Registration is ongoing for a planned Oct. 6 program at the James C. Kennedy Wellness Center in Charleston to raise awareness of the abuse, grooming and human trafficking of youth in Mississippi.
Any parent, grandparent, clergyman, teacher, coach or interested citizen is invited to attend, but registration is required because seating is limited to 40 people.
To register, send an email to charlotte@proyouthinitiative.org and include your name, company or organization affiliation (if applicable), email address and telephone number. A reply will confirm registration and seating.
ProYouth Initiative Inc., a Flowood-based nonprofit, is spearheading the local event, set to be held from 4-6 p.m.
“Not only is this an effort nationwide to protect vulnerable youth, but this Mississippi-based nonprofit corporation has a particular passion for Tallahatchie County in that it is the home of ProYouth board member, Cathy Walton Hudgins, who attended school in Charleston and later graduated from the nursing program at Delta State University,” noted Charlotte Englund, board chairman of ProYouth Initiative. “Caring for friends and family locally is a sincere commitment.”
Englund lauded local companies, Sayle Oil Co. and Sunflower Management Group, who she said “generously have aided in launching this initiative to educate, empower and protect against grooming, human trafficking and abuse of youth.”
Englund said educational and preventive resources regarding abuse, grooming and human trafficking of youth will be presented by Special Agent Molly Blythe of the FBI’s Jackson Division, as well as by other key speakers.
The Children's Advocacy Project defines "grooming," in this sense, as "the deliberate, calculated process of building trust, an emotional connection, and a relationship with a child, teen, or their support network to manipulate, control, and sexually exploit or abuse them."
While these crimes may seem unthinkable here in the Deep South, Englund said statistics prove they know no boundaries.
“The incidences in Mississippi and case reviews will be astounding to most attendees,” she noted. “But know that together, we can make a very positive difference.”
Englund said the upcoming event will set the stage for future anti-abuse efforts in Tallahatchie County.
