In January 2020, Greenlink received a grant from the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Human Trafficking Awareness and Public Safety Initiative, which provides funding for projects to help prevent human trafficking and other crimes on public transportation.
Greenlink is using its grant to conduct an 18-month education and awareness campaign that includes three phases.
Greenlink has launched Phase 1 of the campaign with a survey to help determine the public’s existing knowledge and perception of human trafficking in Greenville County. The survey will be conducted onboard Greenlink buses and is also available online at https://publicinput.com/trafficking. The deadline to complete the survey is October 11.
In addition to the survey, Phase 1 (Sept 2020 to Nov 2020) will include two drop-in style open house events to discuss the purpose of the project and the proposed timeline, and share the results of the survey. The public will also have an opportunity to provide feedback on messaging that will be installed inside Greenlink buses to help raise awareness about human trafficking in our community. In addition to the two in-person events, Greenlink will post a video summarizing the content covered at the open houses and include an online form to submit ideas for the advertising messages.
During Phase 2 (Dec 2020 to Aug 2021), Greenlink’s community partners SWITCH, Jasmine Road, Bon Secours Health System and the Greenville County Sherriff’s Office will conduct training sessions designed to educate Greenlink employees and customers on the warning signs of human trafficking and the resources that are available for the public. In addition to raising awareness about human trafficking, Greenlink and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office will also host two events where Greenlink customers can discuss any other crime and safety concerns they may have.
Phase 3 (Sept 2021 to Jan 2022) will include a second survey to determine if Greenlink customers’ awareness and understanding of human trafficking have increased since the campaign began. Greenlink will also host drop-in style open house events to recap the campaign and unveil the survey results.
In January 2022, Greenlink will hold a large-scale public awareness event to mark the end of the campaign and celebrate National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, which is recognized annually on January 11.
“The non-profit agencies that we are working with – who are experts in this field – served nearly 70 human trafficking survivors in 2019, so we know it’s happening in Greenville, but we also know that the victims don’t always ask for help,” said Nicole McAden, Greenlink’s marketing and public affairs manager. “Since we interact with so many people day-to-day, it makes sense to train our team and our customers to recognize the signs of human trafficking and know what to do when we see those signs.”
Visit RideGreenlink.com/HumanTrafficking to learn more about Greenlink’s Human Trafficking Awareness initiative.
Please respond to the human trafficking survey to submit your input.
Prepared by the City of Greenville.