Local Human Trafficking to Be Examined at April BAND Meeting

Modern-day slavery, also known as human trafficking, will be the focus of the BAND meeting in April.

Steven Goff, project director for Houston Rescue and Restore (HRRC), will speak at the BAND meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 14 at the Harris County Courthouse Bay Area Annex. Goff will cover what human trafficking is, how it works, who the victims are and what is being done about it in Houston.

HRRC is a volunteer coalition established as a response to the growing recognition and alarm over the prevalence of human trafficking in the Greater Houston metropolitan area. The organization has sought to increase awareness of the problem by launching a billboards and media campaign in 2007 in Spanish, English and Vietnamese. It has worked with the mayor’s office to establish a Houston Human Trafficking Awareness Week and cooperated with the 2007 Texas legislature to draft bills related to human trafficking. Four of the six bills passed.

The group has also sought to provide a means for victims of trafficking to seek help. HRCC led a nationwide letter campaign to all major feminine hygiene companies to print the rescue hotline number on all of their products. It has assisted in providing support and services to more than 100 victims in the Houston area by collaborating with victim service non-profit organizations. HRCC is currently seeking to establish a safe house for human trafficking victims.