, 

Teresa Ragsdale 58:29
because from the diabetes, of course, if you're not taking care of the diabetes, now she has stage 4 kidney failure at age 25. 

She says, stage 4 kidney failure. She goes into the doctors, they say, well, you can't have carbs. You go over here. You need to eat greens and salads and things like that. But then she goes over to the kidney doctor, and then she says, you can't have this. S, now that's another thing that's piling on to the mental 

Rich Bennett 58:54
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 58:55
health, because what do I do? 

Wendy Beck 58:56
Right. 

Teresa Ragsdale 58:57
And it 

Rich Bennett 58:58
makes them give up. 

Teresa Ragsdale 58:59
And that's what ended up happening. She had a sore on her foot. 

And nurses come into her house to clean her foot twice a week. The foot, she's telling them something is wrong. There's something wrong. And they're like, no, nothing's wrong. She ain't losing her toe. told that they was cleaning twice a week. How, you told me it wasn't. It was so bad. And it was stinking. And you're cleaning 

Rich Bennett 59:29
The 

Teresa Ragsdale 59:29
it every day. 

Wendy Beck 59:30
And there's nothing. 

Teresa Ragsdale 59:31
Yeah. Yeah. It's, she suffered. She went through. My daughter went through so many different things, where she just was not hurt. She kept saying, there's something going on. I have an infection. She's in the hospital. They labeled her in the hospital as an adding. My daughter did not. 

Rich Bennett 59:48
What? 

Teresa Ragsdale 59:49
She did not do drugs. Not at all. She just didn't want to be in pain. She was in severe pain all the time. 

Wendy Beck 59:56
For pain killers, they were saying, yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 59:58
And they want to offer her Tylenol. But we know she has a. 

She's telling them that something is wrong. They didn't listen to her. She said, there's something going on. No, nothing's going on. You have a urinary tract infection. She 

Rich Bennett 1:00:12
She. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:00:12
said, no, I don't. I don't have a urinary tract infection. My. I went. I got on the highway because she was now out. Get on the highway. At this point, anytime my daughter goes into the hospital, I'm going to sit beside 

Rich Bennett 1:00:26
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:00:26
her. Because they don't hear her. When I got there, my daughter had a hole in her in her, whatever you call the bow. So her bows was leaking into her stomach. But they thought 

Wendy Beck 1:00:39
that, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:00:40
had a urinary tract infection. That's what they were treating her for. And would not hear her. Did not hear her. She's in and out. In and out. I'm doing 30 days in the hospital. I'd watch my daughter cold three times. Three times. It was the bowel rupture. She had. They had given her fentanyl. The first time they gave a fentanyl, they brought a back, put in her files that this medication is something she could not have. Well, when I watched her cold three times. They gave a fentanyl. I had to end up going to the medical board, the federal board. [BLANK_AUDIO] Nobody ever got back to me. And when 

Wendy Beck 1:01:26
she went and that's 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:01:26
oh, 

Wendy Beck 1:01:27
yeah, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:01:28
and the last trip was she went in. She went in and she had to have a part of her heel removed and it got infected. I went to pick her up. This was June 4th. June 4th, 2023. I went to pick my daughter up in North Carolina. Check this out. Doctor's called me that morning and told me that my daughter just needed to pick up some antibiotics from the pharmacy because they had just released her. I said well did she check out or did you release her? She was discharged. All we need to do is sell her to pick the antibiotics. I left Maryland at 4 in the evening. Nobody gets on on 4.95. That time of day, going to North Carolina to pick my daughter up when I walked in the door. I said my daughters. I said something is not right. She stopped right. I took her from there and I drove back here to Hopkins. She was tired. She didn't want to go in by that day. June 5th, 12 o'clock, Wednesday. She couldn't even tell me her name. 

Wendy Beck 1:02:42
She was septic. Oh, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:02:44
she was septic. Hopkins wanted to do an emergency amputation. Her leg was infected and I was like well I can't do this and she's not woke. So what they did, they gave me, gave her medication until she was able to wake up and then they discussed that. So before her 30th birthday that they said she would not make it to. The day before her 30th birthday, she had to bellowed in the amputation. My daughter passed. that was in June. She passed that November 

Wendy Beck 1:03:15
Oh, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:03:16
from a heart attack. 

Wendy Beck 1:03:17
Oh, she went 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:03:18
Where, 

Wendy Beck 1:03:18
so much. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:03:19
where I told them, something's not right. She was in the mental health facility because she was having some challenges. She was in crisis and we had done, I think at that time we had just did 30 something days in the hospital and she went into the behavior, how she wanted to go in because she did, she felt off and when she was supposed to be discharged, I came back from a cruise and I had COVID. So she couldn't come home and they were going to make arrangements but the the therapist came in and was like, I kept saying something is wrong. Your off. Her face was swollen and I'm on video and I'm like there's something wrong. She kept saying no, I'm okay. She was the type of person that you could slap her on one side. She'll turn around for you to slap on the other side and you can slap her on. She was that type of person, p would come to see her to help her. 

Wendy Beck 1:04:21
Yeah, you mean like passive. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:04:23
She just she's she's very forgiven. She was very forgiven. Although she was a firecracker now, she wasn't innocent. She wasn't innocent but she was just that type when I went that when we want to bring her home and they were making arrangements that the doctor came and it was like, she's not doing well. La Donna is putting on and she doesn't want to go home and these are and I'm like, what are you talking about? I'm going to hang up on you and I was like, wait, hold up. What are you talking about? We just talking here and she's want to act like a kid. Anytime my daughter hurt my voice, even at 30, she would be like, hey, mommy, that was just so away but they 

Rich Bennett 1:05:06
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:05:06
took it as if she was acting like a kid and and that whole thing went two hours later they called me told me that my daughter was in I'm responsible. They had a heart 

Wendy Beck 1:05:20
attack. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:05:22
They tried to revive and could not. She passed. 

Wendy Beck 1:05:25
I'm sorry. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:05:28
Her life for me will never be in me. I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make sure another caregiver or anybody for that matter has the support that they need. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:42
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:05:43
because if she had the support that she need or if I had a me and I could tell somebody, go go over there they got this. Well, do you know about this right here? What about that? 

Wendy Beck 1:05:53
I like that if 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:05:53
She would 

Wendy Beck 1:05:53
they 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:05:53
still 

Wendy Beck 1:05:53
had a 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:05:54
be here. 

Linda Aluoch 1:05:55
Yeah, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:05:56
she would still be here. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:57
Mm hmm. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:05:57
You know, but I didn't have that. So, you know, I'm grateful for the organization that I work for, Perns Place of Maryland. That's doing the work and we're out, I'm here. You don't have to go do this alone. I'm here to tell you, hey, try this. We have this over here. There's this place over here that can help you. Go over there, they can help you there. You know, so that's my life work. It's my life work. I'll do it until I close my eyes. 

Wendy Beck 1:06:28
Well, thank 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:06:28
Thank 

Wendy Beck 1:06:29
you, because... 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:06:29
you. Thank you for letting me know it was a long story back 

Wendy Beck 1:06:31
No, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:06:31
then. 

Wendy Beck 1:06:32
sometimes 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:06:32
Oh, 

Wendy Beck 1:06:32
you just need it, you need to get it out and 

Rich Bennett 1:06:34
yeah. 

Wendy Beck 1:06:34
just talk about it 

Rich Bennett 1:06:35
[clears throat] 

Wendy Beck 1:06:35
because not everybody asks. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:06:38
Uh-huh. 

Linda Aluoch 1:06:38
Mm-hmm. 

Wendy Beck 1:06:38
They don't. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:39
But, yeah, and people need to hear that because, unfortunately, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:06:45
-- 

Rich Bennett 1:06:46
there's 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:06:46
There's other 

Rich Bennett 1:06:46
other 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:06:46
cases 

Rich Bennett 1:06:46
It's like 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:06:47
like 

Rich Bennett 1:06:47
that. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:06:47
that. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:48
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:06:48
Okay, 

here we go. 

Wendy Beck 1:06:50
And it's unique in a lot of ways because, you know, the things that we deal with and the things that you're dealing with, there wasn't any less 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:06:59
important, but she had a very dimmer 

Wendy Beck 1:07:01
path. And so, you know, she wasn't trafficked. She didn't struggle with addiction. Mental health was a result of kind of the care that she got through the health system. Yeah. And you know, unfortunate. It's very unfortunate. And I'm sorry. I know what it -- I 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:07:19
that. 

Wendy Beck 1:07:19
know 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:07:20
You know, the greatest reward was being able to have a conversation with her. Uh, those conversations we had in the hospital, and the things that she just felt comfortable enough to say to me, to talk to me about. And just letting me know, and just saying, you know, to talk to me about her, one of the comments that she said to me, things that she said to me was, God, let me go through this to help somebody 

Wendy Beck 1:07:48
No. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:07:49
help. 

Wendy Beck 1:07:49
Shope. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:07:49
Shope. 

Wendy Beck 1:07:50
And she's right. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:07:50
She's right. 

She's right. 

Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:07:52
She is. 

Wendy Beck 1:07:52
She's right. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:07:53
So, 

Wendy Beck 1:07:54
-- 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:07:54
you 

Wendy Beck 1:07:54
Because 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:07:54
know, the 

Wendy Beck 1:07:54
you 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:07:54
first 

Wendy Beck 1:07:54
wouldn't be talking here today. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:07:56
No, no, but I have to -- I have to make sure that her life was not in vain. 

Rich Bennett 1:08:02
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:08:02
I have to make sure that people know that if you just listen, just listen. You know, the doctors, I've set on one meeting with -- I'm not going to say what group. But I had to sit in on a meeting. I used to sit on one of the boards and helping them a caregiver, that kid is like eight years old. And we don't have the bids for the mental health kids, you know, some kids are really struggling, and it's not just the behavioral health thing. 

Rich Bennett 1:08:37
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:08:37
And this kiddo was in the emergency room, and it happens a lot today because there are no bids. And there is -- they don't have that in between place for the kids to go from, okay, well, we don't have a bid in the hospital, but you can't be at home either. So, 

Rich Bennett 1:08:56
It's 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:08:57
what do we do? And this kid was in the emergency department, and the doctor was like, "Would you need to come again?" I mean, we send people out all the time, and I'm helping the mom, of course, if we don't advocate for anyone, you know, and I'm like, "Mom, I need you to do what you feel is best, and if you feel as though you can't keep your kiddos safe, please don't go pick 

Wendy Beck 1:09:20
right. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:09:20
her up." 

Wendy Beck 1:09:20
Right. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:09:21
Because she was trying to unilow herself, and the doctor said, "Well, if something happens, you just bring her back, and I had to -- if 

Wendy Beck 1:09:28
something happens, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:09:29
yeah, I had 

Wendy Beck 1:09:30
well, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:09:30
to 

Wendy Beck 1:09:31
that's where prevention is not in 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:09:32
-- 

Wendy Beck 1:09:33
the forefront of anyone's 

Linda Aluoch 1:09:34
>> 

Wendy Beck 1:09:35
mind. 

Linda Aluoch 1:09:35
We're actually more for reactive society. We have all these intervention programs, but we don't have preventative measures, which is where we were talking earlier, like, let's start with the education. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:09:51
We 

Linda Aluoch 1:09:52
were talking about earlier, like, the advocacy in terms of, "Hey, good people, this is what's going on in our 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:10:00
community." 

Linda Aluoch 1:10:00
Let me educate you on what trafficking 

Rich Bennett 1:10:04
like. 

Linda Aluoch 1:10:04
looks And then when it happens, the intervention is actually guided by knowledge. Let me guide you on how a medical system that has failed a child leads to mental health struggles, whatever dynamics that lead to addiction, be it socioeconomic, the poverty, peer pressure, all that. Let me educate you on what this looks like, even as we are trying to get the intervention in place. 

Wendy Beck 1:10:34
Right. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:10:34
>> 

Linda Aluoch 1:10:34
> Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 1:10:35
Yeah, and we'll prevention is a big thing, and a lot of times, people aren't looking ahead 

Linda Aluoch 1:10:42
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 1:10:42
at what's happening, they're reacting to what's happening now. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:10:46
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 1:10:46
Like, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:10:46
Yeah. Uh-huh. 

Wendy Beck 1:10:46
what is like, what created 

Linda Aluoch 1:10:48
this. Exactly. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:10:49
Exactly. 

Wendy Beck 1:10:49
And, you know, I'm gonna say, like, you know, my daughter grew up in Hartford County, uhm, there was no physical or sexual trauma in the home, I'm 99.9%, you know, can hang my hat on that, but she was a product of divorce, she, we did move quite a bit, and, you know, I really can't pinpoint it, but I also feel like there was, genetic involved where when she took that first thing, she was an instant addict, and it was, like, 100% go, and then whatever, 

is, goes down all the other road. 

Linda Aluoch 1:11:28
Yeah, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:11:28
uh-huh, 

Wendy Beck 1:11:29
yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:11:30
Yeah. 

Wow. 

Let's check a deep breath. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:11:37
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:38
Yeah. I'm ready. I need 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:11:39
them. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:42
serious. Here are your story to 

Linda Aluoch 1:11:43
One 

Rich Bennett 1:11:43
everything 

Linda Aluoch 1:11:43
in this 

Rich Bennett 1:11:43
else. 

Linda Aluoch 1:11:43
room. 

Rich Bennett 1:11:44
I know. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:11:44
I'm 

Rich Bennett 1:11:45
There's 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:11:45
a doctor, like, um, and with the mental health, uhm, please, you have to tell, I had to actually, the first time, I don't, I don't advocate. I'm just a year's and their mom and caregiving, 

Rich Bennett 1:11:58
yeah, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:11:59
conversation, but when you had, I had to actually say to this, this doctor, you said bring her back if something happened, what is she gonna make it back? 

Rich Bennett 1:12:07
right 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:12:08
What if this mom wakes up and her kid is unlawed? Then what? You know, because here at least here they can have, you have staff that's gonna give, can give her this medication, right? If she's in crisis, she's trying to unlaw herself, trying to, you know, yourself in any form of fashion. If Mom is home, just kiddo with mom. 

Wendy Beck 1:12:32
And of course she needs to 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:12:34
Mom is going to go to sleep. Some of us can, right? Because if we do didn't the kid is, 

Wendy Beck 1:12:40
write. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:12:40
it's too simple, right? So, but Mom is supposed to stay woke 24/7 as she can. So what happens when you take that kid home that you feel is stabilized, but they're really 

Wendy Beck 1:12:53
Right. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:12:53
not, 

Wendy Beck 1:12:54
Right. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:12:54
you know, and then, oh, if something happens, bring them back. Well, what if I don't get the opportunity to bring them back? Because you have, you have five-year-olds that's unlawing 

Rich Bennett 1:13:05
themselves. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:13:07
Yeah. Five. 

Rich Bennett 1:13:07
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:13:09
Yeah. But you see also there's there's a word that you kept using and we talked about this sensitization earlier. So right now, the way the system again, the system is playing word play. Right now, we cannot call, and I hope this is not taken down, you can edit. 

Rich Bennett 1:13:30
No, you're fine. Trust me. You're fine. 

Linda Aluoch 1:13:32
Right now, we cannot call suicide by its name because you want to sanitize. So when we say suicide, it carries a heavy weight. When we say addiction, it carries a heavy weight. We don't want to call the thing by its name. So the system now is forcing us to actually start sanitizing the problem just so that people can be comfortable with 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:14:04
it. 

Rich Bennett 1:14:04
Try to make it 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:14:05
positive. 

Rich Bennett 1:14:05
sound more 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:14:06
So we say, on a 

Rich Bennett 1:14:06
that 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:14:07
lot, 

Rich Bennett 1:14:07
shit ain't 

Wendy Beck 1:14:08
well, I 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:14:08
know 

Rich Bennett 1:14:08
working. And 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:14:10
you know, you don't say now, you can no long, well, we no longer say, you attempted suicide. You had an 

Rich Bennett 1:14:22
unsuccessful. Yeah, which is like. Well, damn, let me go back and try again, so I can 

Wendy Beck 1:14:28
Word's 

Rich Bennett 1:14:28
be 

Wendy Beck 1:14:28
words do have 

Rich Bennett 1:14:29
successful. 

Wendy Beck 1:14:29
power. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:14:30
Yeah, they 

Wendy Beck 1:14:30
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:14:30
do. So you know, it's like. 

Wendy Beck 1:14:32
It's been it to. Yeah, right. 

Linda Aluoch 1:14:35
Yeah, because. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:14:36
Yeah. And 

Wendy Beck 1:14:37
I don't want to offend you. 

Linda Aluoch 1:14:38
No, I don't want to affect. 

Wendy Beck 1:14:39
yeah. No, that's what we're saying. 

Linda Aluoch 1:14:40
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 1:14:40
Like, oh, you know, using these words are changing their meanings. 

Linda Aluoch 1:14:45
Yeah, 

Wendy Beck 1:14:47
calling them something 

Linda Aluoch 1:14:48
Uh-huh, 

Wendy Beck 1:14:48
else. We're trying to protect the people that aren't experiencing it. 

Oh, I don't want to offend you. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:15:01
And then we say, oh, wow, if you say you have what they committed suicide. Then the other person is like, this is the thought probably this is what I'm hearing. 

Linda Aluoch 1:15:12
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:15:13
Yeah. That oh, well, when you say they committed suicide. Now somebody else is like, oh, they were successful. Let me go and try what they did. 

Rich Bennett 1:15:19
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 1:15:20
Oh, they think that it's going to, to, well, and, and I'm going to 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:15:24
be honest. 

Wendy Beck 1:15:26
When, you know, sex trafficking is so, I don't need this as a terrible word to use, like, terrible. It's a lack of a better word, cringey. Like, it's a topic that makes you're like, your skin crawl 'cause you're like, ugh, there's just everyone is just so vulnerable, it could happen to anyone and, and the, even saying it, it just feels terrible. 

Linda Aluoch 1:15:51
It, yeah. 

Wendy Beck 1:15:51
It really does. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:15:52
It's like the three-letter word that's, that's on the begin, we can say trafficking, but don't say this as far as, 

Wendy Beck 1:15:57
right, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:15:58
we 

Wendy Beck 1:15:58
right, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:15:58
can say kids are, kids are, being involved, but don't say this as as far, you know, 

Linda Aluoch 1:16:03
yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:16:03
okay, 

Wendy Beck 1:16:03
Right, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:16:03
well, the thing that you're not saying is the thing that's 

Wendy Beck 1:16:06
what we need 

Rich Bennett 1:16:07
happening. 

Wendy Beck 1:16:07
to, 

Rich Bennett 1:16:07
Well, 

Wendy Beck 1:16:07
you have to have shock value to, in order to get people's, 

Linda Aluoch 1:16:10
yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:16:11
Right, right. 

Rich Bennett 1:16:12
What do people, when, when you look at the news, what do people gravitate headlines, the negative 

Wendy Beck 1:16:19
towards? 

Rich Bennett 1:16:19
headlines, 

Wendy Beck 1:16:19
Right? 

Rich Bennett 1:16:20
you gotta use those words, because it's going to grab the people's attention. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:16:23
The 

Rich Bennett 1:16:23
It's going to make them listen. If you call it something else, most of the time, it goes ignored, and it's not sinking into their freaking brains. 

Linda Aluoch 1:16:33
It's 

Rich Bennett 1:16:34
the, yeah, 

Linda Aluoch 1:16:35
wordplay, it's all about wordplay, how we 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:16:38
present to 

Linda Aluoch 1:16:39
the world, the reality, human trafficking a problem. 

Rich Bennett 1:16:46
is 

Linda Aluoch 1:16:46
When we think, when I say trafficking, somebody might just think of, I mean, they might choose to hear a traffic period and think 95 traffic. But when we start talking about its human beings being sold for profit by somebody else, when we start bringing it now down to your child is at risk, because they're being targeted. When we start showing, hey, your sister is at risk, your brother is. 

Wendy Beck 1:17:21
Well, that's when they stopped listening, because they don't think that that's going to happen to them. So if I, oh, you said that, that's not a topic for me. Addiction, oh, sober living in my neighborhood. No, 

Rich Bennett 1:17:34
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 1:17:34
let's not talk about that. Yeah, you know, it's 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:17:37
all of the things that 

Wendy Beck 1:17:39
that if I 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:17:39
I 

Wendy Beck 1:17:39
don't, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:17:39
don't acknowledge it, 

Wendy Beck 1:17:40
then 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:17:41
then I, yeah, 

Linda Aluoch 1:17:43
I, yeah, if we don't talk about it, then it doesn't exist. 

Wendy Beck 1:17:47
Right. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:17:47
Right. And you know, the thing that that really cracks me up with some people is when you think human trafficking or things like that, and a lot of that wants to know that it has to be somebody standing on the corner. It can't be 

Rich Bennett 1:18:03
that, it could be your neighbor. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:18:03
video. It could be your kid in your house. 

Rich Bennett 1:18:06
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:18:06
There are 

Rich Bennett 1:18:06
That 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:18:07
stories where these, these young girls are trying to get with the best kid in school. And he's like, oh, yeah, I like you. And the next thing you know, he's like, hey, you need to meet me at Tim's 

Wendy Beck 1:18:18
said, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:18:18
house. Because 

Wendy Beck 1:18:19
send me 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:18:19
he's 

Wendy Beck 1:18:19
a 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:18:19
then gotten you. 

Linda Aluoch 1:18:20
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 1:18:22
Yeah, selling it. And he's a freaking high schooler. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:18:26
And 

Wendy Beck 1:18:26
so his brain, his dopamine goes off because now. I am going to get addicted to this. 

Linda Aluoch 1:18:34
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:18:34
And one of the things that you were on last time, Linda, which really shocked me, how many people do we know families that have a child or even the 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:18:43
especially 

Rich Bennett 1:18:45
needs. And those are the. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:18:49
Yeah. They are really, really targeted. 

Rich Bennett 1:18:52
Yes. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:18:54
special needs people are really targeted. I have the pleasure of caring for my aunt, 

Wendy Beck 1:19:01
No, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:19:02
one my grandma passed. I got my wonderful aunt and the stories that she told me that she went through. And of course, because she has intellectual disability. People's not listening to her didn't hear her. And she's labeled as a liar. 

Wendy Beck 1:19:20
Right. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:19:20
You know. But with me, she knows I'm going to investigate everything you say. And anybody that's working with you better know I'm going to investigate everything you say. Because what happens is you try to act like sometimes she might tell you a story and say it happened yesterday, and it could have happened 10 years ago. 

Rich Bennett 1:19:42
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:19:43
But in her mind, 

Wendy Beck 1:19:44
Yes 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:19:44
it 

Wendy Beck 1:19:44
sir. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:19:45
happened yesterday, 

Rich Bennett 1:19:46
Right. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:19:46
you know, so I'm going to, I'm going to investigate everything because although some things may, she may tell some untruths. It's a lot of truth and some of that stuff that she's 

Rich Bennett 1:19:57
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:19:58
talking about. 

Wendy Beck 1:19:58
Well, I mean, I think the, you know, not to sum this up, I don't know, like how far 

Linda Aluoch 1:20:02
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 1:20:02
we're gonna continue, but I think, you know, believing someone, wanting to protect someone, a if you're not someone that is affected by this, you frankly don't care. And so, you know, I've always been one to say, you know, if you can't support my organization, and it's not your passion, it's not something that you're familiar with, please 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:20:29
support 

Wendy Beck 1:20:29
one that you do care about, honestly, because there's no lack of need in all types of things. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:20:36
I truly believe that all the organizations tie in, especially when you're talking, trafficking, human trafficking, drug addiction, mental health, they, some kind of way, they're all they're all connecting in one way or another even with the, uh, the mental, uh, developmental disability. You have youth that goes into school, to, they come out of school while they're in school, they're getting all these supports, 

Rich Bennett 1:21:07
uh, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:21:08
right? Once they come out, you give them nothing. So what do they do? I, I, I'm, I'm on the spectrum, and I don't have a caregiver. So now, the only thing that I can do to cope with the thoughts in my mind is I'm going to use, you know, I need something to help me get through that. So I, I find in the city, you're, I come across a lot of people who have that core current addiction and mental health, or, you know, they may have developmental disabilities, but they don't have anyone to care for them. And they went out to school system with no support, they 

Rich Bennett 1:21:45
yeah, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:21:45
don't have anything, where when they weren't in school, they had counseling, they, they dealt with a therapist, they had, um, somebody talking, telling them, helping them along, guiding them through. And these things, and then they graduate, you just say, go out there. 

Wendy Beck 1:22:00
Okay, you're done. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:22:01
Yeah, nothing. 

Wendy Beck 1:22:02
Well, you were talking about un, unpeeling, is that 

Linda Aluoch 1:22:06
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 1:22:06
feeling, 

Rich Bennett 1:22:06
and, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:22:06
unpillian, unpillian, 

Wendy Beck 1:22:07
yeah, but we have to remember that at our core, all of these things that are happening are the layers that are that need to eventually come, come back. off 

Linda Aluoch 1:22:18
Yeah, 

Wendy Beck 1:22:18
to get down to the root of what's going on. 

Linda Aluoch 1:22:21
yeah, 

Wendy Beck 1:22:21
Well, the pleasure, ladies, do you have a question for that? 

Rich Bennett 1:22:23
No, don't you? I'm not going to do the 

Wendy Beck 1:22:26
question. 

Linda Aluoch 1:22:27
I think, I think for me, the, the last thing I can say is if you suspect anyone is being traffic, don't just look for one pattern. Earlier we were talking about like cultural 

Rich Bennett 1:22:38
difference 

Linda Aluoch 1:22:38
behavior. Um, observe with somebody being controlled. Um, I mean, the somebody look like they have issues of maintaining like eye contact, not because they're shy or because that's 

Rich Bennett 1:22:55
tricky. 

Linda Aluoch 1:22:55
usually a Because that's, you know, uh, eye contact is a tricky one because that can be cultural, too. 

Wendy Beck 1:23:02
yeah, exactly. Right. Well, 

Rich Bennett 1:23:03
Yeah, 

Wendy Beck 1:23:03
and, and honestly, even people who have, you know, experienced that and now they're 

Linda Aluoch 1:23:08
yeah. 

Wendy Beck 1:23:09
later in their life, they still have that, that problem to make that eye contact, even with trusted people. 

Linda Aluoch 1:23:15
Exactly, 

Wendy Beck 1:23:15
Yeah. 

Linda Aluoch 1:23:16
Yeah, um, does somebody have their documents? I mean, I was literally talking to a group sometime back and I asked them, do you know if the people who do landscaping in your neighborhood are all 

Wendy Beck 1:23:31
documented? 

Linda Aluoch 1:23:32
Not even. 

Rich Bennett 1:23:33
No, safe, 

Wendy Beck 1:23:34
safe, safe. 

Linda Aluoch 1:23:35
Let's not even talk about documented. 

Wendy Beck 1:23:36
What do you mean by safe? 

Rich Bennett 1:23:39
they could be trafficked. 

Linda Aluoch 1:23:40
Labour, 

Wendy Beck 1:23:41
Yeah. Okay. Okay. Like, but what years 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:23:43
said? 

Wendy Beck 1:23:43
when I 

Linda Aluoch 1:23:46
Yeah, 

Wendy Beck 1:23:46
do they have control of their. Someone could withhold that information. So they're kind of forced. Okay. Got 

Linda Aluoch 1:23:54
Like, do you know if the person, like sometimes you're not walking to the source, I'm constantly just looking around to see body language. You can 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:24:03
it. 

Linda Aluoch 1:24:04
tell to some extent. 

Look for like when you start a conversation with someone, like if I walked into a store and probably these two of you walking and I said, hi, and he responds and you're kind of like, should I respond? Like, you can always tell the body 

Rich Bennett 1:24:21
Yes. 

Linda Aluoch 1:24:21
language that someone has if there's something going on or not. And the 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:24:26
one thing I will 

Linda Aluoch 1:24:28
emphasize. Yeah. Get off your 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:24:30
freaking. 

Linda Aluoch 1:24:33
stop walking around the store with your phone in your face or walking around the store with your headphones on, situational awareness is important. 

Rich Bennett 1:24:59
And broad daylight somebody could easily come up, throw a hood over your head, grab you throwing you into it. Seriously though. You can, you can. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:25:10
You know, um, that down in, uh, white marsh in a white marsh area, uh, some of the neighborhood, uh, what do you call it? Neighborhood associations, they're letting 

Rich Bennett 1:25:23
in 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:25:23
you know you have to be careful going into them Um, women are coming up missing every 

Rich Bennett 1:25:27
day. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:25:27
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:25:28
Yeah, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:25:28
All the time at the mall. Why? Because you're not paying attention to what's going on around you. You're on your phone. You're in a store, um, prox example. Monice was in Spelman. She, um, just graduated from there. And she was in a target. And we, um, her dad, because of the different, um, things going on in the area, he installed a camera into her mirror. And just so happened, she was paying attention to her mirror and somebody she saw in the store 

Linda Aluoch 1:26:01
I was following 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:26:02
was following her to see where she lived, not to get her right then, but they wanted to see where she lived. They're watching you and you have to be careful about what area you're going 

Rich Bennett 1:26:14
her. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:26:14
into 

Rich Bennett 1:26:14
Yeah. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:26:15
who's in the store with you who's coming out of the store with you because you have people in the store might actually do you know where the sugar is and you're like, yeah, I know it's over there. And you think he's going to get the sugar when you go outside, you're trying to get you. 

Rich Bennett 1:26:29
A couple of things, those of you listening, I want you to let this sink in, um, we have to be aware and you remember, after 9/11, we everybody was aware of their 

Linda Aluoch 1:26:41
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:26:41
surroundings. And then all of a sudden it's like we lost that. Something I see a lot of people doing. And from what I did in the Marine Corps, this is something I was taught. Never take the same to wherever you're going always change your pen. Never sit with your back towards the door if you're by yourself, especially always keep an eye 

Wendy Beck 1:27:04
way 

Rich Bennett 1:27:04
out. Look around you. No, you go somewhere. No, where the exits are. No, unfortunately, you don't know where phones are anymore because I don't think they have wall foods anymore. So just be aware. And when you go in somewhere, like if it's a restaurant, if you're by yourself, make contact with somebody right away that works. So if something does happen, 

Wendy Beck 1:27:28
somebody recognize 

Linda Aluoch 1:27:28
it. 

Rich Bennett 1:27:29
Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, those of you listening just just there's and look at for the people around you as well, because somebody may be giving you a signal that they need 

Linda Aluoch 1:27:40
help. Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 1:27:41
it don't be afraid to speak up or say 

Linda Aluoch 1:27:44
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 1:27:44
something. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:27:44
that part. 

Rich Bennett 1:27:45
If you feel like 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:27:46
you can 

Rich Bennett 1:27:47
climb down one with a 

Linda Aluoch 1:27:50
I'll pose you right 

Rich Bennett 1:27:51
kid. Okay, 

Linda Aluoch 1:27:51
there. Don't confront the trafficker. Your responsibility is to report. Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 1:27:56
yes. Thank 

Linda Aluoch 1:27:57
Don't 

Rich Bennett 1:27:57
you. 

Linda Aluoch 1:27:58
confront the trafficker. Your responsibility is to report. Call 911 immediately. You can call the National Human Trafficking hotline. You can call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. And I'm happy to report that we are actually their official partners in Halford County of the National Center and Missing. 

Rich Bennett 1:28:17
Nice, 

Linda Aluoch 1:28:17
sing and exploited children. So we'll be able to probably take some of those reports as well. We are putting those there resources needed together for that. Don't confront the trafficker. Get to know like 

Rich Bennett 1:28:31
yeah, 

Linda Aluoch 1:28:32
the numbers. Save them on your phone. The same way you have 911 on speed dial. Always have somebody on speed dial. Parents pay attention to what your kids are wearing. 

Rich Bennett 1:28:44
Yes, 

Linda Aluoch 1:28:45
if your kid works out of the house and probably I mean if you're predetermined listening to this, you know we found you out. But here's the thing. Parents, anytime your child leaves the house, you know if they were kidnapped, what doesn't change their shoes? 

Rich Bennett 1:29:03
Say that 

Wendy Beck 1:29:04
again. 

Linda Aluoch 1:29:06
Anybody who kidnaps a child will not change their shoes, but they might 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:29:12
their 

Linda Aluoch 1:29:12
change 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:29:12
shoes. Because 

Linda Aluoch 1:29:14
it's harder to find a 

Rich Bennett 1:29:15
pair of shoes, pair shoes that fit, 

Linda Aluoch 1:29:18
yeah. So pay attention to the full outfit that your children are wearing if you can. 

Wendy Beck 1:29:25
It's terrifying. 

Rich Bennett 1:29:29
You know, I, I want, yeah, definitely is terrifying, but it's something that needs to be...

Linda Aluoch 1:29:35
I really 

Rich Bennett 1:29:35
to... 

Linda Aluoch 1:29:35
need to get 

Rich Bennett 1:29:35
It's pretty bad. 

Linda Aluoch 1:29:36
This too. Like, I've told people, one of the shots, I designed the thing, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:29:40
I just need to put it on my website. 

Linda Aluoch 1:29:42
Sachar, don't make me turn my feelings into felonies, because in this line of work, I'm just... 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:29:49
Don't make me 

Linda Aluoch 1:29:50
feelings 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:29:50
turn my 

Linda Aluoch 1:29:50
into felonies, you're like... 

Rich Bennett 1:29:53
I could see that shirt selling a lot to a lot of fathers as well, they have daughters. I'd wear that in a heartbeat. 

Linda Aluoch 1:30:02
Gonna be up. 

Rich Bennett 1:30:03
(laughs)

Ladies, I want to thank you so much. Give everybody, for everybody listening, each of you give their website. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:30:15
ParentsplaceAmeralignPPMD. 

org. 

Rich Bennett 1:30:19
It's Parents 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:30:19
PlaceAmeralign. 

Rich Bennett 1:30:20
org. 

Apparently, that whole thing, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:30:21
No, 

Rich Bennett 1:30:21
just PPMD. 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:30:22
that's PPMD. 

Rich Bennett 1:30:22
org, I'm messing with you. (laughs)

Linda Aluoch 1:30:26
HopeWarksGlowball. rg. 

Wendy Beck 1:30:29
RageAgainSidiction. org. 

Rich Bennett 1:30:33
Perfect, 

Teresa Ragsdale 1:30:34
and 

Rich Bennett 1:30:34
ladies

Teresa Ragsdale 1:30:34
gentlemen, thank you so much. Yeah, this was wonderful. 

Rich Bennett 1:30:38
"We heard heartbreaking stories of lives forever changed. Not because people didn't care, but too often because they didn't listen. They didn't believe, or they simply looked the other way." And one thing that really stayed with me is something that was said during this conversation. If we don't acknowledge there's a problem, we'll never solve it. And that's true. Awareness isn't about living in fear. It's about choosing compassion over judgment. It's about paying attention to the people around us. It's about asking questions, offering help, supporting organizations doing this work every day, and remembering that the person who seems different or difficult, may actually be the one silently asking for help. Tallinda, Tarissa and Wendy, thank you. Thank you for having the courage to share your experiences, your knowledge and your hearts. The work each of you do isn't easy. But it matters more than words can express. It truly does. And to everyone listening. If this conversation moved you, don't let it end when this episode does. Share it with someone you love. Talk about these issues, learn the warning signs, support the organization's making a difference. Because sometimes, one conversation, one phone call, or one person willing to pay attention can nearly save a life. Until next time, I'm Rich Bennett. Thanks for listening and remember, every great conversation starts with someone willing to listen and someone willing to share. Now it's your turn. Join the conversation by sharing this episode, leave in a comment, or reach out to me directly. Take care. Be kind to one another. And I'll talk with you again soon.