If something seems off, don’t be afraid to tell someone.

So say advocates for ending human trafficking, who held an event Monday in Alpena to highlight the problem and let Northeast Michiganders know it happens here.

Trafficking can take on many forms, but it always involves a vulnerable person doing something they probably wouldn’t do if they had other options, from manual labor to sex acts. They could be forced by threats of violence or coerced because their trafficker holds some sort of power over them, such as controlling their economic well-being or their fix for an addiction. Based on the level of coercion, a trafficked person may not even know they’re being trafficked.

It happens in big cities and small towns. Especially since the rise of the internet, it happens everywhere.

Homeland Security says to watch for the following signs of a trafficked person:

∫ Does the person appear disconnected from family, friends, and the community? If they’re a child, have they stopped attending school?

∫ Have they shown a dramatic change in behavior, such as unusual submissiveness to another person?

∫ Do they always say they have to ask permission from someone before they can do something? Do they seem unable to freely leave the place they live?

∫ Do they show signs of mental or physical abuse, such as bruises in various stages of healing?

If you suspect someone is being trafficked, call the police or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888, or text “help” or “info” to 233733.