The NATSO Foundation is inviting NATSO members to join the Office of the Louisiana Attorney General, the Louisiana Trucking Association and Truckers Against Trafficking March 20 for a regional meeting in Baton Rouge on combating human trafficking.
This private event is scheduled to be held March 20 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Baton Rouge Marriott, at 5500 Hilton Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA 70808.
NATSO members with locations in Louisiana are encouraged to attend this event, which is co-sponsored by the NATSO Foundation. All travel plazas and truckstops are invited to attend, regardless of NATSO membership.
Since 2013, NATSO has co-sponsored regional Coalition Builds with Truckers Against Trafficking, state trucking associations and law enforcement.
State coalition meetings provide an opportunity to educate members of the business community, transportation and law enforcement about human trafficking as well as serve as an open forum to discuss human trafficking trends in regional areas and to explore collective ways to combat this crime.
The NATSO Foundation has been helping members of the truckstop and travel plaza community engage in the fight against human trafficking for nearly a decade. The Foundation’s goal is to provide the industry with the tools needed to train staff so that those individuals are equipped to help if they encounter a victim of this horrible crime.
NATSO works closely with the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Polaris Project, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Truckers Against Trafficking and other local organizations to gain insight into best practices on how to educate our members.
NATSO members are encouraged to train their employees in how to recognize and respond to suspected incidents of human trafficking using the NATSO Foundation’s online course, "The Role of Truckstops in Combating Human Trafficking." The course is free to anyone in the truckstop and travel plaza community. Non-NATSO members should call Kimberly Roberts at 703-739-8573 or kroberts@natso.com to establish an account.
The NATSO Foundation also provides a “Combating Human Trafficking” toolkit to offer truckstops and travel centers a roadmap for implementing an anti-human trafficking education and awareness program at their individual locations.
The toolkit includes a 50-state chart of human trafficking awareness poster laws. The chart is designed to help members understand how to comply with state laws on human trafficking awareness. This is an important tool for truckstops and travel centers as many state laws reference businesses that provide services and amenities which many truckstop and travel plazas offer, such as overnight truck parking, food, fuel and lodging.
To download the toolkit and the 50-state chart, click here.
Truckstops seeking additional information regarding the March 20 coalition meeting or who would like to learn about future coalition meeting locations should contact Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman at 703-739-8578 or twlazlowski@natso.com.
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