Flores to address human trafficking issue

VW independent/submitted information

The definition of human trafficking is “the action or practice of illegally transporting people from one country or area to another, typically for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation”. Don’t think human trafficking happens in your zip code? Think again.

Come learn about what could be going on in one’s own back yard when Theresa Flores comes to the Niswonger Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, presented by Dale and Sarah Burden. Tickets are on sale now.

Survivor and author Flores travels the U.S. sharing her story of trafficking and being a sex slave while living in an upper-middle class suburb of Detroit, Michigan. At 15 years of age she was drugged, raped, and tortured for two long years — kept in bondage and forced to pay back an impossible debt as a sex slave — all the while living at home and attempting to keep her family safe.

Flores’ organization, TraffickFree, builds awareness about domestic sex trafficking and sexually exploited children in the U.S. Its purpose is to educate students, parents, professionals, and motel owners and staff on the red flags of trafficking and how to identify a victim.

TraffickFree works in partnership with other organizations to rescue missing adolescents from becoming a human trafficking victim, and with other groups to rescue missing adolescents from becoming human trafficking victims.

Equally important, TraffickFree helps survivors heal from the trauma of being trafficked and empowers them to become productive citizens. Learn more about Flores and her crusade to stop human trafficking by reading her memoir, The Slave Across the Street.

Along with Presenting Sponsors Dale and Sarah Burden, Supporting Sponsors for Theresa Flores include Walmart, Paulding Putnam Electric, and Midwest Electric. The 2017-18 Season Sponsors are Chuck and Karen Koch, StateWide Ford Lincoln, and Van Wert Federal Savings Bank.

On a related note, the month of January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. The Van Wert YWCA has many events, that, like the Theresa Flores speaking event, educate and create awareness. All month long, white bracelets will be available for purchase around Van Wert for $5, with all funds raised from the bracelet sales going to assist trafficking victims. Also, a family friendly event, Glow Bowl 2018, is planned from 1-5 p.m. Sunday, January 14, at Olympic Lanes in Van Wert, with proceeds going to support human trafficking victims and awareness.

On Sunday, January 28, a free screening of the documentary, In Plain Sight, will be shown at the Van Wert Cinemas, starting at 4 p.m. This one-hour documentary chronicles the lives of six abolitionists who are working to provide rehabilitation centers for trafficking victims all over the United States.

Tickets for the Theresa Flores event at the Niswonger can be purchased through the Box Office from noon-4 p.m. Monday through Friday, at 419.238.6722, or 24/7 online at NPACVW.ORG.

The Niswonger Performing Arts Center is located at 10700 Ohio 118 on the southern edge of Van Wert.