Donate our largest fundraiser of the year!

Every year, our annual fall fundraiser, BBQ, Bluegrass & Brew, lays the foundation for what services we can provide to survivors, professionals who help them, and those who make the policies that can improve their lives.

It is survivors of human trafficking who inspire and inform our work. Let us tell you about one survivor's experience and how she would have been empowered to leave the experience sooner if certain things had been different.

Our priority is training those who can help the victim get out of the trafficking experience and into a place of survivorship.

Health care professionals are at the frontlines of identification. 88% of survivors reported seeing a healthcare professional while they were in the midst of their trafficking experience. There are so many opportunities for healthcare professionals to respond appropriately, but they are unprepared to do it.

"[The trafficker] kept my kids. I was not allowed to take my kids with me ... even the doctors were asking me what happened, and I couldn't tell them." -- survivor in North Carolina

The survivor would return to the trafficker after receiving care at a hospital.

We are left to ask ourselves, what would have happened if her medical team had known what to look for? What would have happened if they had known how to respond? Leaving the experience requires help. The road to escape and recovery is long, arduous, and often impossible without help.

NC Stop Human Trafficking knows that if healthcare providers have the knowledge and the tools, they will take the hand of human trafficking victims and help guide them to freedom and independent life. In 2023, we trained over 400 healthcare professionals; as of now, we have more than doubled that number. In 2025, we are looking to triple it to 2,400 health professionals.

We can only do that with your help.

Not only do healthcare providers need the tools to respond to victims quickly and appropriately, but law enforcement also needs our help to empower victims to achieve safety.

Anna encountered law enforcement during her trafficking experience, as well. At the time, she couldn't ask them for help.

"I couldn't do it because our abuser kept telling me he knew how to kill someone ... law enforcement was not going to help us. [He told me] that they would take my kids away and put me in jail." -- survivor in North Carolina

We are left to ask ourselves, what would have happened if those officers had known what to look for? What would have happened if they had known how to respond?

NC Stop Human Trafficking knows that if law enforcement officers receive the appropriate training and tools to respond, they are more likely to make decisions that would help the victims of a crime. In 2023, we trained over 500 officers across the state, and as of 2024, we have trained nearly 150 and counting. In 2025, we are looking to triple that to 1,500 officers.

We can only do that with your help.

She finally was able to escape the abuser, but that isn't the end of her story of survival. She was met with barrier after barrier before achieving stability. This is the case for most human trafficking survivors. It is a long and continuous road to restoration.

NC Stop Human Trafficking understands the twists and the turns that path provides, which is why we created and facilitate the Pitt County Multidisciplinary Team under the Pitt County Coalition Against Human Trafficking.

This MDT, in 2023, responded to more than 60 survivors at various points in their journey to restoration. In the years to come, we anticipate the survivor needs only to grow as identification increases and more victims are empowered to seek help. We are also beginning two more MDTs in different counties.

We can only see these teams grow and strengthen with your help.

When you donate to this fundraiser, you are helping us help them.