Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Charlotte is a hot spot for human trafficking. North Carolina is a top-ten state for the practice and because of our geography, Charlotte is the number one city for human trafficking in the state. Young people are particularly vulnerable to this and some Charlotte groups are jumping in to respond. One is working to train professionals to identify at-risk youth. Mike Collins gathers experts to hear more about steps being taken to thwart this activity.
North Carolina- and Charlotte in particular- have the dubious distinction of being hot spots for human trafficking.
North Carolina is a “top-ten” state in the country for human trafficking, and because of our proximity to major highways and other factors, Charlotte is an attractive place for this kind of activity.
Youth in our area are particularly vulnerable to this, and in answer to that, some Charlotte groups are responding. One group is working to train professionals to identify at-risk youth and to be able to help with early intervention or even prevention for human trafficking.
Host Mike Collins and guests talk about the problem of human trafficking in our state, what to look for in finding victims and how Charlotte area groups are working together to fight the problem.
Guests:
Heather Johnson, director of Individual Advocacy at the Council for Children’s Rights and member of the Charlotte Metropolitan Human Trafficking Task Force
Sarah Byrnes, attorney for Moore & Van Allen, member of the Charlotte Metropolitan Human Trafficking Task Force
Shawna Pagano, Mecklenburg County Project NO REST coordinator
National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline: 1-888-373-7888
Related Reading:
Heather Johnson talks about the problem of human trafficking and youth, from her perspective as part of the Council for Children's Rights: http://www.cfcrights.org/interview-johnson-trafficking/