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Human Trafficking in the News
Lawmakers address human trafficking
With more truckers than police on Kentucky's roads, two lawmakers have introduced bills to leverage those numbers to combat human trafficking. In the state House, Rep. Sannie Overly, a Paris Democrat, introduced House Bill 266, and in the Senate, Senator Julie Adams, a Louisville Republican, introduced Senate Bill 141. Both bills would require anyone applying for a commercial driver's license to complete training from the online Truckers Against Trafficking training program on how to identify and report human trafficking.
 
Estes launches human trafficking awareness campaign
Estes Express Lines has teamed up with the organization  Truckers Against Trafficking to fight human trafficking, a form of modern-day slavery found across our nation.

 
Emotional Senate hearing finds Backpage.com complicit in underage sex trafficking as victim's families testify
"Those children were sold, and they simply tried to sanitize it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the definition of evil," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, glaring at the five company executives sitting in front of her. Jan. 10 was a day of reckoning on Capitol Hill for the controversial classified site Backpage.com, as the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a new report saying that Backpage had knowingly facilitated underage trafficking on its site by actively editing ads posted in the "adult services" section.
Give now and double the size of your donation through a $40K matching grant from Change a Path

If you've been thinking about becoming a corporate sponsor of Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) or donating to TAT, March 1-May 31 would be a perfect time, because your monies will double, thanks to a $40 thousand matching grant from Change a Path (CAP).
 
CAP, an organization providing financial grants to support not-for-profit organizations working in the sex-trafficking space, has been a major supporter of TAT's coalition builds for the past three years. Coalition builds are strategic half-day trainings to unify the efforts of law enforcement and trucking representatives and close loopholes to traffickers. TAT works with a state's attorney general's office to host coalition builds, and, last year, held nine of these events, thanks, in large part, to the funding CAP provided.
 
This matching grant, if met, will not only fund eight additional coalition builds in 2017 but will provide funds for other TAT programs. CAP likes to provide matching fund grants to bring funders and supporters together to maximize their impact for the organization they are supporting.
 
Give today and double your support for TAT!


Busing on the Lookout (BOTL)


Similar to members of the trucking industry, bus drivers and terminal employees are often in places where they can intersect with potential victims. They need training. TAT, through its connections with commercial vehicle enforcement and safety associations, has been approached for several years about creating industry-specific materials for employees in this area of transportation. Those are now available on the TAT website   in the form of a webinar and a bus-industry wallet card. Bus lines have also shown interest in TAT's Want Out of the Life posters for their bus terminals as well as the TAT window decals.
 
"By creating these materials, we're developing an ever-broadening, transient army of eyes and ears," explained Kendis Paris, TAT executive director. "We want busing employees to be on the lookout. We know bus terminals are one of the places traffickers use for recruitment, and the buses themselves are a mode of transportation traffickers use to transport their victims."
 
If you're in the busing industry, write [email protected] to get your wallet cards and posters today.
TAT to train CDL driving testers in Colorado
 
Due to an opportunity presented to TAT by the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR), in the months of March and April, TAT staff will be training all "third-party testers," the instructors hired by the DOR to conduct the driving portion of the test for people wanting their CDL licenses in the state. This includes both truck and bus CDL testers.
 
"Testers spend hours with CDL applicants and are in a position to share this life-saving information and pass along a TAT wallet card to each applicant. They are a wonderful point of distribution for this information, and we're looking forward to training them," said Kendis Paris, TAT executive director.
 
The training schedule includes: March 7 in Golden (School Bus/Passenger); March 21 in Grand Junction (Class A,B,C,/Passenger); March 28 in Golden (Class A,B,C/Passenger); April 6 in Golden (Class A,B,C/Passenger); April 18-19 in Colorado Springs (both School Bus/Passenger (on April 18) and Class A,B,C/Passenger (on April 19).
 
The Colorado DOR also passes out a TAT wallet card with every commercial driver's license issued.
TAT releases law enforcement training DVD

In an effort to provide law enforcement with either a solid start to an officer's human trafficking education or a supplemental resource building on previous training, Truckers Against Trafficking is releasing a law enforcement training DVD, available, free-of-charge, online. Hard copies will be available by the end of March by writing [email protected] .
 
"We are very thankful to all the top-notch  officers and prosecutors who  participated in this training film," commented Kendis Paris, TAT executive director, "and believe it will be very beneficial in preparing first responders to recognize and respond to human trafficking effectively. We also
want to thank Help Inc., our  main sponsor for this training tool, as well as iEmpathize for their excellent shooting and production work."

Everyday Heroes' Kenworth T680 to be auctioned off to support TAT

In a unique and creative fundraising event, Inland Kenworth and Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers are teaming up with Truckers Against Trafficking to raise funds for TAT by auctioning off a customized 2018 Kenworth T680 . Individuals and carriers can support the cause by registering to bid at RBAuction.com  after April 21, with all proceeds going directly to TAT. The truck will be auctioned off June 20.
 
The "Everyday Heroes" truck, retail value $157,000, will be exhibited at the American Trucking Associations' Technology and Maintenance Council event in Nashville, Tennessee, Feb. 27-March 2 in the FlowBelow booth #1052. The special Kenworth T680 is fully loaded with a 76-inch sleeper, 485-hp Paccar MX-13 engine, and Eaton Fuller Advantage 10-speed automated transmission.

Don Blake, Inland Kenworth's truck sales manager in the Phoenix area, spearheaded this fundraising effort, after listening to a TAT presentation. 

"I had to wipe the tears from my eyes after learning the horrors that TAT rescues people from today," he said. "I knew right then that I wanted to help our industry combat human trafficking. With the support of Inland Kenworth and Kenworth Truck Co. we decided to build a special truck with the idea of having the cost offset by Kenworth and component sponsors. The response was nothing short of unbelievable. This project has mobilized a group of caring industry suppliers, and together we are going to help save some lives."
Upcoming Events

Feb. 27-March 2 -- American Trucking Associations Technology and Maintenance Council, Nashville, TN, Kendis Paris, TAT executive director, providing promotion table for TAT

March 7 -- Training Third-Party Testers, Golden, CO

March 9 -- Coalition build in Raleigh, NC, FDP present, Esther Goetsch, TAT coalition build specialist, presenting

March 14-17 -- Kylla Lanier, TAT deputy director, in Mexico working with Consejo Ciudadano on empowering the Mexican trucking industry to join the fight against human trafficking

March 21 - - Training Third-Party Testers, Grand Junction, CO

March 22 -- Colorado State Patrol Academy Port of Entry training, Laura Cyrus, TAT administrative specialist, presenting

March 22-25 -- Mid-America Trucking Show, Louisville, KY, FDP and TAT staff attending

March 28 -- Training Third-Party Testers, Golden, CO

April 6 -- Training Third-Party Testers, Golden, CO

April 18-19 -- Training Third-Party Testers, Colorado Springs, CO
Truckers Against Trafficking 
PO Box 816 | Englewood, CO 80151

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