Threat of human trafficking discussed at local forum
Jan. 19—OXFORD — Leah Gunn understands both the causes of and the damage left behind from the scourge of human trafficking.
Gunn shared her story as the keynote address for "Removing the Blindfold: A Human Trafficking Information and Resource Event" held Thursday at the Oxford Civic Center.
The event, a collaboration of the anti-trafficking organization Trafficking Hope, the United Way of East Central Alabama and the Junior League of Anniston-Calhoun, was designed to bring education and prevention to the community as well as to provide a voice for victims in need.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline, operated through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, reports 285 calls were received from Alabama in 2021 with 101 of those received from victims or survivors of human trafficking.
Gunn is now going through the final phase of rehabilitation at The Wellhouse, a facility providing a step-by-step process for female victims of human trafficking located in Odenville.
She has lived there for 18 months where she has maintained sobriety that entire time.
"I, at one point in my life, needed all of these tables and every bit of that assistance," Gunn said, recognizing the area agencies' displays at the forum who work with people such as her. "As I was growing up, I was already being groomed by the culture. I was watching the wrong movies. I was listening to rap music whose lyrics will convince you that you are someone you are not and you should do things you shouldn't."
She recalled the day her divorced mother gave her a third-party check to go to the local gas station and fuel her car.
After filling her car, the clerk told Gunn he could not accept the check and would have to call the police.
"About the time I started to panic, a man comes up beside me and puts a $100 bill on the counter and says to fill it up," Gunn said. "He's dripping in gold, his pants are creased and he smells like Heaven. He then says, 'You're mighty pretty to need gas money."
Gunn then found herself in a car with the man and his lady friend on the road to Memphis with the promise of "the good life."
"I didn't come back for a few weeks," she said, saying she would leave the rest to the audience's imagination. "I will say on that day I was lured with promises of shopping and having a good time. I didn't understand what a pimp was and he told me, 'You're mine.'"
Gunn was able to leave that situation but spent several years after as a drug addict and alcoholic before getting clean through dedicating her life to Christ.
"I am not unaware there were many factors in my decisions over 16 years that I have no excuse for," Gunn said. "God has told me we do not need just survivors. He wants us to grow and prosper."
Shared Hope International has rated Alabama an "F" on the subject of human trafficking with that low score attached to identification of and response to victims, continuum of care, access to justice for trafficking survivors, prevention and training.
Their website, sharedhope.org, offers information about the warning signs of human trafficking and what can be done should it be suspected.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline is open 24/7, is confidential and can be reached at 1-888-373-7888 or persons are encouraged to contact their local law enforcement agencies if they see something suspicious.
Staff Writer Brian Graves: 256-236-1551.
