Human trafficking is a serious, global issue, and today Indiana Trafficking Victims Assistance Program representatives shared educational resources around the issue. The organization provides trauma-informed, victim-centered training on identification and collaborative support of youth victims and survivors of trafficking.

January is National Human Trafficking Awareness month, and Kenneth Allen, Program Director for the ITVAP, shared how important it is for people to recognize the signs of human trafficking. Whitney Nixon, Service Provider Support Director for the ITVAP, said some signs to watch out for include people having valuable items they don’t typically have, talking about new relationships with older or unfamiliar people, or a general feeling of things not adding up. If you are seeing any of these signs, Nixon says to call the Department of Child Services and make a report of suspected trafficking.

The ITVAP is a bureau associated with the Indiana Youth Services Association. For more information, visit their website.