A woman in crisis got the help she needed from employees at a local McDonald’s restaurant it happened in Lodi on Christmas Eve and those McDonald’s workers knew how to jump into action thanks to training on how to recognize signs of abuse and human trafficking it turns out that employee training was developed locally News courtroom era has more when a woman mouths helped me to get away from this man at this Lodi flag city McDonald’s restaurant employees knew just what to do.

Carli Schroeder owner McDonald’s

It’s amazing to know that this training that we provide to our team that they never expect to use is put into motion so quickly.

Carli Schroeder is the owner-operator of the Lodi McDonald’s restaurant it was the 2016 Super Bowl in Santa Clara that sparked an idea.

She said Human trafficking is actually at the highest point around the Super Bowl and so when we heard that we knew that we needed to do something and we found out that women’s Center Youth and Family Services is a national safe place agency and so we work together with them to partner and train all of our employees the Schrader family operates 43 restaurants throughout San Joaquin County Sacramento County Stanislaus and Amador all take part in the national safe place program the program designates libraries schools fire stations nationwide and 43 local McDonald’s restaurants as safe places

For runaways those Abused homeless and more these kids don’t know where to go it’s really important that they have a place where they can go where they can feel safe this is a locally made training video created in partnership with the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office Justice Center and Stockton Women’s Center step one a guest enters McDonald’s and asks for help it’s included as part of each local McDonald’s employees training Romero Davis is the sexual assault domestic violence program manager for the Women’s Center of Stockton

Romero Davis (Women’s Center of Stockton)

It’s a collaboration you know for response for our young people who need help in crisis times where they may be out in public and you know the closest location may be a McDonald’s so far the Schrader family estimates 10 to 15 cases where those in need have reached out to their mom workers for help the family hopes their safe place program can expand nationwide to as many restaurants as possible so what are some of the signs to watch out for you can see any people’s face a lot of distress you know maybe you can see someone maybe separating distance and you know trying to you know to make eye contact with someone so they can either mouth something like the situation that happened.