On January 10th, the Cheatham County Community Enhancement Coalition partnered with Harpeth Middle School to provide an interactive “Lemonade Stand” demonstration, followed on the evening of the 11th by a bilingual community training in partnership with Harpeth Middle School and freedom424, focused on online safety, exploitation and human trafficking.
During the Lemonade Stand lunch pop-up, over 400 Harpeth Middle School students were given “FREE Lemonade!” and asked for their honest opinions on this lemonade the Coalition had worked so hard on. In reality, the “lemonade” was only water with yellow food coloring. Many students shared strong emotions on being felt lied to, misled, and tricked. This interactive experience proved to illustrate, on a much smaller scale, the frustrations felt by many trafficking victims. Victims are promised better opportunities, while they are, instead, exploited for the profits of others.
In the evening, a community-wide training was held by Harpeth Middle School and the Coalition, along with a video training provided by Freedom424. Attendees were able to eat dinner and browse exhibitor’s tables for resources. This training was provided in both English and Spanish to more than 60 community members on the topic of being safe online, which is where most victims of trafficking are first approached and groomed, and tips and signs that someone may be in a trafficking situation, and how to proceed to get help for them.
If you are looking for more resources and information on this or many other topics, contact the Cheatham County Community Enhancement Coalition.
