November 9, 2022 10:50 a.m.

The Douglas County Human Trafficking Task Force and Roseburg Zonta are hosting a Stand-Up Awareness and Education event Friday night.

It is being held to provide parents with more information about Trafficking Prevention Curriculum which is now available to every middle and high school in the county. Thanks to a Zonta International Centennial Grant, the Douglas County Human Trafficking Task Force has developed the curriculum featuring a presentation developed by Bend’s “In Our Backyard” prevention organization. Douglas County will be the first county in the state to offer prevention training to students between grade 6 and grade 12.

Data collected from Sutherlin and Oakland schools who piloted the program in May, showed that 100 percent of the students felt the program taught them how to recognize the signs of trafficking, triggers that make people vulnerable, and that anyone can be trafficked, regardless of gender, race or social status.

Friday night’s program will be held at the Roseburg Public Library from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00p.m. It will also feature Myrtle Creek Police Detective Kevin Taggart, who has successfully led multiple trafficking sting operations in the county.

To learn more about Mercy Foundation’s human trafficking prevention efforts, go to: http://www.up2usnow.org/task-force.html  or call 677-4818.