A group of marchers pressed through snow-covered sidewalks and below-freezing temperatures in Burton on Jan. 11 to spread awareness about human trafficking. The march came after political representatives and a human trafficking survivor spent a portion of the morning discussing trafficking, which organizer Laura Bartchak believes is “the social justice issue of our generation.” “We’re trying to increase awareness that human trafficking is happening in Ohio, and really what it looks like,” said Bartchak. The awareness event took place at the Abundant Life Ministry Center in Burton. The marchers then walked up South Cheshire Street and around the eastern side of Burton Square. Bartchak is with the Harriet Tubman Movement, which describes itself on its website as a group that “serves people who have been subjected to sex trafficking, prostitution or other forms of exploitation.” She said that since the group started in 2015, it has helped more than 325 victims in Northeast Ohio. “We’re not scratching the service,” Bartchak said. “That’s a portion of what’s out there, which is very sad.” Marchers pose on Burton Square during a Jan. 11 human trafficking awareness walk. (Bryson Durst — The News-Herald) According to Bartchak, the way trafficking is portrayed in the media is not always accurate. “I think the media really presents some false information that it’s kidnapping or people getting drugged in the mall bathrooms, or people having something left on their windshield at the Walmart parking lot,” Bartchak said. “We hear all these things, and then what happens is people believe that it’s always involving kidnapping and these people are hidden and they’re not out in plain sight, and we’re going to miss it,” she added. Bartchak described the ways that trafficking victims might be visible in daily life. “What we see more in this area is that people are being – their vulnerabilities are being exploited, generally by somebody that they’re in some sort of relationship with,” she said. “So, a boyfriend, somebody they perceive to be a boyfriend or sadly even a family member.” “Kids who are still going to school, adults that are shopping at Walmart and going to doctors’ appointments and going to job and family services for food stamps and accessing social services, but yet there might be indicators that there’s some abuse going on,” Bartchak added. Survivor Brittany Oldfield also discussed the scope of the issue while discussing her own personal story at the awareness event. “This is in fact happening in your back yard, if you are a higher-median income county, I can promise you it’s full of johns, and I can promise you that they don’t have consequences, honestly,” Oldfield said. “No single john from my case has been arrested.” Bartchak said that the Harriet Tubman Movement offers awareness and training for civic groups and churches. “We’re always open to do education,” she said. “But our main focus is we directly assist victims. That’s where we are one of the only human trafficking-specific service providers in all of Northeast Ohio.” The organization’s roles include advocating for victims and receiving calls from hospitals if staff notice red flags in patients. Bartchak said that it provides short-term needs, including food, clothing, medical care and detox, and also works to help with restoration. She added that the Harriet Tubman Movement covers Northeast Ohio “from Lorain out to Ashtabula and down to Youngstown.” Laura Bartchak of the Harriet Tubman Movement speaks at a Jan. 11 human trafficking awareness event at the Abundant Life Ministry Center in Burton. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)A table is laid out with information and resources on human trafficking at the Harriet Tubman Movement's Jan. 11 awareness event in Burton. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)Show Caption1 of 2Laura Bartchak of the Harriet Tubman Movement speaks at a Jan. 11 human trafficking awareness event at the Abundant Life Ministry Center in Burton. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)Expand The group is currently working to open Ohio’s second short-term emergency home for human trafficking victims. Bartcak said that since there is only one in Ohio, the group currently partners with domestic violence shelters. “That’s what we use now, which is great,” she said. “We’ve enjoyed our partnerships and will continue to do so, but the needs of trafficking victims are much more specific than domestic violence, and so we hope to open our own home sometime in the next 24 months.” Coming up, the Harriet Tubman Movement is also planning to hold its 10-year anniversary banquet on April 3. More information on the Harriet Tubman Movement is available at harriettubmanmovement.org. It also has pages on Facebook and Instagram. “We just believe that all people should be free,” Bartchak said. “That’s how we sort of got dubbed the Harriet Tubman Movement, because it’s people who are entrapped in terrible situations, we walk a virtual road to freedom with them,” she added later. “And so it takes, it’s a movement, it takes a whole community of people to come together, to address all the needs.”