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Toledo Block Watch discusses Human Trafficking in northwest Ohio

The Beverly Block Watch group is doing what they can to spread awareness of the Human Trafficking in northwest Ohio. Monday the group held a special event to discuss just how real the problem is.

TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) - The Beverly Block Watch group is doing what they can to spread awareness of the human trafficking in northwest Ohio. Monday the group held a special event to discuss just how real the problem is.

"The average age of an Ohio youth is 16, who is trafficked, I know that 1 in 3 runaway children are trafficked because they're vulnerable," said Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition member Geneva Mason.

At the event area residents heard firsthand the facts about human trafficking.

"A lot of the kids that are trafficked come from neighborhoods, they come from good neighborhoods, bad neighborhoods...they're all about kids and they're taking every neighborhood," said Mason.

Beverly Block Watch members feel they are the eyes and ears of the neighborhood and they can have an impact that can make a big difference.

"It's a big, important issue, very big for Toledo because we're kind of in the middle between Detroit and South and East and West...so some of the many girls that they pick up go North and go to Detroit," said block watch leader Paul Raczkowski.

The Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition says the most common places where kids become victims include the mall and movie theaters.

Another Human Trafficking event was held on Monday at the Faith Lutheran Church in Swanton.

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