January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month

By WVUA 23 Digital Reporter Kyrsten Eller

As part of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Northport Mayor Bobby Herndon declared the city a human trafficking-free zone and recognized the Northport Police Department for its hard work.

Northport Police Sgt. Ashley Blaylock said she’s grateful that Northport is helping spread awareness.

“We appreciate the support that we get from our city administration, but the community and the teachings that we do are because people reach out to us and ask for education opportunities,” said Blaylock. “We are thankful for everybody that does that and like I said, there’s a desire for it, as last quarter we trained about 900 people.”

Herndon said he encourages the residents of Northport to join the council in raising awareness for human trafficking and to become informed on how to prevent this crime.