Unshackled By Love Ministries hosts ‘Freeze for Freedom’ 5k

Saturday, more than 120 people in the community gathered at Coldstream Park to run or walk, with proceeds from the event going to Unshackled By Love Ministries.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – January is Human Trafficking awareness month. Across the United States, human trafficking is the second largest organized crime, according to Unshackled By Love Ministries’ founder and executive director Jewellan Morrison.

Saturday, about 120 people in the community pre-registered to run or walk in Unshackled By Love Ministries’ ‘Freeze for Freedom’ 5k at Coldstream Park in Lexington.

“This is a phenomenal organization…if everyone can experience the same freedom that we’re lucky enough to experience, then that’s something, at the very least, running and doing something fun for,” said runner Grafton Cook.

Unshackled By Love serves women who have been trafficked, providing therapy, housing, food, and other resources for as long as two years. According to Jewellan Morrison, it’s important to be aware of human trafficking as it’s in our communities.

“Perpetrators, their goal is for us to think that it’s not. Anywhere that it can be hidden, it’s there. And I-75 being a major highway–75 runs out of Lexington–75 is a huge portal for human trafficking,” said Morrison.

According to Morrison’s husband, Lee Morrison, who is also Vice President of Unshackled by Love, walking alongside the women he serves, and watching them grow in a nurturing environment, is an emotional experience.

“I can’t tell you this without getting a little choked up. These women, they come in, and they don’t trust men, but slowly and surely…they find out that there are people out there that love them for them, not what they can do for them,” said Morrison.

Jewellan Morrison says she hopes with events like the 5k, people become more aware of human trafficking around them.

“I would just highly encourage people to get more aware that human trafficking is real and learn about the things to look for, so that if they see someone, they know to call the 1-800 number so they can get the help they need,” said Morrison.

According to Morrison, these are the signs that someone is being trafficked:

“Definitely some male, or female–there are females who traffic other females–following very close behind someone, they don’t normally give you a lot of eye contact or don’t ask your questions directly…what you want to look for is someone that you can literally tell is being dominated,” said Morrison.

All proceeds from the ‘Freeze for Freedom’ 5k will go towards the care of the women at Unshackled By Love Ministries.

If you see someone who you believe may be trafficked, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text the hotline at 233733.