North Miami Ends Human Trafficking Awareness Month With Teen Rally to Increase Understanding of a Complex Issue

North Miami, FL – In a gymnasium filled with a sea of energetic high schoolers, local human trafficking experts ended Human Trafficking Awareness Month with a thought-provoking discussion that led to a barrage of questions from inquisitive North Miami teens. With one hand being raised after another, the teens asked questions that extended the gamut of issues involving sex trafficking – just one of several types of human trafficking tragedies known in the United States.

North Miami Vice Mayor Mary Estimé-IrvinThe panel discussion was a part of an annual awareness rally organized by North Miami Vice Mayor Mary Estimé-Irvin and sponsored by Team of Hope, a local charitable organization that supports many efforts in North Miami. For the fourth year in a row, Estimé-Irvin has hosted the teen rally and invited local high schools and government agencies to engage in discussion about human trafficking and ways teens can avoid becoming a victim. This year’s panel included Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force, North Miami Police Department Human Trafficking Task Force, Tree of Life Parenting Center, and Global Innovative Foundation.

“Despite hosting this rally since I took office, it continues to be a difficult conversation for all of us,” Vice Mayor EstiméIrvin shared. “I can’t pretend that the rally was not intense. It was. Yet, the dialogue was necessary to ensure the eyes of our youth remain open to the dangers that live around us.”

As a mother, Estimé-Irvin revealed that she worries about these dangers. “I think I will always worry, but I want to ensure that future generations have the tools and knowledge to protect themselves, their family, and friends when it comes to the dangers of human trafficking,” Estimé-Irvin said.

During the rally, questions from the teens centered on situational scenarios, consequences, prevention, sextortion, and recovery of missing children. The most impactful of the discussion that led to an unexpected reaction of hoots and hollers from the youth was learning about victims as young as three-years old.

With Florida ranking third in the nation for human trafficking and Miami-Dade County topping the list in cases according to Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office, the National Human Trafficking Hotline reported 738 trafficking cases in Florida in 2020 with 517 sex trafficking cases; 41 sex and labor trafficking cases; 108 labor trafficking cases; and 72 cases reflecting other forms of trafficking.