JEFFERSON COUNTY, Texas — Beaumont became the first city in Texas to host city-wide human trafficking training, meant to educate everyone from hotel employees to tattoo artists.
The goal is make sure everyone can spot the signs of human trafficking. It was a packed house.
Hundreds came out Tuesday for day one of a three day training on human trafficking.
Kim Pipkin with the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office teamed up with the Texas Attorney General's Office for the training.
"We want the public to get an idea on what human trafficking is, what it looks like in your everyday life and dispel a lot of those myths on what human trafficking isn't," Pipkin said.
She said it's crucial people know how to spot the signs.
"How do we report it? How do we help them and then how do we comprehensively as a group investigate those cases, bring perpetrators to justice and bring restoration for victims," Kirsta Melton with the Texas Attorney General's Office said.
Attendee Alkisha Parker, a psychotherapist here in Beaumont, works with the victims affected by these crimes every day.
"It's a traumatic experience that actually happens that people don't understand," Parker said.
She said theses crimes occur way too often way too often.
This week, four people down the road in Lake Charles were arrested after a 14-year-old girl was found at a motel. Investigators said she was forced to have sex.
"It's happening at hotels that everybody drives past on I-10," Pipkin said.
Parker hopes the people who participate will share the information they learned.
You never know who could 'Be the One' to save a life in the future.
"The more education, the more signs, the more we see that signs before a girl has been trafficked we can totally stop it at that point," Parker said.
The city-wide initiative continues tomorrow and Thursday with training for workers in the restaurant and hospitality industries.
Upcoming events will continue through Wednesday and Thursday:
- Wednesday, June 19, 2019
9:30 – 10:30 am – Human Trafficking Training for Restaurant Professionals – Holiday Inn & Suites Beaumont-Plaza
2:30 – 3:30 pm – Human Trafficking Training for Restaurant Professionals – Holiday Inn & Suites Beaumont-Plaza
6:00 – 7:00 pm – Yoga Class Benefitting Harvest House - Beginner Friendly – LoveYoga Beaumont
- Thursday, June 20, 2019
10:00 – 11:00 am – Human Trafficking Training for Hospitality Professionals – MCM Elegante Hotel
10:00 – 11:00 am – Human Trafficking Training for Tattoo Artists and Professionals – Foundation of Southeast Texas