Into The Light Licenses Interactive Virtual Reality Training
Arkansas Anti-Trafficking Organization Joins Forces with Radical Empathy to Allow their Communities to Experience Human Trafficking Education in Interactive Virtual Reality
By: Radical Empathy Education Foundation
Arkansas – December, 2022 – Gretchen Smeltzer knew that her community would be able to connect with the young girl she has just spent 20 minutes with in a virtual reality headset. When she placed the headset back on the table, her mind was racing with ideas of how it could be used to connect with parents and youth.
TRAPPED: A VR Detective Story is the first virtual reality experience that allows you to learn about the world from the perspective of a 14-year-old girl who was tricked into becoming a victim by someone she met online. Unfortunately, it's a story that plays out all across America; it's not just ‘happening in other countries.'
As the Executive Director of Into The Light, Smeltzer has met many youth that have been through similar experiences, and she has committed herself to helping her community grapple with the reality of human trafficking happening in Arkansas, just like it is happening in every city in the world.
Into The Light is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness and providing support for individuals affected by sex trafficking and exploitation. They combat this issue through prevention, intervention, and restoration efforts.
“Gretchen is a superstar that works so hard to spread the word in her community,” says Billy Joe Cain, founder of Radical Empathy Education Foundation. “Many people don't even know this could be happening in the United States, and when they complete the 15 to 20 minute experience, their lives are changed forever.” Cain concludes, “Into The Light is there to provide help for anyone that might recognize something happening to them or someone they know.”
Cain shared an email he received from her recently, demonstrating her commitment to her community. “We met with one of our Juvenile Detention Centers yesterday and they'll let us use the headsets in the JDC,” says Smeltzer. “I am so excited!”
Radical Empathy's VR software is only available through a direct licensing agreement, and operates on affordable Oculus Quest VR headsets licensees purchase themselves.
“Into The Light now has a lifetime software license to bring awareness of human trafficking through Virtual Reality, and we have so many opportunities this month to use the headsets, so I am excited to see and hear how people grow in their understanding of trafficking,” says Smeltzer.
You can find all Into The Light events on their website here.
ABOUT RADICAL EMPATHY EDUCATION FOUNDATION
Radical Empathy is an Austin-based nonprofit dedicated to ending human trafficking. Their VR experience includes fully interactive, computer generated environments married with narrative, user-directed stories.
ABOUT INTO THE LIGHT
Into The Light is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness and providing support for individuals affected by sex trafficking and exploitation. They combat this issue through prevention, intervention, and restoration efforts.