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Baldwin City proclaims January 2025 Human Trafficking Awareness Month; Willow outlines services
Summary
Council read a proclamation designating January 2025 as Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Representatives from The Willow described local services and said the shelter assisted 21 trafficking survivors in 2024.
The Baldwin City Council formally proclaimed January 2025 as Human Trafficking Awareness Month during its meeting, with Councilmember Casey Semono reading the proclamation and urging community support for survivors.
Zoe Barlow, domestic violence and human trafficking advocate at The Willow, and Nicole Lopez, the Willow’s Rural Douglas County outreach specialist who serves Baldwin City, spoke to the council. Barlow said The Willow provided services to 21 survivors of human trafficking in 2024, including shelter, court advocacy and case management, and described common patterns of grooming and non‑physical coercion that staff see in cases. She emphasized that trafficking can occur in many forms — sexual, labor or both — and often exploits vulnerabilities such as lack of housing and food insecurity.
The proclamation named local organizations engaged in anti‑trafficking efforts, including the Baldwin City Police Department, the Willow Domestic Violence Center, LMH Health, Lawrence Community Shelter and local school districts, and urged residents to report concerns and support survivor‑informed responses.
The Willow asked the council to continue partnering on prevention, survivor support and community education initiatives.
