SHOW NOTES

Take the OnWatch training here.

Access the Raise app here. Coming soon

Learn more about the Malouf Foundation’s programs here.

Follow the Malouf Foundation on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Follow the Elizabeth Smart Foundation on Instagram and Facebook.

Join the Victory Club to get access to Smart Defense+, the full Smart Defense curriculum available online.

Chat 24/7 with the National Sexual Assault Hotline.

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] Elizabeth Smart: Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Smart Talks by the Elizabeth Smart Foundation. I am Elizabeth Smart, and today I'm so excited to have someone on the podcast who is someone who I would count as a friend, but also someone that I deeply respect and am very excited about a lot of the work that they are doing. Now, many of you have probably heard of Malouf before, they, I think, are probably pretty well known for making mattresses like bed mattresses and a myriad of other things, but how many of you have actually heard of Malouf Foundation? And today we are so lucky because we have Aniko Mahan with us who is the Director of Operations at the Malouf foundation.

So Aniko, thank you so much for taking time out of your incredibly busy day to come and chat with me for a little bit. 

[00:01:40] Aniko Mahan: Of course, thank you for having me. I'm really happy to be here. 

[00:01:45] Elizabeth Smart: Well, I think a lot of people probably haven't heard of the Malouf Foundation before. So can you just start by talking a little bit about what your overall goal is?

And then maybe we can dive deeper in to some of the programs that you're working on. 

[00:02:03] Aniko Mahan: Yeah, absolutely. And you gave a great introduction and, and kind of tying the Malouf Foundation to Malouf Companies. So I'd love to just give a little bit of background of how we got to where we are today.

So the Malouf Foundation today exists to confront child sexual exploitation. We've been around for about five years and going back to the days of when Malouf was just a young company, about 10 years ago, our founders, Sam and Casey, you know, they had all these bedding products, mattresses, sheets, pillows, things that are a basic human need for someone to be comfortable and, you know, kind of just live a good and normal life.

Like some of us think of that. And so, they were really eager to give where they could. And from day one, they had organizations reach out to them that needed something to help shelter, you know, women and children and men that have been through a traumatic experience of some kind. And as they continued to give product and meet with new organizations, they became more aware of the problem that is exploitation out there and started to educate themselves and they wanted to do something about it. They didn't just want to give a little bit here, there, or, you know, talk about it e very once in a while, they wanted to make it the purpose of the company. 

And so Malouf companies really exists to fund something good. And that is Malouf Foundation. And so, like I said, we exist to confront child sexual exploitation. We do that through a handful of different initiatives, which I'm sure we'll get into, but that is kind of the background of, of Malouf and Malouf Foundation. Is there anything else you want me to hit on in that?

[00:03:51] Elizabeth Smart: I mean, I just think that it is, i, I think it's really inspiring because I remember when the #MeToo movement was really big where it was gaining a lot of attention. And I remember this picture that was being, I feel like passed around the internet and it was a picture of this old mattress and someone had written on a marker on this mattress, saying "this is the mattress that I was raped on every day" or I, I mean, I don't exactly remember the timeframe, but I remember the picture very vividly. I remember them writing on it and they just left it out in front of their house. And then over the next like few days, period of time, how many more people came along and did #MeToo, and #MeToo.

And you don't really ever think how triggering something just as simple as your own mattress can be. And so like to get started in this field because you were giving away products so that people could have basic human comfort, I think is very heartwarming because, you just, I don't think when you think, "what are things that you need after you've been raped?" I don't think your head immediately goes to like new mattress, but how important that is for so many survivors to feel safe and comfortable again. So I think that's really inspiring and just really admirable of Sam and Casey, and how they got involved in it to begin. 

So can you tell me about some of your programs that you are working on, that you are already doing and just help educate everyone so that they know how awesome you guys are.

[00:05:25] Aniko Mahan: Absolutely, yeah. So the Malouf Foundation operates in three pillars. We have Education, Healing and Justice, and I'm actually gonna start in our Healing pillar, because of something you just said. So one of our programs is called Rooms Restored, and that program has specifically been designed to pair up the need for comfortable and safe spaces for children that have gone through something traumatic.

So we built it around, you know, the products that we have access to and a lot of the companies and the industry that the for-profit side of the company does business with. And so Rooms Restored is a program where we get matched up with a child or an advocacy center as a whole that is in need of a comfortable place to heal, whether that be a child's own bedroom or an advocacy center where they're going to document you know, something horrific that happened to them.

So that program is great. We've worked with a handful of different advocacy centers and really transformed their space to make it beautiful and, light and healing. You know, I'm sure there's not many people out there that have had to go to an advocacy center maybe that are listening, but they're not often, you know, the most warm and welcoming place.

And this program is really trying to help them assist in becoming that, so that a child really is comfortable when they go there or that they're comfortable in their own room. They're not being retraumatized every time they have to go lay down on their bed or, you know, look at the rug that's on the floor that they've seen there for ages.

So kind of going in and freshening up spaces. So that's one of our Healing initiatives. The other one is fairly new. We recently launched our Juniper Scholarship Program and that is a, exactly what it sounds like, a scholarship program for trafficking survivors. And so this has been set up in partnership with Southern Utah University.

They have an amazing program that is very affordable and very easy for anyone with any education background, whether that be just a GED or anything beyond that, to go to school. And we will come in with financial support through a group of anonymous donors that have partnered up with the Malouf Foundation to fund their education and help them on their next steps of life and, and really just be able to you know, carve away a path for themselves. So that's our other Healing initiative that we've really been focusing on a lot lately. It's new as of just about a month ago. 

And then our third one in the Healing pillar is our Restorative Care Centers. And those are centers for women that have gone through trafficking and abuse, where they can go and get a lot of support that they need.

So they're fairly intensive programs, we're currently planning on building one here in Utah in the Greater Salt Lake area. That will encompass all elements of healing. So medical, therapeutic services, education services, and beyond. And that will be about 18 month program, on average, for females ages 11 to 17 who have been trafficked. 

There really aren't many places like this in the nation. And so we're working to bring that to Utah and kind of the Mountain West Region. And we think it will be really impactful. We see a really big need for it out there. 

Along with that, we're working to also open a transition home in California. So that would be a center where women can go, who have a little more independence and don't need quite as much support, but they can go there to kind of take their next steps towards independence and, and work on securing jobs, and assistance with their children, anything like that. So those are our three Healing initiatives.

Like I said, the other two pillars are Education and Justice. In our Education pillar, we have our On Watch Training, which is an incredible training. It was designed by survivors and was created in partnership with the Malouf Foundation and an organization called Safe House Project. And On Watch teaches people to spot, report, and prevent human trafficking. It is a free online training. It takes about an hour to do, and it walks people through the different signs of trafficking specific to the US. 

So a common misconception that we see out there is people's interpretation of what trafficking looks like. And, you know, you often see images of, you know, people locked in a basement or, you know, there's that picture, I think that goes around out there of hands over someone's mouth. And often that isn't what trafficking looks like in the US and so with On Watch, we're trying to educate people that it can happen in your neighborhood, in your community, to people that, you know.

And so it's a really powerful training. There's no barrier to entry to educate yourself with that tool. And so we really encourage people that if they want to get involved and do something, that's a great place to start. 

[00:10:56] Elizabeth Smart: I actually think that that's how I first heard of Malouf was actually your On Watch training.

Yeah, it was a few years ago. And my husband and I were on a family vacation and we were sitting out on a beach and, I can't honestly remember how my mind got to this point, but I saw something pop up about it and I sat on a beach and I took your On Watch training. 

[00:11:24] Aniko Mahan: The best place to take a training like that 

[00:11:26] Elizabeth Smart: Yeah the best place. Absolutely, send me back. 

[00:11:31] Aniko Mahan: Oh, so Elizabeth, I would ask you then, you know, as a survivor yourself, what, you know, what was your interpretation of On Watch? 

[00:11:40] Elizabeth Smart: I thought it was good. I thought it was very helpful because I mean, I do speak a lot and I do go out a lot and people are like, "well, what can I look for?"

And a lot of times when I'm put on the spot, as I think many people find themselves, when they're put on the spot, all of a sudden you have like this white sheet drop across your brain, whether it's because you're not expecting it or you're headed in a different direction or I'm in the middle of a presentation, or I don't know the question before is, "so what do you do on your day off?"

And then the next thing is, "so how do you recognize that?" And I'm like, "oh, okay, change of gears." And so for me in that moment, that helped me because then I was like, "okay, well, this is what you can do. And this is actually a tool that everyone should go and take and go through it because you're right.

That when we think about it, I mean, it's even like thinking about kidnapping, it's thinking about sexual violence. You don't think about it happening in your own home. You don't think about it happening in your neighborhood. You think about it happening to someone who goes to a bar by themselves and gets drunk and is wearing a mini skirt and a tube top.

And, you know, doesn't go with a friend and is so drunk, they can't make it home. Like that's terrible. I shouldn't even have to say that, I shouldn't stereotype at all in this situation, but I think that probably a lot of people that's kind of where their brains go or maybe that not exact situation, but similar situations that somehow victims put themselves in that situation of vulnerability of opportunity for the predators to come along.

And that's not fair, that's not fair. And so being able to look at them and be like, know what you're looking for or recognize, maybe, even what you're seeing. I mean, that's a huge deal. So that's an incredibly powerful tool, I think. So, like I said, I think everyone should take it. If you have the opportunity to take it at a beach that much better.

[00:13:42] Aniko Mahan: Absolutely. You know, I know someone who's taken the training who had an experience themselves, where they were out at a restaurant, they saw a really odd exchange, essentially what they saw was someone exchanging money with another adult, you know, two males exchanging money. And shortly after that, there was a young child brought in to the restaurant and my friend who had taken this training, he said that he thinks he would have recognized that something was off.

He would have, you know, probably said to himself like, huh, that's kind of weird. But he might not have known what to do, or he might not have put that extra little bit of forethought into it and, and done something actionable. And he did, he called the police and they intervened and he, you know, he's, he's not in law enforcement.

He couldn't stick around to exactly see what went down, but But, you know, it just, I think it makes things a little more top of mind for people and it just is a little bit extra of what to be aware of while you're out and about in your daily lives. So I'm glad that you took it. And I hope that, you know, more people go and take that training because it is it's, it's powerful.

It's simple to, to digest and take in, which I think is really impactful. It doesn't take, you know, none of us want to go back to school and have to study a lot. This is just a really easy way to, to learn something new. So anyways, that is our online training. 

[00:15:11] Elizabeth Smart: And your friend was a perfect example. How easy is it for us to see something strange and just be like, "well, for all I know, you know, he took the kid out for dinner. Like it's a nephew, took him out to dinner and the dad's paying him some money, like to make up for the cost of his meal," or like it's always very easy to justify, or make up excuses as to why this situation could be a totally legitimate situation. And then once you're like that, you're like, "oh, well, if it's truly bad, someone else will definitely see it who knows more and can report more than me. So I don't think I'm the right person to do this." I mean, it's very easy to go down that road. And so I think it's, I mean, like go tell your friend he's a hero because honestly, what is the worst that can happen. 

Well honestly the worst that can happen is that you're right. That is the worst. But also that might be the best, because you might have just saved a child from being bought and sold. On the flip side of the coin, let's hope that you're wrong. Like, let's hope you're wrong. Whoever wants to be wrong, but let's hope you're wrong. And that it is just an innocent excuse and the, like the police won't be upset with you for calling something in.

If anything, they'll be like you did the right thing. Thank you. I don't know, I could be wrong, but I'm willing to bet that police officers would much rather go save a child than hide behind the corner waiting to give you a ticket for rolling through the stop sign. Just a thought, but I'm willing to bet that most of 'em would, would agree with that.

[00:16:49] Aniko Mahan: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Be wrong a hundred times, you know, it's, there's nothing wrong with making that report. Just putting something out there. If you feel like something is off you're right. There's nothing wrong with it. And, and people should continue to do that and, you know, be willing to just be a little bold in some of their interactions sometimes. 

[00:17:11] Elizabeth Smart: I couldn't agree more. I'm sorry I cut you off. You're going to continue. So please do. 

[00:17:14] Aniko Mahan: No, I'm glad you, I'm glad you did. So our other Education initiative that will be coming out later this year, it's called Raise. And it is a app that is targeted towards parents that will teach parents how to talk to their children about online safety.

Almost every child sexual exploitation case, that is coming through law enforcement doors nowadays has a relation to social media in some way, shape, or form. There are so many apps out there that children are being exploited on. And often the children don't even realize what's happening to them.

And so Raise is targeted towards parents to really help inform them of how to keep their children safe, how to talk to them about internet safety. You know, when is appropriate to give your child a smartphone and just kind of how to navigate. Majority of parents in the demographic and age that are parenting children that are asking for smartphones, they didn't grow up with a smartphone.

You know, there's kind of this generational gap right now where mom and dad didn't have to deal with the things that their children are dealing with. And so now more than ever, this is so needed to inform parents just what their child is being exposed to the minute you hand them that phone. So...

[00:18:40] Elizabeth Smart: I mean I didn't have a smartphone until I was in my twenties.

And like, I got a, like, I got a Nokia brick. I'm sure there are plenty of people who are familiar with that, or remember it, when I was like 16 and I have a six year old daughter, who I talk about a lot, but she's six years old and she's already like, "so mom, when do I get a phone?" I'm like, "you're never getting a phone," but like at the same time, we don't have landlines anymore.

So I'm like, oh, what am I going to do? What actually am I going to do? Like, how do I protect her? Cause you're right. There are so many apps and it's so easy to access children these days. I mean, it's terrifying. I think that's exciting. And, and, and you're right. It is needed as well because when I go out and I speak, or I present somewhere, people ask me, "well, you know, as a parent, what do you do? How can I help my children?" I mean, even on this podcast, like the questions that we receive, there's always questions about parenting. "How do you, you know, talk appropriately with your children? How do you inform them? How do you educate them?" 

And sometimes this is like, it's hard because it's almost like one size doesn't fit all because some kids are just like a little bit more advanced than others or emotionally they're like maybe their emotional IQ is a little bit higher or maybe they've experienced extreme trauma when they're younger. Like it's, there's just not a one size fits all.

And so that's really exciting. So, sorry. Tell me about the app I'm really excited about as you can tell. 

[00:20:14] Aniko Mahan: Absolutely. No. And, and you're right. I mean, and you know, Elizabeth, I think you and I are pretty, fairly close in age. And it's funny. I talk about this app with people and, you know, I have to reflect on myself.

I'm like, I feel like I was a teenager, not that long ago, like, you know, and, and the, the different world that these kids are having to grow up in, I'm like, I would have no idea how to talk to a teenager these days and make recommendations of what they should do and how they should use their phone. Because it's not something that I had to grow up with.

You didn't grow up with it. And, and we're really not that far apart in age from some of these kids, but that's just the reality of where things are at, where technology is at. So, like I said, the app, it'll be free. It's being developed by a team of professionals from child psychologists to undercover law enforcement agents who are working on child exploitation cases you know, and internet crimes against children cases on a daily basis, people who are very informed, very ahead of the, you know, the technology and the data that they are really right there and understand it. So that is a really exciting up and coming initiative. Like I said, it'll launch about in October sometimes. So we're really excited about that one. 

And then our third initiative in our Education pillar and something that we're lucky enough that you're so familiar with because you were a part of it, was our Human Trafficking Summit that happens every year.

So we held our first annual one in April. And that summit is all based around education and policy, you know, different legislature that relates to trafficking and exploitation, and we're already gearing up for 2022. And we're really excited to focus even more on how we can, you know, better support survivors.

And better educate people so that, you know, I mean, in a perfect world, we'd work ourselves out of a job because so many people are educated on what trafficking and exploitation is that, that it doesn't even happen. And so we were really excited to have that event again next spring and we hope that the reach and the impact of it is even greater than it was this year.

And this year already yielded some really amazing opportunity for survivors. I mentioned that Juniper Scholarship Program earlier. That was because of people that came to the Summit and wanted to make a difference and get involved. And so that's just another way that we're educating people and letting people get involved and learn more.

[00:23:09] Elizabeth Smart: What I really love about the Malouf Foundation is that you're not just trying to tackle it from one side, which I feel like is, well, for lack of a better word is almost more the common approach. But I love that you're really trying to tackle these issues from really as many sides as I can think of. I mean, you have like this side, that's very individual where it's like, you know, like we're going to help you get your education.

We have the Juniper Scholarship Program, like that is, that is very individual. But then, you also have it from like right from the get go, like where it's like, you know, we're going to like come to us and we will help you. We'll help you heal. Like, we'll help walk you through this. Like, you really are approaching this from a policy side, a personal side, an education side.

And that's exactly how we need to approach these issues. I mean like people,are always like, "well, what can I do? What can I do?" I'm like, "well are you talking about in your home?" And they're like, "well, I mean, like I talked to my kids once a year." I'm like, "that's not enough." And then I'm like, "have you talked to your school? Like, what programs does your school have?" And then like, you know, "what state are you living in? Like who's required to report in your state? Do you think you can broaden that? What are like, you know, the laws surrounding like victims and their safety afterwards? Is there a way to make some of these sentencing harsher?"

Because I feel like there's some pretty large discrepancies, which we don't really need to get into, but sometimes I'm like, wait, he got a lifetime or 20 years for that, and this child rapist is getting like five for potentially destroying a child's life? 

So, I mean, getting involved, let's approach it from all sides. And so I really love that the Malouf Foundation is trying to approach it from all sides. A huge feat, but incredible. 

[00:25:10] Aniko Mahan: Thank you. And, and you're right. You know, we, we are trying to make sure that there's not a gap out there. And one thing that I, I really respect about the decisions that our board makes and the, and the direction that they want to take the foundation is we don't, we don't want to be competitive with other nonprofits. We want to be really collaborative with them. 

And so when someone out there is already doing something really well, we, you know, we applaud them. We support them and encourage them to keep doing that. We're really looking to fill gaps that don't currently exist or have a dramatic need that no one else is meeting, and that looks exactly like the way you described it. It's a little bit of everything. And sometimes, you know, one initiative looks completely different than another. But it really is our way to try and help everyone and make sure that there isn't anything being missed out there.

So I'm glad that you can appreciate all the different angles that we're trying to tackle this issue from.

[00:26:19] Elizabeth Smart: Well and that's the thing is that this issue, unfortunately, I don't foresee any of us going out of business anytime soon. This issue is so huge. There is still not nearly half the manpower out there that we need to really turn the tide.

I completely believe that it's possible. I don't know that we'll ever completely eliminate it, unfortunately. I mean, if we do like, please prove me wrong. I would love to be wrong in this case. But I mean, there is so much room. There's so much room for collaboration. This should never be politicized. This should never be competitive. I mean, we always say, "oh, the world's a small place," but this is a massive problem. And, the world's not that small in this case. So, yes, I love that. That's great. 

[00:27:16] Aniko Mahan: Thank you. Well, anyways, so those are three Education initiatives that we have currently. And then the third pillar that we're operating in is Justice.

And again, like you said, we're broad and, and trying to tackle this, how we can, but one of our primary initiatives is centered around a model that we call the Family Justice Center. So we've been working with these different advocacy groups, like I mentioned earlier with our Rooms Restored program, but we've been working with them around the nation and really have identified that ones that are really performing at an exceptionally high level and being very impactful are ones that have a family model incorporated into them. So this means that, you know, when a child has gone through a trauma and comes to a child advocacy center or child justice center, if the whole family is able to be treated there, there's a lot higher results and impact made for that family. Because unfortunately, you know, in many scenarios, if a child has gone through something traumatic, it's likely that an adult in the home has gone through something traumatic as well.

And so to be able to make life easier on that family and bring all the services under one roof, it really opens a lot of doors for healing. And so, just to, you know, really drive that home, I'll use an example, and this isn't the example all the time, there's, you know, different situations. You know, family dynamics, but you know, it happens to anyone and, and we know that, but a really common scenario that you might see out there with a family that has gone through a trauma and ends up at a justice center is, you know, a child has been abused in some way and they are brought to an advocacy center and it turns out that the mother was, you know, being abused as well.

And what happens is the child has all this support around them because they're a certain age and all the resources are brought to them. But then what the mother is told is that she needs to go to the police station. She needs to go to the hospital. She needs to go to the local court to do all these different steps along the way.

And that can be hard for a lot of families to get all those things done. And so we're really trying to make it as easy as possible for any survivor, any age, you know, really make it as simple as them to give that testimony and, and share what happened to them and be able to move on and heal as possible.

And so we're working with different groups around the nation to kind of integrate that family model and expand their services. And it's been just really incredible to watch different organizations grow and kind of bring in that model to their already existing center or to completely new centers that we've worked with communities to build.

So that's the Family Justice Center Model. And then beyond that we do a lot in that justice field. You know, we've talked with lots of different law enforcement agencies about what could be done better. And like you said earlier, figuring out why someone gets a slap on the wrist and why someone is put away for 20 years after they've done something terrible. You know, why is it one way in Utah and one way in a different state. And so we're really just really digging into what that looks like, what the justice looks like for survivors and for, for people that have experienced something traumatic, whether it was, you know, today or 20 years ago. And so, there's no formal initiative behind it, but really just trying to educate ourselves and be a resource for people and make a difference and make changes. 

[00:31:30] Elizabeth Smart: Well, I think any one of those initiatives or any one of those programs is enough to take up a lifetime of work. So to consider that you're doing as much as you're doing at the level that you're doing it at is really is really saying something. So, I mean, thank you. Thank you, Aniko, for taking time out of your day, for talking with me, for joining me, for helping to just share some more information about what the Malouf Foundation is all about.

And I'm just gonna give one more plug if you're listening to this podcast and you're thinking, "okay, well that was a lot of information. Where do I begin?" Begin by going and taking the On Watch training, that is a great place to begin. And Aniko, I'm going to turn it back to you for just a second, so you can tell that people where they can find that.

[00:32:24] Aniko Mahan: Absolutely. So to find that training, you go to iamonwatch.org and it'll immediately start taking you through the training. You can't miss a step along the way. It's really easy to jump in there and get right into it. 

[00:32:39] Elizabeth Smart: Thank you. And so, everyone listening, if you haven't taken it yet, go take it. And then look for the opportunities as they come because they will come.

And of course, you know, check out Malouf Foundation's website, follow what they're doing, because there will always be opportunities to help. So I want to say thank you again to you, Aniko, and thank you again to everyone for listening to today's episode. Make sure you leave a comment, you give us a rating, and you subscribe and we will catch you next time on our next episode of Smart Talks. See you soon.