January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month 2018

January is designated as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. The annual event has been recognized since January 2010 in an effort to bring attention to the epidemic of human trafficking in this country.

District Attorney Jill Ravitch noted that, “My office seeks to end human trafficking on multiple levels. Although our primary mission is to prosecute cases involving traffickers, we also work hard to meet the needs of victims, and raise awareness in the community through the efforts of the Sonoma County Human Trafficking Task Force.”

Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Staebell chairs the Task Force which includes representatives from Verity, Santa Rosa Police Department, Polly Klass Foundation, Crossing the Jordan, Sonoma County Human Services Department, Human Rights Commission, Soroptomist International of Sonoma County, Petaluma Police Department, Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety, Sonoma County Health Services, Sonoma County Probation, Social Advocates for Youth, Sheriff’s Office, Junior League of Napa-Sonoma, Commission on the Status of Women, and Homeland Security.

In 2017 the Task Force presented at the Human Trafficking Task Forces Executives’ Session in San Francisco, presented to Elsie Allen’s Human Trafficking Panel, and screened the film The Long Night, by director Tim Matsui.

During the month of January, the District Attorney’s Office, along with the Task Force is leading and participating in a number of events:

January 10, 2018:
Film Screening. The Long Night(2014).
Filmed and directed by award-winning photojournalist Tim Matsui. Followed by panel discussion.
The Mystic Theater, 23 Petaluma Blvd South, Petaluma, CA, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

January 23, 2018:
Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will issue a Resolution declaring January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
Board of Supervisors Chambers, 575 Administration Drive, Rm 102A, 1:30 p.m.

January 24, 2018:
Film Screening. I Am Jane Doe (2017). 
Narrated by Academy Award-nominee Jessica Chastain and directed by award-winning filmmaker Mary Mazzio. Followed by panel discussion.
The Finley Center, 2060 W. College Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

January, 2018:
Billboard Campaign. 
Billboards which are funded by members of the Task Force will be visible throughout the county. The same posters will also be placed on buses operated by CityBus of Santa Rosa, and those operated by Sonoma County Transit.