ATLANTA — Dozens of people boarded a white bus on Thursday for a different type of tour. Instead of visiting tourist sites, the bus went to strip clubs and back streets to show hot spots for human trafficking.
The tour guides victims and advocates trying to end the practice.
“A lot of people think it’s international or it’s not happening in our communities,” Kasey McClure said.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
McClure was the lead guide for the “Unholy Tour.”
She used to work in the adult entertainment industry but now has dedicated her life towards helping those in that world through 4 Sarah. The group has a hotline for people to call if they are in trouble at 470-362-8808.
The idea for the tour is the brainchild of Georgia Public Service Commission Vice Chair Tim Echols.
He wanted to give public officials a chance to see where human trafficking is taking place and hear from victims. The first tour nine years ago had an instant benefit.
“A grandmother saw it on WSB and she called and we put her in touch with DeKalb County, and they put out a sting and rescued her granddaughter,” Echols said.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Officers indicted for shooting unarmed DeKalb man in his home turn themselves in at jail
- Student found stabbed in Gwinnett high school bathroom, rushed to hospital, district says
- DeKalb man says squatters changed his house’s locks while he was away caring for sick wife
This year, that granddaughter was one of the victims to share her story with the tour.
She told Channel 2′s Michael Doudna that if someone didn’t reach out, she thinks she would still be on the streets.
“I don’t think I ever would have turned myself in. I don’t think I would have ever gotten help on my own. I probably would be out here on drugs,” she said. “People are out here needing help, seeking help, but they don’t have anybody who cares enough to be that help for them.”
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
IN OTHER NEWS:
©2023 Cox Media Group
