Our 5 Stones meeting this September featured Brooke Istook, Vice President of Youth & Communities with Thorn – a tech non-profit dedicated to developing technology to defend children from sexual abuse.  She discussed the dangers of online predators and the importance of educating youth about internet safety.  

Here is the link to the recorded meeting:
https://cutt.ly/5StonesSept2022Video

A copy of the presentation slides can be accessed here:
https://cutt.ly/5StonesSept2022PresentationDeck

The chat log is how our online audience was able to introduce themselves and their agencies.  Here is the link to the chat log:
https://cutt.ly/5StonesSept2022ChatLog

This month we had 9 agency announcements:

• Felicia Grantham – FWPD
  • Someone left behind a laptop accessory after our August meeting.  Contact Felicia.Grantham@fortworthtexas.gov to coordinate retrieving it.  
  • The JuST Conference is Nov 1-3 and is in Fort Worth this year!  Tickets are still available for both in-person and online attendance.  Go to https://www.justconference.org/just-conference-2022/ for more information.
  • It's time to nominate community difference-makers!  See below in this email for more information and a link to nominate.  See also the list of past award winners to make sure your nominee is eligible!  
  • $25 Amazon gift cards are being collected for survivors for Christmas.  To participate, go to https://cutt.ly/5StonesGiftCards, and email $25 cards to Felicia.Grantham@fortworthtexas.gov.  
  • 5 Stones Member Agencies – submit your WINS videos to Felicia by the end of October
• LaTasha Jackson-McDougle – Cheryl's Voice
  • October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  October 3rd is the 38th year anniversary of the death of LaTasha Jackson-McDougle's parents due to domestic violence.  Wear purple on this day to bring awareness and post a pic with the hashtag of #IAmCherylsVoice or #PurpleHearts.  
• Rebecca Stoy-Brady – Justice Reform
  • The Justice Reform is hosting their 2nd annual Justice Run and music festival to end human trafficking. The run will take place on October 29th at the Panther Island Pavilion from 3PM – 11PM. For more information on the run you may visit https://www.justicerun.com/.  Additionally, anyone who is passionate to see survivors set free and restored may sign up to volunteer at Justice Run as follows: https://brushfire.com/justicerun/runvolunteers/534352.  
• Pooja Pathak – Texas Advocacy Project
  • TAP is holding their annual Black & White Ball on Oct 29th.  Visit https://www.texasadvocacyproject.org/black-white-ball for more information.  
• Billy Joe Cain – Radical Empathy & PBJ Learning
  • Radical Empathy (https://reefcares.org/) creates empathy for victims through VR to open hearts to the reality of human trafficking. PBJ Learning (https://pbjlearning.com/) uses interactive learning in their browser-based courses to provide human trafficking training with assessment-based certificates.  Contact me for a login to our online course or to learn more about licensing our VR experience to use with your training program and/or our online course: 512.521.8874 [email protected]. 

It is that time of year again to nominate community difference-makers for the 5 Stones award!

We have 3 categories for awards:  Law Enforcement Excellence, Victim Advocacy, and Community Impact.  You may nominate up to 3 people, one per category.  All nominees will be reviewed by the 5–Stones steering committee and the top candidate in each category will be chosen.  The awards will be presented at the end of November, 2022.  

These are our past award winners!  (Past winners are ineligible for future awards.)
Lance Cashion
Judge Brent Carr
Carrie Grace
Felicia Grantham
Tobi Jackson
Det. Tim Matthews
Sarolyn Morgan
Sgt. John Phillips
Ofc. Hannah Rivard
Sgt. Anthony White
Robert “Bob” Williams
Karen Wiseman

Here is a link to the award nomination survey.  Follow the link to see the criteria for each award.
https://forms.gle/MYh5k64oFr8U5VRq6
This survey is due no later than October 7, 2022.

For those wanting to get more involved, follow the link below to see a list of ways you can participate in anti-trafficking efforts!

How Can I Help List:
https://cutt.ly/5StonesHelpList

Thank you for joining us!  

Felicia Grantham, Founder
Tarrant County 5 Stones Taskforce