Another forum tackling the issue of human trafficking will be held Friday in Henry County, a community that recently had to tamp down stats that law enforcement said made it appear Henry was home to trafficking activity.
The Stockbridge Youth Council will hold its human trafficking forum at 6 p.m. Friday at the Ted Strickland Community Center, 130 Martin Luther King Sr. Heritage Trail in Stockbridge. Jazz L. Coley, a researcher on anti-human trafficking, will be the guest speaker and Free Life Boys will perform.
"The Stockbridge Youth Council invites all community members out for this very important topic review," Stockbridge Youth Council Advisory Board Chairwoman Ericka Harvey said in a statement.
"Human trafficking is a very serious concern in our society and the members of our Stockbridge Youth Council are being proactive in addressing the concern,” she said. “This Friday evening event is for the entire family.”
Henry residents and leaders over the past few years have shown increasing concern over human trafficking in their community, with a number of forums put together to educate the public and stepped up law enforcement efforts.
Earlier this month, however, Henry County Police Department Captain Richard Harned told Henry commissioners that reports that county law enforcement agencies have received 84 referrals of human trafficking since 2016 needed further explanation.
“It does not mean that 84 acts of human trafficking occurred in Henry County,” he said. “It simply means that 84 times, an agency or individual or a combination thereof felt that there might have been enough to warrant looking at to see if it was in fact a trafficking situation.”
He added that Henry County did not have any human trafficking cases as of earlier this month.
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