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Waco organization using state funding to fight human trafficking

Posted at 7:05 PM, Sep 26, 2019
and last updated 2019-09-26 20:05:57-04

WACO, TX — The Waco-based, international anti-human trafficking organization, Unbound, received a state grant to further educate students on signs of trafficking.

Working in tandem with Governor Greg Abbott, Unbound was awarded $200,000 by the Public Safety Office to in their efforts to help prevent human trafficking before it begins.

25 News met with Susan Peters, Unbound's National Director, who explained, "The curriculum at Unbound is called 'Keeping Students Safe' so they are giving us this money so we can hire trainers. We were able to train 11,000 students over the last 2 years and now we'll be able to do so much more with this grant."

She explained, Unbound began after her visiting with missionaries across the world.

"Everywhere I went, whether it was Uganda, India, Thailand, or missionary were like there's human trafficking everywhere, there's sex trafficking, labor trafficking, we need to do something. When we began researching what was happening in our own communities, we started right here at home," said Peters.

When asked to describe what she's seen, Peters said, "You know human trafficking is where someone of power manipulates and controls another human being for their own profit. Over time they coerce them into selling themselves. Our survivors basically say if I had one trusted adult that I felt I could have gone to, I might have spoken up for help."

Peters said she is grateful for the Texas legislature.

"We are so appreciative of Governor Abbott and that he has prioritized fighting human trafficking. They're really coordinating these efforts...we're really proud of our legislatures and how they're behind us," said Peters

Peters explained that it's through help from the public, through volunteerism, that these efforts are possible.

"People can help by advocating for Unbound to be able to come into the schools, actually a House bill passed saying educators actually need to be trained on human trafficking so if they're listening and have relationships with their schools, or with their students, we want the students to stay safe, so if you can advocate for us to come. We're always looking for volunteers, just contact us, we'd love to hear from them."

Unbound can be contacted here.