We Don’t Rescue People, We Hand Out Water Bottles

We start our new show by introducing the i5 Freedom Network and the heart-led mission behind the organization and our small but mighty team, connecting prevention, Survivor services, and local advocacy in ways that actually move the needle.

At the core is Self-Designed Life, our 14-week, Survivor-created, trauma-informed course that blends emotional recovery with practical life building: coping skills, financial basics, and rebuilding healthy relationships and community. Because the course is virtual, it makes it inclusive, adaptive, and accessible to Survivors across the U.S. and beyond. We cover who the program serves today, how we’re adapting it for youth at risk, and why meeting people where they are works better than forcing a one-size-fits-all approach.

You’ll also hear more about us: Stacey’s deep commitment to our mission, Whisper’s path from volunteer to director, Luca’s rapid pivot into leadership during a crucial week, and the lived experience that gives us our passion and dedication to the work. 

You’ll learn more about our values and why we reject the “rescuing savior” fallacy, illustrating with the metaphor that guides our work—survivors run the marathon; we hand out water bottles, map the route, and clear the path. 

If this resonates, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more people can learn about human-trafficking, real-world Survivor-led solutions, and join the Freedom Network.

To learn more, visit our website: i5freedomnetwork.org

Transcript

Welcome And Team Intros

SPEAKER_04 0:20

Hi, I'm Stacy Enmeyer, and welcome to the Freedom Network podcast. I am here with Whisper James and Luca James. I'll let them tell you who they are.

SPEAKER_05 0:34

Hi, I'm Whisper, and I am the director of operations at i5 Freedom Network. I am also the current resident survivor representative and the author of our self-design life program.

SPEAKER_00 0:56

I am Luca James. I am the i5's program administrator. So I'm typically the one behind emails, behind socials, and I am also the co-facilitator for our self-design life program currently.

SPEAKER_04 1:13

Well, welcome, podcasters. We are excited to be here with you on our very first podcast as we grow through this new stage. We just thought it was a really great opportunity to start reaching out to people who might not know who we are. Or if you do know who we are, what do we actually do? We do a lot of good work, and we're so excited to share it with you that we just wanted to get a new avenue for you to understand what we do here at the I5 Freedom Network. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_05 1:45

And why not learn about human trafficking while you're on your commute? Can't help it.

SPEAKER_06 1:52

What an uplifting topic on your commute. Although, although that might get you to work all worked up.

SPEAKER_02 2:05

I gotta go save the world today. I gotta make the world a better place today. But we do.

SPEAKER_05 2:10

And we come to work and the mailbox is missing, and we're like, what are we doing? Oh, so many times.

Youth Prevention Events And Impact

SPEAKER_04 2:20

Yeah, so here at the i5, a little bit about us. We are a small but mighty organization. We have a big heart for our survivors, and we are a very survivor-centered uh program. Whisper will tell you more about self-design life in a little bit because she is the author and creator of it. But we have both workshops for both personal growth and for workplace development. We're a full circle trauma-informed organization that believes deeply, deeply in the importance of seeing someone for a whole person rather than their trauma and their experience. We also do prevention on January 22nd. We will be doing No More Do Better at Saddleback College and on January 26th at Vanguard University. My alma mater shout out. But we are very excited to educate probably around 757th and eighth graders, along with a hundred counselors that will be there for seventh and eighth graders in the school district. This is a big day of prevention. It's a fun event, but it is a good amount of work. But it is fun. There's raffles, they're there, and kids start to learn about trafficking and what it is and how to spot it. And then also, if they've ever experienced it, what resources are there to help them? And then we do legal advocacy. We work with cities, knocking on the council people's door, asking them to adopt code enforcement for illicit massage parlor. And on that note, I have a huge shout out to iSanctuary Purpose Jewelry. With the I5's help, we were actually able to eliminate an illicit massage parlor in Laguna Hills. And that is a huge victory, knowing one place at a time that we are making a big impact on our community and in inspiring them and giving them the tools to really equip the skill set that needs to get done to eliminate these things there. You want to tell a little bit about self-design life?

SPEAKER_05 4:27

Yeah, absolutely. So self-design life was a program born born partly out of my own personal passion of taking the things that I've learned, the things that I've experienced and gone through, the things that I needed in my healing journey, and turning that into something that I can give to others and give to other other survivors that may be on their journey of healing. The other reason that we wrote SDL was to answer a need in the survivor community for a program that specifically speaks to some of their emotional needs, some practical tools, coping skills, things that are not usually covered in most programs that are out there. And so there was a big gap in that aspect. So that's that's the other reason why we uh put together self-design life. It's a 14-week course. Probably should have said that first. And we cover things from trauma and its impact, or to how to build your credit, to how to write a resume, and how to build community once you uh have left the one that broke down, and many, many other subjects all along the lines of starting your life again, or for the first time in some cases, depending on some survivors were starting their lives for their first time. And have along with that uh we have uh compiled many, many resources and handouts and information that we give out to each of the survivors that participate, each of the survivors that come to our cohorts.

Legal Advocacy And A Local Win

SPEAKER_04 6:43

I know I know the answer to this, but just a quick question for you, Whisper. What are the age ranges for these? When does some when when would someone a survivor take this course? Is it for a certain demographic? Is it for all? Is it what's tell me more about this?

SPEAKER_03 7:01

Well, because it speaks to some pretty broad needs, uh trauma survivors and even DV survivors.

SPEAKER_05 7:19

So so any survivor that's coming from a background of trauma and restarting their life on a healing journey, the age range that can be anywhere from 21, 18, 19, 21, all the way until, you know, as long as you're still alive.

SPEAKER_01 7:45

That's even available for now.

SPEAKER_05 7:51

Some of the some of the subjects that we uh talk about obviously are for adults that have been through some experiences that a a younger survivor or a younger person has not been through. So we are adapting program, that self-designed life program for youth who are at risk or coming, you know, or foster care youth. But for the current program right now, it's mainly been it's mainly been uh adult survivors.

Inside The Self-Design Life Program

SPEAKER_00 8:22

In my opinion, one of the best things about this program and about this course is that it's it's very accessible for everyone. It's currently a virtual program. So we meet over Zoom once a week during over the course of the program. And because it's virtual, we have been able to have people from all over the country, even outside the country. We've been able to help survivors all the way up in Canada just because of the accessibility and the virtualness of the program. And I think that's just really perfect. Because for a lot of people, like, you know, the thing with survivors is that, you know, not all of them have able bodies. You know, it's it's something that is is disability friendly, is schedule friendly, and we always, you know, we always say that we and we always will cater to every survivor no matter what their schedule is. We will always meet them where they're where they're at.

SPEAKER_04 9:19

Yeah, I think that's one of the core beliefs of our organization is to meet them where they're at, not expect them to get to a bar or a healing point to get, you know, to deserve to deserve to be worthy of training and resources and avenues for healing.

SPEAKER_03 9:39

Yeah, absolutely. 100%.

SPEAKER_04 9:43

So, whisper, again, I know the answer, but let's let everyone else know. How did you start working with this organization, the i5 Freedom Network?

SPEAKER_05 9:52

That's a that's a question that sometimes for me it's like like hard to answer because because it's a little vague. I first met our founder, actually, Brenda Wells, at a mini woman's retreat where she came and gave some presentations and spoke. And you know, immediately I was like, who is this person? And how can I learn more about what she's doing and what is this organization, and how can I learn more about that? Like it intrigued me right away.

SPEAKER_04 10:24

And it just And for anyone who's met Brenda, you will understand that she is a powerhouse mighty woman. She is absolutely less and passionate, and yeah, you you're just automatically drawn to her. So yeah, yeah.

Who The Program Serves And Accessibility

SPEAKER_05 10:37

But even just um in speaking with with Brenda right away, I was drawn to the organization because of the approach. Like there was like immediately I knew that this was an organization that lifted up survivors, that believed survivors and that wanted to do their part for survivors. And so I started volunteering, went to a few different events that that i5 put on. And oh, I painted uh I painted a label for a wine. Yes. We did this, we we did this wine bottle event where we still have it in the office, yeah. We still have one with them, yeah. So that was another so I I did that, I painted a label, so started volunteering in little ways, and eventually I5 said we need a survivor voice in in our world. And so I joined the board as that representation. And as we grew and as you know, as our world shifted, I guess I should say, like it became more and more clear that I was meant to be working here. So so yeah, so that's how that's how I got started. I've been with I've been with i5, like I said, it it's a I'm not, you know, I think it was back in 20 night 2021 when I first met Brenda. And I've been working like with the i5 for the last, I think, three years now.

SPEAKER_04 12:10

It's funny. I think that's how a lot of people who have gotten involved with the i5. I feel like once they come to events and they start seeing what we do and seeing what they can how they can help and how they can volunteer and just learning more about what the org does, it kind of just is magnetized to you. I mean, that's it's exactly what I felt when I first started working here, which is like as a magnet. I would I love it. It's what I do. I see so much good in the world happening and knowing that we're creating positive change for survivors and for the community. I just it's it's electric. And Brenda also has a way of reeling you in. I'm not gonna lie. That woman said, That's true.

SPEAKER_00 12:51

That is that is true.

SPEAKER_05 12:53

She's an amazing, amazing speaker. Yeah. And she casts, and she's so passionate, you know, yeah, about this project as well.

SPEAKER_03 13:01

So this is definitely started with Brenda.

SPEAKER_05 13:08

Yeah, why don't you tell us a little bit about actually how I5 started and how far back we started. Stacy, Stacy's good at telling this story.

Whisper’s Path To I5 And Survivor-Led Work

SPEAKER_04 13:18

Well, everyone always wonders if we're involved with the freeway, the i5 freeway, kind of their name is the i5 Freedom Network. And the answer is yes and no. We started out actually as Hagar's Hope. It was a ministry through San Clemente Presbyterian Church, and Brenda founded it, and then she realized how many survivors had been wounded by the church. And so she made it to be a legit nonprofit and get our status and really transformed it into being an amazing organization that is seeing people of all for who they are and giving everyone resources. Um, but how the name I5 got from Hagar's folk was because the Polaris Project did a massive study and it showed that 80% of people who have been trafficked have been trafficked in hotels. And our founder, Brenda Wells, was driving on the i5. And being that she is a hotel trainer facilitator and corporate trainer, and she's done hotel work before, she realized how many hotels were so close to the freeway and so accessible. And as she drove on the i5, she realized that how many there were and how what if it wasn't just a freeway, but like a freedom network? What if we could come together, collaborate, pool resources, and understand what we can do? What big change could we do? And so that was Todd Forster, one of our board members. They started doing hotel education and trying to get the hotels to really not just take the quick 20-minute course online, but to become engaged and to really understand what the signs are of human trafficking and to keep not just your employees safe, but to also keep your patrons safe and knowing what's going on in yours. So together, the two of them created the Levi Project, and it came from Levi Forster, and it is a hotel readiness application. It's not application, it is applicable to the hotel. And what we have are called the Levi Project cards, and they go into restrooms, into key cards so that they say information such as someone's following me, I don't feel safe. And if you notice in the cards, you can see that there's not the word help on them. It says free. And so it allows the person who doesn't feel comfortable or is noting a lot noticing a lot of foot traffic to hand it to the hotel staff and say, Oh, I'd like this free complimentary coffee. Or if someone is being trafficked, it has a QR code on it. And mind just all the size of a business card, so it's really discreet. But there is also a QR code on it that they can take that and put it, hide it somewhere, and then they can get resources if and when they can get a phone to scan it. So it started off noticing the community, understanding with the community, and then really trying to be proactive and how we can logistically proactively stop trafficking from happening. And from there, we've been involved with city ordinances, we've taught Del Carnegie classes, our way to work program is wonderful. We do high impact presentation classes, we do skills for success, classes for our workplace development, and we've seen great success rate with that. We've done them in English and in Spanish, and we've had such a great experience with them. But we realized we needed to grow a little bit and we needed to meet the survivor need rather than just say, Here's a course if you want it. And that's when Brenda and I were talking, and we're like, We need to see this, you know, be really great. And then Whisper went, Oh yeah, I've already been writing it. We're like, Of course you have.

unknown 17:23

Of course.

SPEAKER_04 17:26

No, that meeting was so funny.

SPEAKER_05 17:28

Brenda was like, Brenda's like, what?

SPEAKER_04 17:31

We're like, what? Like we're like dab small. Like, you know, we were just we're beside ourselves, being like, I'm sorry, and you're just not telling us this now because like this is something you lead the conversation with a whisper. And you were so humble about like, oh yeah, you know, I've just been working on it a little bit, I've just been talking with other survivors and what resources they'd want, what would have helped them for? I'm like, so you've done research data, you are designing that oh, okay, we gotta lean into this. And so yeah, that's that's kind of our origin story and where we go. And I have a similar story, like you, is for where I I've known Brenda for years. She used to come speak when I used to lead an evening mops group, mothers of preschoolers. And it was like 2019, 2018, she always come and speak. So I just felt it was so important for moms to at an early age of their children's development to start knowing some signs and things that we can do to protect our kids. Yeah. Um, and so it started then, and again, that mad Brenda that she is, I had to start volunteering. And she had originally approached my husband with like, I think you could be a helper. I think you could. And he's like, No, you don't want me. You want her. And he pointed to me and she's like, you. And I was like, I've been a nonprofit for, you know, almost 20 years now. And so she was like, I want you. I was like, okay, let's meet, let's hear about it. And I just fell more and more in love with the organization, of what it stood for, of how it treated people, how it genuinely saw them as human beings, not numbers, not caseloads. And I fell in love with it and eventually just was working here. And then Brenda had uh aging in-laws that needed more care. And so they said, Stacy, would you consider it? And I said, I will consider it, but please keep other names in the hat. I want to be the right fit, not the easy fit. And lo and behold, here I am. Two plus years later as the executive director, and just so honored to be here. It's just such a great organization. And then we got Luca, and that was just the trifecta.

SPEAKER_05 19:43

Yeah, the laughter. Now, Luca, and now we get your origin story.

SPEAKER_00 19:47

Oh my goodness. Well, I guess to pull, I guess uh first we're to start off to pull back the curtain a little bit. Obviously, Whisper and I have the same last name. Um, I am Whisper's daughter, so it's been It's been uh people ask me all the time. They're like, My God, what is that like? You work with your mom? What is that like? I was like, She's my best friend. Like, I my like I love her to death. She is one of the most inspiring, hardworking, just like resilient women I know. Like, no, like, really, I'm not.

SPEAKER_04 20:19

I mean, I back everything she said, but I really, honest to goodness, I don't think I could have worked with my mother. I we would have just drove each other crazy. So the fact this relationship works so well is just like beyond amazing to me and really fun to watch. And I'm like, gosh, they're like besties and still work together. And this is so cool, but like it's so weird because that would have not been my situation.

SPEAKER_05 20:44

One of the weird things for me though, that I took a while to get used to was when we'd be be having meetings, and you know, like Luca maintaining her professionalism was like, you know, whisper this and whisper that. It throws me for a loop every time.

SPEAKER_02 20:59

Every time don't you mean but yes. Whisper, would you mind handling this? And I'm like, it's the three of us in a Zoom call.

SPEAKER_00 21:08

I know it's always it's always so funny to navigate. To navigate that of just like, well, we're in a board meeting. Should I call her mom? Or like but no, it's I uh I mean, really, this opportunity just fell into my lap to start working with i5. I mean, I I really had a front row seat of watching watching my mom work for i5 over, you know, the past couple years. And there was an opportunity where our last program administrator was gonna go for focus on school. And so the opportunity came up, and I do, you know, I have background with administration services and social media and stuff like that. So, you know, we were like, hey, do you, you know, I got a push of like, do you want to go in for the interview?

SPEAKER_06 21:53

And I was Well, it it was a little more dramatic than that. It was a little more dramatic than that.

The Origin Of I5 And Hotel Strategy

SPEAKER_05 21:59

Because what happened was the former program administrator had to leave suddenly. Like their their time here at I5 ended sooner than we thought it was going to. And we were one week away from starting our first self-design life cohort.

SPEAKER_06 22:17

And all the promoted week away from our first cohort. I was like, I don't know. I'm a program administrator. What am I gonna do? I was like, sorry, Luca, I'm welcome to go.

SPEAKER_01 22:29

You know the program, you know them.

SPEAKER_04 22:31

You kind of got like expedited by like, Stacey, Luca knows the program, can and it was like a panic. Can she just like sit in for a little bit just so we can find the next program administrator? I was like, Yes, absolutely. Like, this is just a band-aid, like we'll just just know that it was just for right now to get SDL off its feet. And you know, we were just like, oh, oi ve, and and then she started and she's magnificent. And we love having her. And we put it. She's so creative. Yeah, we didn't want to let her go because she was just so wonderful, and and we just love the work that she did and and the the passion. I think that's the uniqueness about having the two of you work together and be related, is that as a child of a survivor, you have seen firsthand more than someone like myself who has never experienced trafficking. And you've seen the pain, the joy, and everything in between. And it brings such a unique perspective like to be able to, you know, know when a survivor is having a hard day and they get kind of off on their voice and not maybe not so kind, and to be able to give them that grace and be like, okay, what happened? Not like, well, screw you, you know.

SPEAKER_03 23:56

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 23:56

I uh, you know, l in the world of of survivor and you know of survivors um and the type of lived-in experience, you know, that my that my mom had, I'm what we consider third gen or like third generation. So my whole life, I again it, you know, back to that front row seat. I I saw I've I've met survivors, we'd have survivors show up at the front of our door in the middle of the night who need a bed to sleep in. Like, you know, we've it's been like this my whole life of being like, well, you know, like, oh, you got school of like, oh, you know, what did where'd your parents go to high school? And I'm like, you know, it's it's it's a very unique experience that's how you answer that question. I well, I I answered with my parents were missionaries, you know, so that's why that's that's the easiest way to say that my parents have been around the whole world, why my dad grew up in India, why my mom grew up in Thailand, why, you know, I I grew up in a very unique and non-traditional way, you know, because my mom was a survivor. And I just think with all of that knowledge, it has really helped me, you know, thrive in this nonprofit world. And I really could not see myself doing anything else at this point because this is really, I mean, it's it's what drives me. It makes me happy. I I cannot wait to talk about my job to people who are willing to listen. And that I think is such a difference between, you know, like we always talk about it. Like, I know, I know Stacy and mom always joke about like, oh, nobody wants to talk to us at parties. Where me, I'm like, I have people like, you know, crowding in front of me being like, what do you do? I want to know more, I want to know this. Because I feel like with the younger generation, they the world of human trafficking is just something that is so important and something that everybody needs to know and be aware of. So I I just love to talk about, you know, like what I do for a living because people want to, first of all, they want to know more about it and they want to know how they can help. And I just think that it's really, really amazing that so many young people are so interested in this realm and just want to know how to help more. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:11

No, I think that's so great that you love where you work and you can work with your mom because that is a gift in and itself. Hey, like I said.

SPEAKER_01 26:18

I love it.

SPEAKER_04 26:21

Well, I'm glad you do because I don't know what we'd do if you didn't.

SPEAKER_05 26:25

Although to say that I bring work home mildly.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

We're we're actually technically our home is our office, and we're two-thirds of the company.

SPEAKER_04 26:36

So well, and I always joke even earlier, Luca, you were like, Yeah, Whisper and I had a meeting, and I'm like, oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:45

And then Whisper goes, we were on the couch together talking, Stacey. And I'm like, oh my God.

SPEAKER_00 26:50

Like, what's a conversation and what's a meeting? The line meeting. Yeah, yeah, conversation.

SPEAKER_04 26:55

But I was all concerned. I mean, like, Whisper and I had a meeting. I was like, okay, everything okay? And Whisper's like, no, we're sitting on the couch talking, it's okay.

SPEAKER_00 27:03

Like notes.

The Levi Project And Workplace Training

SPEAKER_05 27:05

See, I I I think that this here, what we're talking about, is one of the reasons why i5freed network is different from other organizations. Because, first of all, we're obviously a heart-led organization. Like, that's that's where we're coming from. There's no other motivation that we have than that. But also we all come from a background where we've grown up or spent a good amount of years of our life thinking outside the box, you know, just you know, like, and getting that chance to then take that to our mission is is is so is so powerful. And the the the ability to the ability to think outside the box, the ability to understand and pivot and adapt to the different needs of survivors, it's like, you know, we get in the cracks. Yeah. And that's really where, and that's and that's what makes us such a different organization, even though we are small, we are mighty, and we get and we get a lot done.

SPEAKER_04 28:20

So yeah, I know when usually when I tell people all that we do, and you know, they're like, and how big's your team? And I was like, Well, I'm one of three. And they go, wait, what? I was like, I know, we're we're passionate, we're there. Our like you said, it's heart-led, survivor-centered, and really just something that is is so amazing to be a part of and to be able to do it. You know, I've done nonprofits for 20 years, and you can have the burnout, you can have the one who just needs to get it done, or just is there to take care of a need. But I really feel like the I5, you said it best, it's it's heart-led. And whispered o is my favorite word is pivot. Because we can't stop moving forward. We just have to change direction. When a door closes or something happens, we can't stop moving. We need to keep finding ways to help survivors. I'm like, all right, guys, we're pivoting. And they're like, oh gosh, Stacey, what happened? And I'm like, well, here we go.

SPEAKER_05 29:14

Yeah. And and but at the end of the day, when when you know, a survivor graduates from our one of our programs and says, You guys gave me the tools that I need to not only continue my life, but also be able to help other survivors that I come across. And just hearing that and knowing that, you know, that's an opportunity that this survivor is going to be moving forward and not going back. And that that's everything. That's everything. Everything.

SPEAKER_04 29:46

Yeah, it's I was talking with a survivor today, and I was telling her, she's like, How do you do your job every day? And I was like, It's my why. That's a good question. Like, why do you choose this work, Stacey? It's hard, it's not easy, it's a lot, but I mean it's good work, but it's hard work. And I said, Because once you see someone's life be transformed, you can't unsee that. And you know that the power to do that for many is there. And it is something magical to watch someone go into the program as point A, and then to see them get to whatever point they want to go. It could be point C or D, but to watch them navigate that and grow in it's just extraordinary. And you know, we often say here that we don't rescue them, they rescue themselves. And they're the ones putting in the hard work day in and day out. And seeing that hard work have a positive impact for permanent things is I mean, beyond amazing to watch and see and and to hear.

SPEAKER_05 30:57

So the survivors are the marathon runners. We're the people that are standing on the side like handy.

SPEAKER_06 31:04

I mean water bottles or the the little like sugar. No, like the little things like keep going, keep going.

SPEAKER_04 31:11

Yeah. I like that better than saying that we're the cheerleader, because I feel like they put more work into it than I mean, cheerling is awesome. Don't get me wrong.

SPEAKER_03 31:18

We're giving them tools. It's like they're the ones running the marathon.

SPEAKER_04 31:23

I like that analogy. I'm gonna have to steal that one, Whisper, because that is awesome. Because you're right, it's a great, because they're the one doing the race, but they also couldn't run it unless they had the resources.

Luca’s Path And A Rapid Pivot

SPEAKER_03 31:34

And well done, whisper. Well done. That's amazing. New metaphor unlocked.

SPEAKER_00 31:44

It's like the achievement in the corner.

SPEAKER_02 31:50

I was thinking like, I want the gold star on top. Like, no, it occurred. Avement unlocked.

SPEAKER_04 31:56

Oh, I love that.

SPEAKER_05 31:57

Well, thank you so much, everybody, for staying with us, for listening to us. We really looking forward to continuing these conversations. We sat down uh and listed all the different things that we want to talk about and the different people we want to interview. And and uh we have about two years worth of podcasts, so you're stuck with us. So stick around.

SPEAKER_01 32:22

Stick around and find out.

SPEAKER_04 32:23

It's gonna be pretty interesting, the list of people we can come up with and the and the awareness, and also the community leaders that really are coming alongside and and taking a stance. So I think there's gonna be some good stuff coming forward. Yeah, yeah. Thank you for being here, and we look forward next time. See you on the next Freedom Network Podcast.