Contributed by Staci Yates, MY House Director of Human Trafficking Recovery Services
January is recognized as Global Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month. The US Senate declared January 11th, National Human Trafficking Awareness Day back in 2007. This is a day to bring awareness nationally of the silent crime of human trafficking.
We at MY House will be bringing awareness all month long in January with different events. On January 11th, ASHTA (Alaska Stop Human Trafficking Alliance) had their first community meeting via zoom. We had a presentation on Human Trafficking Preventive 101, presented by Staci Yates, Director of Human Trafficking Recovery Services. Michelle Overstreet opened the meeting with speaking about her work here at MY House for the past 10 years and what we are doing collectively to combat human trafficking in the Valley.
For the entire month of January, Gathering Grounds Café here at MY House will give a free “Stand Against Human Trafficking” button to every coffee purchased. So please stop by and support our mission for not only helping homeless and at-risk teens, but also bringing awareness to this silent, hideous crime of human trafficking that affects our youth here in the Mat-Su Valley and beyond.
If you would like a “Help Stop Human Trafficking” Awareness Poster for your business, please reach out to Staci at notrafficking@myhousematsu.org and she will be glad to bring you one. We have 215 going out in the Valley this month in restaurants, bars, beauty salons, nail salons, tattoo shops, smoke shops, urgent cares, etc. in hopes to bring awareness and help to those who are currently in human trafficking situations.
Education and Awareness trainings will be going on this month and all year long. If you would like to schedule Staci Yates of MY House to come and present the “Human Trafficking Preventive 101” Class, please call or email her at the info below.
We truly believe that education is key to fighting human trafficking. If we can teach our youth the signs of being groomed by a trafficker, then we are empowering them to not only save themselves out of a bad situation, but possibly save others. Also, by educating the public about the signs that indicate an individual may be trapped in human trafficking, we can alert the proper authorities and hopefully rescue them out of a bad situation.
If you would like more information on local services or scheduling a training or obtaining posters and buttons, please contact Staci Yates at 907-631-2522 or email at notrafficking@myhousematsu.org.