Human trafficking subject of BAMA’s last 2019 Social Justice Series
Bringing awareness to human trafficking is the subject of Brownsville Area Ministerial Association鈥檚 last presentation in its 2019 Social Justice Summer Series, being held at 6 p.m. Sept. 19 at Calvin United Presbyterian Church, 307 Spring St.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an awareness/education session for people in the community to understand what human trafficking is and to realize it鈥檚 closer than they think,鈥� said Pat Mowen, prevention specialist for the Crime Victims鈥� Center in Uniontown and co-chair of the Fayette County Human Trafficking Task Force.
Mowen, who will make the presentation, noted the Crime Victims鈥� Center has done community and professional training sessions on human trafficking for almost 10 years.
鈥淪o often, it鈥檚 associated with foreign countries and metropolitan areas,鈥� Mowen noted. 鈥淔ayette County, being a rural area, can be a target for human trafficking. The entire state of Pennsylvania is pretty saturated with this type of criminal activity because Pennsylvania is known as a pass-through state. Our transportation network allows people to transport north, south, east and west. It鈥檚 attractive to traffickers because they transport victims from one place to another. They don鈥檛 house them in one place for very long.鈥�
Mowen explained education and awareness efforts by the center and task force have included training for law enforcement, health care workers, social workers and counselors.
The session in Brownsville is to help the general community understand different types of human trafficking and behavior, who can be human traffickers and those who might fall victim.
The program will include discussion, special music, light refreshments and fellowship.