LEXINGTON — The Lexington Rotary Club held events over a three-day period to raise awareness and educate about the latest scourge of modern society – human trafficking.
As a part of the events, two national organizations, The Set Me Free Project and Truckers Against Trafficking were brought to Lexington.
The Set Me Free Project® is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to bring prevention education to youth and families to stop human trafficking before it begins.
Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) is a non-profit organization that helps to educate, equip, empower and mobilize members of the trucking, bus, energy industries to combat human trafficking.
Scott McKelvey, Lexington Rotary Club President, said the organization has several international groups that are dedicated to fighting slavery across the world and human trafficking is one of the modern-day examples.
McKelvey said his experience with the Rotary groups and meeting with Leticia Bonifas, Executive Director of Central Nebraska Human Trafficking and Immigration Outreach help to inspire the event.
Similar events had been held in McCook, Cambridge and Broken Bow by the Rotary Club and it made sense to bring something similar to Lexington, McKelvey said.
The first event featured a presentation from Stephanie Olson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Set Me Free project at the Lexington Middle School.
McKelvey said Olson did a “fabulous job,” with her presentation.
“Her work on teaching resilience in leadership has inspired people across the United States with topics such as, leadership, trauma, a toxic workplace, mental health, resilience, and DEI. As a woman of color and a survivor of domestic and sexual violence, Stephanie brings lived experience, research, and humor to impact lives,” per The Set Me Free Project website.
Another presentation was offered by Nebraska State Patrol trooper Tim Flick.
His presentation included, among other topics, the definition of human trafficking, examples of trafficking businesses, local and regional issue locations, what traffickers are looking for in a victim and safety tips.
One of TAT exhibits the community could tour was the Freedom Drivers Project.
“The Freedom Drivers Project (FDP), a unique, 48-foot mobile exhibit and museum, showcases information/training on domestic sex trafficking, the artifacts and stories of survivors and the actions of the trucking industry to fight this crime. The FDP is in high demand across the nation by legislators, anti-trafficking groups and trucking leaders, with over 62,122 people walking through its doors at over 265 events in 47 states and provinces,” per TAT.
Brandy Belton, the FDP Director, said the Lexington Rotary Club had been working with TAT for the past two years to bring them to the community.
Belton said in the past, TAT has focused on provided education to different industries, such as trucking, busing, public transport, etc., but have now begun to bring their message to municipalities.
The FDP contains artifacts and stories from the survivors of human trafficking, as well as videos from truck drivers who acted.
Belton said the goal of the FDP is to educate people and make sure they can recognize the signs of human trafficking and if they do, to say something.
The message is especially pertinent for those communities that are located along major travel hubs, Interstate 80 for example.
To date, 1,594,652 industry professionals are TAT trained. The National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH) reports that in the last five years over 41 percent of the cases truckers have reported to them involve victims that are minors.
This multi-day series of events was sponsored by the Lexington Rotary Club, the Lexington Police Department, Dawson County Sheriff’s Office, Lexington Regional Health Center, Culligan Water – Cozad, the YMCA, Lexington Public Schools, Central Nebraska Human Trafficking and Immigration Outreach, the Majestic Theatre and Orthman by Unverferth.
