Junior League of Birmingham's “The Raw Truth – Rescue & Recovery of Trafficked Children”

“The Raw Truth – Rescue & Recovery of Trafficked Children” is one of several virtual Human Trafficking Awareness Month events the Junior League of Birmingham is hosting throughout January. The JLB invites the community to hear from Tina Biaz, human trafficking program director of the Association for the Recovery of Children. ARC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization of former intelligence (CIA), military special operators and law enforcement personnel that rescue missing, exploited, abducted or trafficked American children being held in the United States or overseas. ARC’s all-encompassing child recovering program comes at no cost to the custodial parents and has a 100% success rate. Biaz will discuss how the ARC is working to combat the human trafficking industry and share real recovery and rescue stories to help listeners better understand the truth about trafficking.

Alabamians are invited to participate in the free, educational events held by the JLB’s Anti-Human Trafficking Committee to promote awareness of the prominent issue and debunk common myths surrounding it. Tasked with addressing ways to prevent and provide education around the critical issue of human trafficking in the Birmingham community, the JLB’s Anti-Human Trafficking Committee focuses on bringing awareness and encouraging engagement from three different sectors: the community at large, area college students and the legal and judicial community. Interested individuals can register at stopchildtrafficking.swell.gives/ and join the event via Zoom.

The JLB has been involved in anti-human trafficking efforts for five years. By partnering with the Alabama Department of Transportation, the JLB has posted awareness signs at every rest stop and welcome center in the state. Alongside community partners, the group has placed around 200 signs in ALDOT locations to date. The JLB is the official anti-human trafficking education sponsor of the 2022 World Games hosted in Birmingham and will train World Games staff and division-lead volunteers on how to spot signs of human trafficking and how to get victims appropriate help.

The anti-human trafficking program is one of the JLB’s 30 community projects. Because of the group's extensive work in the Birmingham community, the JLB was honored as the 2021 recipient of the Association of Junior Leagues International Award for Public Policy & Advocacy.

For more information, visit jlbonline.com.