Onalaska church raising awareness about human trafficking

ONALASKA, Wis. (WEAU) - Human trafficking continues to be prevalent across Wisconsin, so a Coulee Region church is doing its part to raise awareness of the issue.

Since 2007, the National Human Trafficking Hotline has received more than 2,000 calls from Wisconsin, which has resulted in 700 cases.

The WI Department of Children and Families (DCF) has also been contacted hundreds of times over the last few years with child abuse allegations relating to human trafficking.

Wendy Henderson with the DCF says numbers are likely even higher due to cases that remain unreported.

“The individuals who are in the middle of being involved in trafficking oftentimes don’t identify as victims during that moment,” Henderson explained.

Henderson adds it’s difficult to keep track of instances of human trafficking because of how sprawling the issue is.

“Trafficking can happen in person, it can happen online, and so that’s another reason why it’s really hard to get our hands around it,” Henderson expressed. “It’s really important that we have a community-wide approach.”

That approach not only includes the DCF and the WI Department of Justice, but smaller advocates like First Free Church in Onalaska.

Outreach Pastor Dave Konkol says the church started focusing on human trafficking following a mission trip to southeast Asia a decade ago.

“Some of the women who were on that trip visited human trafficking rescue missions, and they came back with a real passion to do something about this,” Konkol recalled. “They opened our eyes to the reality of human trafficking,”

Since then, First Free has held speaking events, showed educational films, and produced newsletters to raise awareness about human trafficking.

“Anytime you expose people to the bigness, and the horribleness of this issue, it raises eyebrows, and it raises their consciousness about this,” Konkol said.

As First Free continues to speak out about the issue, Konkol would like to see Coulee Region community members do the same.

“Our big hope is that people will do something,” Konkol said. “Our theme is basically, raise awareness, become an advocate, and take action.”

Anyone who is a victim, or who knows a victim, of human trafficking is urged to contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

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