Yesterday, my wife and I attended Civilian First Responder training put on by WAR Int'l. It was a great day in a very heart-breaking sort of way. This training teaches you how to be aware of, and on the alert for, people who are being trafficked. Primarily, this trafficking involves young women and children for the sex industry, but can also include forced labor.
If you are like most people in America you may not even be aware of this horrendous form of slavery. And if you are, you are likely of the opinion that it is something that happens overseas, and probably in impoverished countries and regions. This is NOT the case. Between 2007 and 2012 the NHTRC received over 70,000 tips related to nearly 10,000 unique cases of human trafficking, IN THE U.S. Now you may be thinking, "but, this is probably only in the big cities." Wrong again. See the map below from the Polaris Project.
In the training, we discussed 15 flashpoints that make an area susceptible. Our conservative home of West Michigan solidly met 12 of these flashpoints. I'm willing to bet that your area is not much different.
Aside from the obvious desire to protect our own children and be on the alert for suspicious activity, I have been reenergized to continue my work-in-progress book dealing with this rapidly rising issue. This seems like one way I can help draw awareness to the issue. I'm also thinking that the proceeds from this upcoming book will go to WAR Int'l and the great work they are doing to help people caught in this tragedy.
'Till next week.
If you are like most people in America you may not even be aware of this horrendous form of slavery. And if you are, you are likely of the opinion that it is something that happens overseas, and probably in impoverished countries and regions. This is NOT the case. Between 2007 and 2012 the NHTRC received over 70,000 tips related to nearly 10,000 unique cases of human trafficking, IN THE U.S. Now you may be thinking, "but, this is probably only in the big cities." Wrong again. See the map below from the Polaris Project.
In the training, we discussed 15 flashpoints that make an area susceptible. Our conservative home of West Michigan solidly met 12 of these flashpoints. I'm willing to bet that your area is not much different.
Aside from the obvious desire to protect our own children and be on the alert for suspicious activity, I have been reenergized to continue my work-in-progress book dealing with this rapidly rising issue. This seems like one way I can help draw awareness to the issue. I'm also thinking that the proceeds from this upcoming book will go to WAR Int'l and the great work they are doing to help people caught in this tragedy.
'Till next week.
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