CHTCS Community Outreach and Raising Human Trafficking Awareness in New Mexico

Counter Human Trafficking Compliance Solutions’ COO, James D. Wiley, recently traveled to New Mexico to help at a community outreach project and to help raise local human trafficking awareness at community centers and public schools.

He went to The Dream Center in Las Cruces, NM, a community center run by Mike Tellas who started the center to help kids and teenagers avoid the dangers of the streets. In addition, The Dream Center consistently runs food drives, church services, and other community programs combatting local issues such as homelessness and domestic violence.James Wiley joined teenagers from a Christian school and adult volunteers to help with construction and beautification.

While at The Dream Center, James Wiley had the opportunity to speak directly to the adult volunteers and school officials about human trafficking recognition and identification as well as set up a time to give them a brief traveler’s safety course to help protect the volunteers.

One of the most crucial aspects of counter-human trafficking is raising awareness, and many people are in positions to identify victims of human trafficking, they just don’t know what to look for. We like to make sure that wherever we go, we share vital information that could help everyday citizens recognize and report human trafficking and modern slavery.

In addition to the volunteer and outreach efforts at The Dream Center, James Wiley also visited the McArthur Elementary School, where he got to spend time and work with a 1st grade class. Speaking with some of the teachers of McArthur Elementary, it only became clearer that the Las Cruces community felt that a human trafficking recognition course would be greatly beneficial for the community’s recognition and awareness of the crime.

CHTCS wants to thank The Dream Center, McArthur Elementary School, and all the great men and women who joined us to volunteer during our trip in New Mexico.