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Human Trafficking is not welcome here!

November 7th, 2019 |

ABE and VAST expand outreach efforts with signage implementation

Human Trafficking and Sex Trafficking is not welcome here!

As a vital transportation hub, Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) has a responsibility to send that direct message regarding this worldwide issue.

As part of a growing regional partnership with VAST (Valley Against Sex Trafficking), ABE has elevated outreach efforts by implementing informational and awareness signage for the public within the Main Terminal and Multimodal Transportation Center.

“As I’ve said in the past, ABE is closed for business when dealing with human and sex traffickers. Providing this critical information of available resources to help potential victims is only one step. We must remain committed to educate and train employees / stakeholders while intensifying the need for public engagement ,” said Thomas R. Stoudt, Executive Director, Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority (LNAA).

From July 2018 – May 2019, VAST outreach programs found 45 individuals who have been trafficked in the Lehigh Valley.

“VAST is pleased to partner with Lehigh Valley International Airport in the fight to end human trafficking in our community by providing important training for airport staff and facilitating awareness to all who pass through the region’s transportation hub. Through our united efforts, we trust that human trafficking in the Lehigh Valley will decrease,” said Rick Dombrowski, Operations Manager, VAST.

During National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month last January, ABE and VAST joined representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to support the Red Sand Project in several public areas of the Airport, by filling a sidewalk crack with red sand to metaphorically symbolize those victims of human trafficking that have slipped through the cracks.

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