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Port of Palm Beach to help stop human trafficking

[ January 13, 2022   //   ]

In observance of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Port of Palm Beach is taking steps to prevent human trafficking by joining the Not Alone campaign, a nationwide campaign dedicated to encouraging victims of human trafficking to seek help.

The Not Alone campaign was conceived and launched by Rebekah Covington, a survivor of human trafficking and the Corporate Relations Manager at BEST (Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking).

“When people are trafficked, they feel isolated and with an inability to leave the situation,” explained Covington. “That’s why we prioritized working with people who have lived experienced of trafficking throughout the creation of this campaign. We want people experiencing a trafficking situation to see signage that speaks directly to them and gives individuals hope that they are not alone — that there is a way out of whatever terrible situation they are in.”

Thanks to Covington’s vision, Not Alone is one of the first national campaigns to focus primarily on victim and survivor self-identification rather than general public awareness. As part of the campaign, Port of Palm Beach will be adding multi-lingual signage across our properties. In addition, Port of Palm Beach will be making BEST’s Ports to Freedom human trafficking prevention training available to employees and port workers throughout the month of January.

Manuel Almira, Port Executive Director stated, “We are doubling down on our commitment to ending human trafficking. By displaying these posters throughout our Port, we aim to make sure that anyone who sees them knows that they can get help.”

According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline website the state of Florida has the third-highest rate of human trafficking cases reported across the country.
“Every January for the past five years now, we’ve focused on promoting awareness and education among Port staff, our tenants and stakeholders,” said Port of Palm Beach Board Chairman Joseph Anderson.

“In the past, we’ve held human trafficking workshops at the Port and last year we trained all our employees on how to spot and report a suspected case of human trafficking.”

“Campaigns like Not Alone and the online training courses that BEST provides have been proven to increase reporting of trafficking.” said BEST’s CEO, Dr. Mar Brettmann. “We are absolutely thrilled to see Port of Palm Beach make such a positive difference for their community.”

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