Lions Club to host speaker to raise awareness about human trafficking

The New Rockford Lions Club will host Miss North Dakota 2000 Kay Picconatto Levesque and husband Sean, both Minot natives, on Monday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. at the New Rockford Eagles Club to raise awareness about human trafficking. 

This Minnesota family with North Dakota roots sold their home last year and bought a fifth wheel trailer. They, along with their three children, are now traveling across the United States to inform and educate the public about human trafficking.

The Levesques are both former public-school teachers, and they focus on traveling to "hot spots" in the country where the problem is the greatest.

"I thought he was nuts when he first made the suggestion," said Kay Levesque, but she was quickly persuaded to take the leap of faith. She and her husband are co-founders and co-executive directors of the group Love 2 Hope, a name suggested by their youngest son, Caden, because when you love people, you bring them to hope.

Their kids have been involved since the very beginning. Caden, Renae and Connor are learning important life lessons about helping others while seeing the country.

The Levesques are home-schooling their children along the way. Volunteering has been something their kids have learned to love, serving at soup kitchens, making meals and volunteering at the Salvation Army.

The Levesques committed to travel the country for two years, speaking to civic groups, churches and other organizations. In the past, they have traveled to Chicago; Richmond, Va .; Auburn, Ala .; Tampa, Fla .; Orlando, Fla .; Atlanta, Ga .; New Orleans, La .; Little Rock, Ark., Minneapolis, Minn. They spend about a month in each of the communities they visit. In the coming months they will travel to Colorado Springs, Colo .; Albuquerque, N.M .; Phoenix, Ariz .; San Antonio, Texas and Waco, Texas.

Kay Levesque was horrified when, about six years ago, she saw a documentary about human trafficking, but she also wanted to help its victims and raise awareness about the problem to help bring the issue of human trafficking out of the shadows. "I was completely ruined, our daughter was five at the time and all I could do is picture her in situations like that," she said. "It just broke my heart." The Levesques say it comes down to knowing about the issue, so their mission has been to spread awareness.

Kay says it impossible for someone to do absolutely nothing once they are educated. "If people are made aware of issues like I was six years ago, they'll be compelled to do something with their knowledge, you can't do nothing when now you know, there's a responsibility."

While they generally travel to the areas where the need is the greatest, and North Dakota may not have as great a human trafficking problem as some areas of the country, the Levesques said it is still an issue here, as the state has seen an increase in human trafficking since the oil boom. North Dakota also has no beds dedicated primarily to victims of human trafficking. In fact, Sean Levesque said there are about 600 beds in the entire country for human trafficking victims, with a need for 13,000 beds.

It is an unseen problem and they say that human traffickers often target vulnerable teenagers, either in person or online, often grooming their victims. The Levesques teach community members to watch for warning signs, like girls who have older boyfriends who have given them expensive gifts. They may have started dressing more provocatively or have been getting their hair and nails done and have changed their peer groups. Girls who are actively being trafficked might be irritable or sleepy in class.

Human trafficking is not the same as smuggling. "Trafficking" is based on exploitation and does not require movement across borders. "Smuggling" involves moving a person across a country's border with that person's consent in violation of immigration laws.  

Although the two are very different, human smuggling can turn into trafficking if the smuggler uses force, fraud, or coercion to hold people against their will for the purposes of labor or sexual exploitation. Under federal law, any minor induced to engage in commercial sex is a victim of human trafficking.

Human trafficking is defined by the Department of Homeland Security as "modern-day slavery involving the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act." Human trafficking exists nation-wide and it can happen to anyone, whether they live in cities or rural areas. The victims can also come from anywhere. They can be any age, race, gender, or nationality and they come from all socioeconomic groups. The one thing that they share is that they are vulnerable to being exploited.

Trafficking is a highly profitable, serious crime and a grave violation of human rights. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. Almost every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims.

There are different types of human trafficking, including sex trafficking, forced labor and human servitude.

Sex trafficking victims are forced against their will to engage in sex acts for money, often in truck stops, hotel rooms, rest areas and private residences. Traffickers often use violence, threats and manipulation, but it's often the promise of love and affection that lures victims.

Forced labor victims are made to work for little or no pay, through force, fraud or coercion. They are forced to manufacture or grow products that we use and consume every day and they can be found in factories, on farms and doing construction work.

Domestic servitude victims are forced to work in people's homes across the United States. They are prisoners inside the home, working as nannies, maids or domestic help. Often the trafficker will take the victim's identification papers and travel documents to limit the victim's freedom and prevent escape.

Thousands of human trafficking cases are reported in the United States every year, but many more go unnoticed. It's a hidden crime where detection is hindered because the victims are often afraid to come forward. We may not recognize the signs that someone is a victim, even if it's happening right in front of us.

The Levesques said people often make the mistake of thinking "it doesn't happen here" but human trafficking is an issue in rural areas and small towns as well as in larger communities. They urge people to become involved in organizations that combat human trafficking within their own towns and states. In North Dakota, that includes groups like FUSE North Dakota, the 31:8 Project and Unseen.

It's time to bring the crime of human trafficking out of the shadows and educate ourselves about human trafficking. Attend the event sponsored by the New Rockford Lions featuring the Levesques on Monday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. at the New Rockford Eagles Club.

If you would like to check out more of Love 2 Hope's events, visit their website at https://love2hope.com.

The national hotline for Human Trafficking is (888) 373-7888.