The Cullman County Human Trafficking Task Force has partnered with the Junior League of Birmingham, the Alabama Department of Transportation, and End It Alabama to place signage in local rest stops and welcome centers across the state to help victims of human trafficking. 

ALDOT has granted the JLB permission to place signage in its rest stops and welcome centers throughout Alabama to engage travelers in the mission to end human trafficking and to help victims self identify.

“We are honored to work alongside the JLB to spread awareness of human trafficking here in Cullman County,” said Kathy Wilson, chairperson for the Cullman County Human Trafficking Task Force. “Education is the heart of this task force, and our goal is to educate others and end trafficking. Having these signs posted in rest stops is invaluable in the mission of ending the cycle of human trafficking.”

Formed in April 2015, the Cullman County Human Trafficking Task Force was the vision of Cullman County District Attorney Wilson Blaylock and Cullman County District Judge Kim Chaney.

“The women of the Junior League of Birmingham are proud to be leaders in the state when it comes to being a voice for human trafficking,” said Amy Jackson, JLB president. “Ending human trafficking requires working together with other state and community organizations, which is why we’re incredibly grateful for ALDOT, the Cullman County Human Trafficking Task Force and End It Alabama’s support and collaboration on this project.”

The JLB will be placing a total of 850 signs, both in English and Spanish, in men’s and women’s restroom stalls across 17 ALDOT rest stops throughout the state. The signs, created by the JLB, provide information on how to identify someone who could be in danger, as well as inform on the correct protocols to follow if necessary. 

“At the JLB, it’s our mission to be leaders and changemakers in the area of human trafficking,” said Abby Grace Worrell, chair of the JLB’s Anti-Human Trafficking Committee. “Our goal in posting these signs is to help human trafficking victims self identify. Some victims grow up in the trafficking environment and don’t recognize the signs, repetitive habits and buried childhood mentality of sexual abuse.”

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Warning signs of trafficking, which are listed on the stall signs, include: someone who does not have access to an ID or passport; someone who has a boyfriend who expects them to do things for money they don’t want to; is not being paid what his employer agreed to pay him; is not allowed to speak to friends and family; has been told that law enforcement will not help and will deport undocumented immigrants. 

With help just a phone call or text away, the signs have important information for those that see or experience something suspicious and recommend calling 911 and the Department of Homeland Security Tipline at 866-347-2423. 

Those who may be in a trafficking situation should call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline at 1-888-3737-888 or text “HELP” to 233733 to access help and services. 

Victims of human trafficking are protected under U.S. law, and the Toll-free Hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days week, anonymous and confidential, accessible in 170 languages, able to provide help, referral to services, training and general information, and operated by Polaris, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization.

With trafficking being a transient crime, the JLB and the other entities working together on this project recognized the importance of signage in transportation hubs. Victims of sexual abuse are often moved in a circuit, and major human trafficking corridors include I-20 and I-65, which both run through Alabama and the Birmingham-metro area. 

Alabama’s victims typically come from Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia and throughout the nation with Alabama’s highway systems getting a trafficker to anywhere in the nation.

Human trafficking is currently listed as the second-largest, fastest-growing enterprise in the world. In 2017, there were 1,167 potential victims identified by law enforcement and non-profit agencies, and 55 percent of those victims were children or minors under 19 years old. Awareness signage coincides with the goal of slowing and ultimately stopping this rapidly increasing number through educating travelers in Alabama.

Throughout the past four years, the JLB’s leadership in this arena has helped reach thousands across the state to bring a greater understanding of this public crisis and to empower communities and organizations to action. 

Because of these efforts by the League, 34 area mayors have signed awareness proclamations which led to 14 area municipalities located throughout the state declaring themselves as TraffickingFree Zones; Birmingham International Airport signage was installed into every bathroom stall across the airport; and multiple awareness events and trainings have been held reaching over 1,200 people. 

Partnering with other entities across the state, the League supported 2019’s legislative efforts, including HB 261 that now requires all commercial drivers to take a human trafficking awareness class in order to obtain a license.

The League partners locally with the Child Trafficking Solutions Project to implement USIAHT’s TraffickingFree Zone status, as well as End It Alabama on a statewide level to encourage all municipalities to declare January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month. 

The JLB also offers Anti-Human Trafficking training materials and education programs to the community at large, other Junior League organizations and college campuses throughout the nation.

The Anti-Human Trafficking program is one of the JLB’s 30 community projects addressing some of Birmingham’s most critical issues. For more than 99 years, the JLB has been a positive force for change in Jefferson County with its 2,200 trained volunteers collectively donating more than 55,000 hours of direct community service each year.