Local Organization Working to Prevent Human Trafficking

January is human trafficking awareness month and a local organization is working with trafficked individuals to help them get out of it.  Kate Lepage is the East Central Safe Harbor Regional Navigator and Program Manager with Lutheran Social Services in St. Cloud and Brainerd.  She joined me on WJON to talk about what they are doing to help the victims and how they are working to prevent trafficking in our communities.

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Lepage covers an 11 county area in Minnesota where she is the point of contact to provide referrals, consultations, technical assistance and develop protocols, and provides training and outreach training.  She also works with law enforcement, probation, jails and child protection.

Minnesota is ahead of the game according to Lepage when it comes to human trafficking.  She attends many national and worldwide events on the issue and gets a chance to hear how other states and countries handle this problem.  Lepage says Minnesota has put a lot of funding and research toward this and are getting results.  She says the majority of cases involves grooming, which can be romantic, a friendship or even a work relationship.  Lepage says trafficking is rarely stranger danger instead those pushing young people into trafficking are people they know.  She says data from a Minnesota task force in 2017 indicates there were no cases of a stranger to a victim relationship.

Lepage states victims are often pursued online and can be coerced into prostitution through threats of violence, or extortion.  Lepage helps with prevention speaking at schools or juvenile detention facilities. She also works with kids who check themselves in for services for a different reasons but show signs of being trafficked.  Lepage says the most self referrals she get are from people in their 30s who are now ready to get out of their situation.

If you'd like to learn more about help that can be provided from Lutheran Social Services.  My conversation with Kate Lepage is available below.