Photo by Sam Chandler
Mountain Brook Mayor Stewart Welch signed a proclamation making the city a Human TraffickingFree Zone at the Dec. 9 City Council meeting.
The Mountain Brook City Council and Mayor Stewart Welch on Monday, Dec. 9, signed a proclamation making Mountain Brook the second city in Alabama to become a “Human TraffickingFree Zone.”
The proclamation, according to a press release from the Child Trafficking Solutions Project, requires that all city staff receive human trafficking training and the city adopt a zero-tolerance policy regarding purchasing sex at work.
City Manager Sam Gaston said Mountain Brook will likely amend its employee handbook to include that policy.
“The City of Mountain Brook takes this issue very seriously,” Welch said in the press release, “and we vow to train our entire city staff, including first responders, to ensure that our children are safe and that our community is informed about human trafficking and what to do if they suspect a case of human trafficking.”
The Human TraffickingFree Zone initiative is a national program of the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking, the CTSP — an initiative of the Children’s Policy Council — and the Jefferson County Family Court.
The Children’s Policy Council started the CTSP in 2016 in response to the passage of Alabama's Safe Harbor Act, created by former State Rep. Jack Williams from Vestavia Hills. The project unites stakeholders from across the state and nation who want to end human trafficking.
About a dozen people came to Monday's meeting to show their support for Mountain Brook's participation.
“I want to thank all of you for your involvement in this really, really important issue,” Welch told them. “And together I think we can make a big difference.”
Jasmaine Sanders Deloach was one of the supporters in attendance. She is the president of the Angel’s Arm’s Women & Teen Organization, which works to combat human trafficking. She told the council that her daughter is a human trafficking victim and expressed her gratitude to the city for taking a stand.
“This is so dear to me,” Deloach said. “I thank you all so much for bringing these efforts in. This means so much to me to be here today.”
Mountain Brook Police Chief Ted Cook said his department has trained its officers to look for signs of human trafficking. That training will continue as Birmingham prepares to host The World Games in 2021.
“Very large international events like that bring in a lot of the trafficked humans for various incendiary reasons,” Cook said.
In the CTSP press release, Community Engagement Coordinator Jordan Giddens said his organization’s goal is to have every municipality in Jefferson County signed on and trained before The World Games.
Vestavia Hills became the state’s first city to be declared a Human TraffickingFree Zone on Nov. 25. Birmingham was set to sign its own proclamation today.
Cook said that human trafficking is more prevalent in neighboring municipalities that have more hotels to facilitate the sex trade. But due to human trafficking’s large scale, Mountain Brook is not immune.
“Their efforts are to get all of us on board really to get ahead of it,” Cook said, “and try to start curbing it as much as we can now.”
You can read the proclamation here.
