For Hub City Times

WISCONSIN RAPIDS — The Diversity Committee of Mid-State Technical College is hosting special presentations on human trafficking and sexual exploitation on Jan. 30. Lisa Sennholz, founder and director of Damascus Road, an organization dedicated to fighting human trafficking and sexual exploitation, will speak at each of Mid-State’s three campuses.

Human trafficking is the fastest growing and second largest criminal industry in the world today, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is also on the rise in Wisconsin with more than half of the 72 counties in the state reporting documented cases of human trafficking, according to the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance.

Sennholz and other experts on the front lines point to being aware and informed as the first step to combating human trafficking. Natasha Miller, Mid-State’s student life coordinator, said, “Human trafficking is a vile criminal business that steals the innocence of those exploited and inflicts immeasurable damage. … Mid-State is proud to leverage education and awareness to help keep our communities safe from traffickers and bring an end to this form of modern day slavery.”

Mid-State’s human trafficking presentation is in keeping with the Diversity Committee’s theme for the year, “Diversity of Safety.” The series is aimed at providing powerful and helpful information to the central Wisconsin communities served by Mid-State to protect both the safety of the college’s students and the community. Other presentations this academic year have focused on suicide prevention and domestic abuse.

Times for the Jan. 30 human trafficking presentation are as follows: 1-2 p.m. at the Wisconsin Rapids campus, 4-5 p.m. at the Stevens Point campus, and 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Marshfield campus. The event is free to attend and open to the public. For more information and specific locations, visit mstc.edu/humantrafficking. Questions about the event may be directed to Natasha Miller at 715-422-5558.