3rd Annual “It Happens Here” Human Trafficking Awareness Event

ZANESVILLE, OH – January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

To help shed light on a difficult topic, the Muskingum County Center for Seniors hosted the 3rd annual “It Happens Here” program on Thursday night.

Janet Long, the Director of the Mid East Rescue and Restore Coalition, says the goal of the event is to educate the community on what human trafficking is and what to look for.

“A lot of times, especially in our area, it’s familial. Parents trafficking their children for, as you know, we have a lot of poverty, a lot of homelessness, drug addiction, things like that.” Long said. “So they can also look at that, there’s changes, you know how the child is behaving and things like that.”

Christi Bartman, one of the Guest Speakers from Eyes Up Appalachia, says another thing to keep an eye out for is social media.

She says children and young teens tend to seclude themselves away in the digital world, which could lead to a human trafficking situation.

“Grooming definitely happens online which is one of the education pieces we are trying to do, otherwise, every situation is different.” Bartman said. “You don’t really have a checklist of what to look for, every single situation is different.”

Pam Page, the Executive Director of Transitions, says human trafficking does happen in our area and events like these help to educate the public about the dangers.

“I think people like to think that this doesn’t happen in our community but it does, it happens here and it happens in surrounding communities.” Page said. “There’s very much of a need for shelter, for these people and for help and guidance and a little bit of love.”

Some of the law enforcement and other agencies in attendance were the Zanesville Police Department, Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office, Soroptimist, Eyes Up Appalachia, and Transitions.