A “Know the Signs, Change A Life: Human Trafficking Awareness” session will be held from 6:30-8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 6 at Monument Community Presbyterian Church, 238 Third St.

The session will educate the community on human trafficking by presenting facts, correcting misconceptions and offering ways to help combat this out-of-control heinous crime in Colorado.

Kristin Hersh, board member for the Human Trafficking Task Force of Southern Colorado and MCPC member will conduct the presentation. Hersh said many people are unaware of this crime, and/or have a misunderstanding of what it is and how it might look.

“We will hear what human trafficking is, how it happens, who the victims might be, who the traffickers can be, where this occurs, what some signs are, how to help protect our loved ones and ways we can make a difference,” Hersh said.

Human trafficking is a concern in southern Colorado with both sex and labor trafficking occurring in the region, Hersh said. Statistics are only a fraction of what’s really happening as human traffic occurs in all neighborhoods.

According to Hersh, about 40.3 million people globally are victims of human trafficking, and about 403,000 people are being trafficked in the U.S. at any given moment.

“Individuals are often trafficked for sex by family members and intimate partners (and) 62% of victims know their offender. Traffickers build on relationships,” she said.

Colorado is 10th in the nation for the highest numbers of human trafficking, and about 25% of sex trafficking victims are males. The average age of entering the trafficking world is 13 years for girls with seven years being the average life span.

“El Paso and Pueblo counties have reported significant numbers of trafficking cases, and have dedicated anti-trafficking task forces to address the problem,” Hersh said. “I have been told stories of trafficking happening in Monument and of young girls being groomed through social media (with) 83% of the trafficking occurring through social media.”

Hersh emphasized that every community is affected by trafficking, but that people aren’t aware of it. Hersh hopes that, through this session, people will learn to remember some of the signs of human trafficking, to know what to do and how to report it.

Hersh encourages people to share the knowledge they glean from the presentation.

“We need to educate not only our adults, but our children, as they are the ones being targeted by traffickers,” Hersh said. “We also, hope that they will be motivated to volunteer for or donate to organizations that fight either human trafficking or one of the other many vulnerable areas in our society,” Hersh said.

The HTTFSC offers FREE presentations to any business, school, police department/first responder. To learn more contact Hersh at 719-330-6424 or email kristin.hersh.2018@gmail.com. The website is www.ht-colorado.org. Also visit thisishumantrafficking.com.