Human trafficking is often described as the exploitation of unmet needs — the universal human longings for love, belonging, safety, and to be truly seen. In this powerful episode, Cynthia Marks sits down with Jasmine McDonald, Clinical Director, and Sara Elander, Director of Programs and Coordinator of Victim Services for the LA Regional Human Trafficking Task Force — both leading forces at Saving Innocence, a Los Angeles organization that has been restoring lives since 2010. Together they shed light on a difficult reality with remarkable warmth, and on the trauma-informed, survivor-centered work being done every day to bring hope and healing.

Sara and Jasmine explain what trafficking actually looks like, why survivors are far more like the rest of us than we assume, and how "voice and choice" guides everything they do — from their 24-hour crisis response to their survivor-led leadership programs. They also offer a candid, important warning for parents about how children are targeted online, and share simple, practical ways every one of us can help. Woven throughout is a theme close to this show's heart: that healing begins when we separate who a person truly is from what was done to them, and meet one another with compassion instead of judgment.

This is And Now Love. Listen to your dreams and live from your heart. Please follow, rate, and share the podcast, and pass this episode along to someone who might need it.

To learn more, get involved, or support their work, visit savinginnocence.org. If you see something that doesn't feel right, the National Human Trafficking Hotline is available by phone at 1-888-373-7888 or by texting 233733.

0:00 — Welcome, Sara Elander & Jasmine McDonald

2:25 — What Saving Innocence Does

5:29 — The Exploitation of Unmet Needs

11:13 — Survivor Leadership and the SLAY Program

20:21 — Who Is Most Vulnerable

24:44 — Inside the 24-Hour Crisis Response

29:21 — The Task Force and Its Partners

35:53 — Keeping Children Safe Online

1:06:07 — How You Can Help

If you live in Los Angeles, you see it every day — people living in RVs, vans, and cars on our streets — but you rarely hear the real story behind it. In this episode, Cynthia Marks sits down with Sam Lutzker, a PhD candidate in sociology at UCLA and co-author of the recent "Keep Moving" report, whose ground-level research on vehicle residency has been featured in The New York Times. Sam's work looks past the politics and the neighborhood complaints to actually talk with our unhoused neighbors, bringing rare empathy and nuance to a deeply complex issue.

Together, Cynthia and Sam explore the stereotypes that distort how we see people living in vehicles, what the official statistics really reveal about encampment sweeps, and why "service resistance" is often a mismatch between what's offered and what people actually need. They discuss the toll on caseworkers and outreach workers, the promise of street medicine and Housing First, and practical ideas like safe parking and stable parking that could genuinely help. Running through it all is a reminder close to this show's heart: that seeing one another as human — past the trauma, past the labels — is where real change begins.

This is And Now Love. Listen to your dreams and live from your heart. Please follow, rate, and share the podcast, and pass this episode along to someone who might need it.

To learn more about Sam's work, you can find him through the UCLA Sociology department. Organizations mentioned include Safe Parking LA (safeparkingla.org).

0:00 — Welcome, Sam Lutzker

1:28 — The Boyle Heights Fires and Unsheltered Angelenos

3:55 — What Drew Sam to This Work

5:36 — Breaking Down the Stereotypes

9:11 — Navigating an Opaque System

14:32 — What the Sweep Statistics Really Show

19:01 — Rethinking "Service Resistance"

22:27 — Supporting the Caseworkers and Outreach Workers

24:35 — Street Medicine and Housing First

33:11 — Safe Parking, Stable Parking, and Citations

What does love look like when it puts boots on the ground? In this episode, Cynthia Marks is joined by two remarkable women doing exactly that: Ashlee George, Co-Executive Director of the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP), and Leoni Wainwright, founder of the Vaul Institute in Cape Town, South Africa — one of CTAOP's program partners. Guided by the South African philosophy of ubuntu — "I am because we are" — they share how community-led development, mentorship, and spaces of deep psychological and physical safety are breaking systemic cycles for the next generation.

Leoni takes us inside the Cape Flats, where the Vaul Institute creates safe spaces for young people to feel valued, loved, and heard — many of them carrying burdens far beyond their years. The conversation moves through the silence surrounding gender-based violence, a hopeful new chapter in HIV prevention, why caring for the caregivers matters just as much as the work itself, and Leoni's own courageous journey from hidden trauma to healing. Together with Cynthia, they connect it all back to the imprint — the weight children carry that was never theirs — and the incredible resilience of young people when someone simply makes it safe to be themselves.

This is And Now Love. Listen to your dreams and live from your heart. Please follow, rate, and share the podcast, and pass this episode along to someone who might need it.

To learn more or lend your support, visit www.ctaop.org and www.vaulinstitute.co.za.

This episode includes discussion of gender-based violence and sexual assault, shared in the spirit of healing. If you or someone you love needs support, please reach out to a trusted resource in your community.

0:00 — Welcome, Ashlee George & Leoni Wainwright

2:01 — Ubuntu: I Am Because We Are

5:06 — Two Organizations, One Mission

17:13 — Safe Spaces and Breaking the Silence

22:41 — Caring for the Caregivers

34:47 — A New Chapter in HIV Prevention

47:00 — The Imprint and Youth Resilience

51:12 — Leoni's Story and Wildest Dreams