BYU’s Anti-Human Trafficking Club will host a Stop Abuse Summit event on Nov. 17 as a part of BYU’s Care Week.
The Anti-Human Trafficking Club President Austin Hammatt said the Stop Abuse Summit will include a few panelists who will speak on different types of abuse. Those panelists are Desi Garcia from the Candle in a Dark Room Foundation, Candace Rivera from EXITUS and Liz Stone from Empowering the One.
According to the BYU Clubs website, the panelists will describe their work with anti-human trafficking and answer questions from club members.
“The speakers will create a panel for education and awareness,” Anti-Human Trafficking Club events co-officer Christian Hansen said. “This is important.”
Events co-officer Holland Pettingill said each of the panelists are involved with raising awareness about human trafficking and they each run a nonprofit organization that helps victims of human trafficking.
Tanner West, the club’s social media manager and outreach officer, was responsible for organizing a large part of the Summit. West said the club already had connections with Garcia, Rivera and Stone from past events and “they are fantastic.”
The Stop Abuse Summit will take place at 7 p.m. in Room 1102 of the Jesse Knight Building.
Hansen said the Anti-Human Trafficking Club tries to hold four large events a year in order to raise awareness on human trafficking because “it’s a real social issue.”
Outside of its large events, the club meets every other Wednesday and posts meeting information on its Instagram page, Pettingill said.
Hammatt said the club follows a three-part mission to learn, act and connect. In the past, the club has held a 5k for Operation Underground Railroad, hosted speakers and helped create items for refugees.
“There’s a lack of correct knowledge on human trafficking,” West said. “It’s all around us and I was horrified when I learned about it.”
Hansen said he knew nothing about human trafficking before he joined the club in July. “The club changed my life,” he said.
Students who want to learn more about the Anti-Human Trafficking Club or the Stop Abuse Summit can visit the club’s Instagram or Facebook pages.
