READING, Pa. – A group of high school students in Berks County is bringing attention to the issue of human trafficking.
“It’s a system that thrives on being unnoticed and undetected,” says sophomore at Schuylkill Valley High School, Adolynn Matthews.
Human trafficking is the issue the Youth Advisory Board tackled this year as part of a collaborative initiative with several organizations.
“The big takeaway is human trafficking is out there, that it isn’t always what we think it is,” says Meg McCallum, the Berks County Supervising Assistant District Attorney. “It is not what we see in movies; it is not the movie ‘Taken’ and it is in fact happening here in Berks County.”
Thirty-five teens from around the county held an event to talk about the issue, raise awareness, and work toward making a difference.
“We need to empower our youth and young people because those young women, men, and girls who are being trafficked are those who are vulnerable,” says McCallum.
The discussion was hosted at the Berks County Community Foundation after the kids spent months working on the project.
“It’s definitely something that’s really personal and it happens more than you think,” says Oley Valley High School senior, Jimmy Chen. “A lot more than you think.”
“As shameful[ly] as this is to say, I had no idea that this was happening,” says Matthews. “Actually, in every hotel in Berks County it’s statistically proven that at any time there’s at least one case of human trafficking.”
The students say this experience taught them a lot.
“As many youth as we can get out there to educate or their parents, to educate them, we really want to get this message out there; that this exists,” says McCallum.
“Maybe it’s not happening to that particular child but maybe they’re seeing something in another juvenile or youth within their community and they can step up to help,” McCallum said.