Hundreds of communities throughout the nation took part in Walk for Freedom events recently, including residents of North Canton. The walks are held to raise awareness of human trafficking.
The walks are silent, and approximately 200 people turned out in North Canton, where they walked through the city for about three miles. One of those who took part, Kathie Gray, helped organize the event, making it the third time she has done so. However, this year she was part of Not for Sale: One Step at a Time, an organization she co-founded. Gray says the nonprofit’s goal is to raise awareness of the problem of human trafficking in Ohio.
The organization hopes they can convince North Canton High School to add a five-week course on trafficking to the school’s curriculum, so students will learn how to protect themselves from predators. Institutions like this could work with a brochure printing company to create a new course catalog to reflect the change.
The course would teach the students how not to be drawn into a situation where they could be trafficked. They would learn how to manage their social media accounts properly, for instance, as well as the other aspects of human trafficking they may not understand. The course would be approved for common core, so they would also receive credit for history, social studies, and English.
Other walks in Ohio were held in Columbus and Cleveland.
