30 – Survivor Advocates in Community Advocacy
Survivor advocates are some of the bravest voices in helping us all end human trafficking. Sandra Morgan, the Director of the Global Center for Women & Justice and Dave Stachowiak, one of the Center's board members, interview Holly Smith, Washington Times columnist, on her efforts as a survivor advocate. Sandie and Dave learn how Holly has played an important role in influencing new legislation in the State of Virginia and her efforts as a columnist to educate others about human trafficking. Are you enjoying the show? If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe or rate the podcast on iTunes by clicking here. Click here for FAQs about podcasts and how to subscribe. Haven't been receiving our newsletter? Visit our homepage to join today. Contact us with questions, comments, or suggestions by contacting us through our homepage. Transcript Dave: Sandie, speaking of making a difference, I’m so glad that we have someone with us today that has been making a huge difference. Last episode, #29, we talked about leading community advocacy and this episode we have a great example of someone who’s been doing that and forming some wonderful partnerships and so I’m going to let you take it and introduce our guest today. Sandie: I’m so excited to have Holly Smith with us. Holly comes to us from the east coast, so we’re on the line. I think one of the most amazing things about her is she just comes across as a very demure, quiet young woman. But behind that smile is a powerhouse of initiative and influence and drive to end HT. Now, a lot of people say things like, “well, a survivor advocate has a louder voice.” But as you understood if you listened to the last podcast, there is a lot more behind becoming an effective community advocate than having a loud voice. It takes a lot of preparation and studying and developing the growing trusted relationships so that people invite you to share what you have to share. And just as a point of making a little more of an emphasis on her credibility, Holly was invited to provide testimony for a congressional hearing so her voice is recognized nationally. Holly, welcome! We’re so excited to have you! Holly: Thank you so much for having me. Thank you so much for that introduction. That was very thoughtful. Sandie: I’m very excited to have you here. I think that probably when you were a teenager, you probably never had a dream to go and give testimony for congress. Holly: No! If you told me I was going to do that even a year or 2 ago, I would have never believed you. Sandie: Was writing for the Washington Times ever in your dreams? Holly: I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but my advocacy has taken me in a direction where I’m now writing for the Washington Times. I didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect to be a journalistic writer, but I love it. Sandie: You’re so effective. I’m really impressed. I see links in how important this is. I remember as a high school student myself competing in a speech contest and the title of my speech was, “The Pen is Mightier than the Sword.” It’s a great quote and I believe that your written words will go places that you would just be exhausted if you had to go yourself. So I commend you on that. Holly: Thank you so much. Sandie: Let’s get into a couple of things that you talk about here. First of all, we do know that you are a survivor advocate. So can you, in like 2 sentences, just give us a timeline that starts when you were 10 and then how old you were when you escaped? Holly: Oh, sure. It happened in the year 1992. I was actually 14. It was my summer vacation between 8th grade middle school and 9th grade high school. I was a typical kid in a typical American suburb. I went to a good school. I met somebody at the mall who was looking for a girl just like me, who would be easy to manipulate and ultimately control once I was in his possession. Sandie: I just want to say to people,
