Hundreds walk to raise awareness of human trafficking in downtown Lancaster

Over five hundred people in black T-shirts walked silently, single file, through downtown Lancaster on Saturday as part of the annual Freedom Walk to raise awareness of human trafficking.

Organized by Hope Inspire Love, an advocacy organization founded by Amy and Steven Thurston, of Lancaster, in partnership with local churches and nonprofits in central Pennsylvania, the Freedom Walk has been held annually since 2019 and has grown steadily each year.

Amy Thurston said Hope Inspire Love was created after her husband, Steven, encountered a young girl on the Philadelphia subway car who he suspected was being trafficked by an older man accompanying her. Realizing he didn't know how to help the girl, Amy and Steven created Hope Inspire Love in 2017 to help educate the public on human trafficking and connect people with resources for reporting trafficking and supporting its survivors.

Amy Thurston said the organization has used outreach events like Freedom Walk to remind the local community that human trafficking can happen anywhere and show survivors that there are organizations dedicated to helping them.

A little over a hundred people participated in the organization's first Freedom Walk.

"It has grown ever since then," Thurston said.

Since its initial year, the event has added space to help connect participants with local nonprofits like the YWCA and She's Somebody's Daughter. The event also has added a simulation created by Lancaster Bible College that combines the experiences of three survivors of sex trafficking into a single narrative to educate the community on its realities.

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Thurston said the walk is a chance for the community to show support for people who might feel like they have no one to turn to for help.

"We believe survivors have a voice but often don't know how to use it yet," she said. "Oftentimes, survivors are silenced. We just hope that we can show them that we can offer them a safe place.

State Chief Deputy Attorney General Heather Castellino, who leads the Attorney General Office's Human Trafficking Section, said it was inspiring to see how the community gathered in Lancaster on Saturday.

"Sometimes you can feel alone and like everything is lined up against you in this work," Castellino said. "Seeing everyone here is encouraging."

Castellino, who has been working on human trafficking cases since the mid-2000s, said the Human Trafficking Section was created in January to not only place special emphasis on prosecuting trafficking cases but to change the strategies law enforcement uses to tackle the issue.

"We're trying to change hearts and minds within the criminal justice system," she said.

Castellino said that entertainment has skewed the public's perception of human trafficking and that education dispelling the myths on the issue is important. She noted that work trafficking — in which an individual is forced to perform labor through force or coercion — often goes unreported in the United States despite it occurring in the restaurant and agricultural industries.

The work done by local organizations like Hope Inspire Love has been beneficial in raising awareness and educating on the realities of human trafficking, Castellino said.

"I think they're phenomenal," she said. "They understand the issues, and they're selfless in what they do."

Event organizers said over $40,000 was raised by participants and sponsors prior and during the event. The funds will go toward the organization's awareness and education initiatives and mentorship programs for survivors of human trafficking.