Alicia and Jenna both grew up in middle-class, 2 parent homes.  Alicia was a top student and leader in her school.  Jenna went to a private school and had a typical teenage life.  But while Alicia and Jenna lived 3000 miles apart their stories became intertwined because they both became victims of human trafficking while still in High School. Even worse, the men that trafficked them, were known to them, and their families.  For Alicia, it was her high school soccer coach, and for Jenna, it was her boyfriend.  You would think in 2024 that being held captive or forced to have sex for money, or be an indentured servant and live in bondage to another person, went the way of slavery, but it hasn’t.  One in three runaways in the U.S. becomes trafficked by another human. There is no cookie-cutter version of a human trafficker or the men who pay to have sex with these women.  While there are men who are trafficked, it is a relatively small number, but nonetheless, a violent crime, and for those who have been or still are trafficked, fear, shame, and trust are the biggest factors that keep them tied to their traffickers. It takes a village of love, trust, and therapeutic endeavors to return these victims to their families and communities.

The Hustler Files Ep. 69 - Not All Monsters Are Strangers

Gloria Matlock Founder and Executive Director 
Debbie Shriver Chair of the BOD
Michael Kane BOD Member
Shino
Jemanae
Jayleigh
Rose
www.twice-as-smart.org

Founded in 2016 in Gloria's home, Twice As Smart was begun on the principle that some kids need extra help. Because Gloria saw a need and because she is a fixer, she wanted to help fix a learning deficiency in Franklin County. What bean with 7 kids in her living room quickly rose to 17 before she realized she needed a bigger space. The program now sees 32 students in the basement of the Second Congregational Church in Greenfield. Gloria grew up in Ohio and began teaching other children at age 11. She saw the value of education and the need to help others when possible. Debbie and she met over singing and have been friends ever since. There is a strong music component to TAS and the kids overlap with the Musica Franklin curriculum in Greenfield as well. Join us to learn why you should support this amazing non-profit in the 413. A special song by the children was the highlight of the interview. Thanks for listening. Happy New Year.

Seg 3 -- Twice As Smart

1/3/25: MTA Pres Max Page: change K-12 funding & other 2025  priorities. Bill & Buz: the meaning of the oath that Congress takes today. Donnabelle Casis w/ New England Visionary Artists Museum Co-directors Michael Tillyer & Susan Foley. Community Action's Claire Higgins on Housing. Human Rights Attorney Laura Pitter: the issue is genocide.

Community Action's Claire Higgins on Housing

Donnabelle Casis w/ New England Visionary Artists Museum Co-directors Michael Tillyer & Susan Foley

Bill & Buz: the meaning of the oath that Congress takes today

Human Rights Attorney Laura Pitter: the issue is genocide.

MTA Pres Max Page: change K-12 funding & other 2025  priorities

1/6/25: Sen Jo Comerford: bracing for Trump, newly passed bills, & 2025 priorities. Hamp Mayor GL Sciarra: municipal money, capital Improvements -- SEXY! & the Main St. Project. Daniel Yalowitz, Recorder columnist & former Chair, Gfld Human Rts Comm: surviving dark times well. Megan Zinn w/ romance novel legend Loretta Chase: “My Inconvenient Duke.”

Megan Zinn w/ romance novel legend Loretta Chase: “My Inconvenient Duke.”

Daniel Yalowitz, Recorder columnist & former Chair, Gfld Human Rts Comm: surviving dark times well

Sen Jo Comerford: bracing for Trump, newly passed bills, & 2025 priorities

Hamp Mayor GL Sciarra: municipal money, capital Improvements -- SEXY! & the Main St. Project

Podcasts from all of the local show on WHMP Radio in Northampton, MA. including Talk the Talk with Bill Newman and Buz Eisenberg, The Hustler Files, The Western Mass Business Show, and Panorama.

The Hustler Files Ep. 69 - Not All Monsters Are Strangers

WHMP Radio

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