KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tuesday was National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, which aims to make people more aware of the signs of human trafficking and teach them how they can prevent it.
A Knoxville nonprofit has been hard at work, advocating for survivors and helping stop human trafficking every day of the year. The Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking serves 33 counties across East Tennessee, and they said that the crime has been reported in every zip code they serve.
Officials also said that people are becoming more aware of the problem in their neighborhoods and are better prepared to identify and stop it.
"I think, just as a community, and as folks living in East Tennessee, we're more aware of it," said Kate Trudell, the organization's executive director. "Also, then, individuals who are impacted by this crime are also more aware that there's folks out there that can help."
The organization prepared a list of 425 specific actions people can take to stop human trafficking. They include learning the SOS hand signal, teaching children how to stay safe online and learning how to support survivors and social workers.
The full list can be found online.