The Demand Project And Rotary Club Of Tulsa Host Educational Summit On Human Trafficking

January 11 is Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Kristin Weis, co-founder and CEO of The Demand Project, joined us on the Arca Continental Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages Porch.

The Demand Project is a local nonprofit that works to fight human trafficking. There is a two-day summit happening January 11 and 12 at the Tulsa Tech Lemley Campus, where people can learn more about crimes against children and human trafficking.

"The Demand Project and Rotary Club of Tulsa go beyond awareness with an educational summit about human trafficking," Weis said.

CLICK HERE to learn more about The Demand Project.

How is The Demand Project fighting against human trafficking?

"The Demand Project started over 11 years ago. Who I was married to and I started this after a story about a two year old little girl being sexually assaulted by her dad. And he videotaped the assault, and then he put it online for people to watch. And then 1,000s logged on. It was a horrific story. We didn't know what to do about it. It's almost 20 years ago, and now fast forward 11 years, we've started The Demand Project. We do education, prevention, quality legal care and protection, recovery. We go out and look for Missing and Exploited Children with law enforcement. And our big one is restoration. We have the largest campus in the United States for girls, ages 11 to 17. And you wouldn't think that that would be such a need in Oklahoma or the nation. But unfortunately, it is."

How is human trafficking impacting Oklahoma?

"In rural communities, there's a lot of hopelessness. There's a lot of drug addiction. There is in cities as well. I just believe in Oklahoma, with 77 counties, that's huge. And the problem is so vast here. There's a lot of addiction and a lot of single parent families. But let's just get real. Right now, it's the internet, and everyone has access. I was thinking about it today when I was thinking about this event that we're doing. There are no restrictions online, unless parents give restrictions to their children."

What is the 7th Annual Beyond Awareness Educational Summit?

"It's exciting. We're at the Tulsa Tech Lemley area. And you can register anytime. But we have 27 speakers from across the nation. It's a huge event. We're all going to give information on mental health with human trafficking, medical, legal, law enforcement. It's going to be huge. If you've ever wanted to know about it, this is the event."

CLICK HERE to learn about registration for the summit.