Yes, it does happen here in the Roanoke Valley and Interstate 81 is often a pipeline for the illegal practice: human trafficking, typically involving young girls forced into the sex trade.
To bring more awareness to the issue, the Roanoke City police department has now fitted one of its patrol cars with a decal that addresses the issue of trafficking and includes a national hotline number that people who suspect someone is being trafficked can call for help.
Straight Street Ministries in downtown Roanoke, which has been battling the trafficking issue through its five year old Street Ransom program, raised money for the $1300 decal. Straight Street is working to open a temporary shelter for girls rescued from trafficking, with an eye towards opening the facility in late 2017.
“Our goal is to bring awareness to the issue [of] trafficking,” said Straight Street Director Keith Farmer, “and also as the officers are out and about to provide a vehicle, literally, so they can draw awareness to the issue, to deter someone from having improper motives – but also for a kid who may need to find somebody to help provide the rescue that is needed.”
Farmer said the shelter is currently being remodeled at an exact location that he won’t divulge, and will “serve all of Virginia” as a shelter for girls 17 and under, while working with state and federal officials involved with trafficking issues.
“We prayed really hard about it,” said Farmer, noting that all of the funding for the shelter (about $400,000 initially) is being raised locally. The center will accommodate eight girls for up to 90 days at a time once that safe haven is up and running.
Farmer said the Roanoke City police department approached him about having a patrol car used to raise awareness for the trafficking issue; that’s when Straight Street went to work raising money for the decal.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia John Fishwick (who will resign in January so President Trump can appoint his own person) said his agency’s role in trafficking is to prosecute “righteous cases – these are some of the most vulnerable victims that we help, [of] sex… and human trafficking. But we’re also very supportive of ways to prevent crimes.”
Chief of Police Tim Jones calls the new trafficking decal on the patrol car “both symbolic and educational. We hope the Street Ransom car will facilitate some discussion about the issue of human trafficking. Virginia as a state and the Roanoke Valley as a region is not unlike other areas of the country. Many times when folks fall victim to human trafficking they can actually come through our area with [Interstate 81] being a primary artery, as well as 220. If it can happen here in the Roanoke Valley it can happen anywhere in the country.”
Jones noted how “passionate” Farmer was on the issue of human trafficking and cited the work of the Street Ransom program. “If we can bring awareness to the issue and keep it before the public hopefully we can prevent human trafficking from taking place in the first place. That reduces the number of victims,” said Farmer.
Gene Marrano
