All posts tagged: human trafficking awareness

Heidi Search Center Press Conference

Dottie Laster Press Conference Announces Digital DNA Kit

Published by

On Monday, October 26, 2015 Dottie Laster, Executive Director of Heidi Search Center convened a press conference in San Antonio, TX to announce the creation of the Digital DNA Kit as a supplement to their Child ID Kits used to gather information in the event a child goes missing. Individual speakers at the press conference included Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert, Sheriff Susan Pamerleau, Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, Chief William McManus, San Antonio Police Department, Michelle Lee, FBI, and Dottie Laster, Heidi Search Center. The Digital DNA Kit is used by missing persons organizations and law enforcement agencies to get immediate information about where a missing child may be by tapping into their social media accounts.  “This is invaluable to parents to keep on record for if your kids disappear or runaway,” said Chief William McManus with San Antonio Police. Laster reports that Heidi Search Center offers a Digital Parenting Class that educates parents about the latest internet applications and to help make informed decisions regarding children and the internet. The San Antonio community has embraced the work of Heidi Search …

Crisis Center of Comal County Conference, Dottie Laster

Dottie Laster Featured at Crimes Against Families Conference

Published by

Crisis Center of Comal County, Texas will be hosting the Crimes Against Families Conference on Wednesday, October 29, 2014, beginning at 8am Central. The event will be held at the McKenna Event Center, 801 W. San Antonio St., New Braunfels. The goal of the conference is to learn how to reach out to rural communities with education and awareness of their risks for crime. Registration is required to attend. Dottie Laster will be giving a presentation on how youth are being targeted by trafficking. Laster will explain the most common grooming practices being seen in schools and colleges across the country in order that young people, and adults, will be more tuned in to the epidemic of human trafficking. Her presentation will cover the basics of trafficking, especially sex and labor trafficking, what danger signals are present, and the proper responses if one is approached. Laster says, “There is a growing problem within our schools where traffickers are infiltrating. Many unsuspecting students are unknowingly being groomed by traffickers who will introduce them to a living nightmare.” Crisis Center …

Cantinera Documentary,Dottie Laster,ImaginePublicity

Houston Screening of The Cantinera Documentary at Awareness and Fundraising Event

Published by

    Wednesday, June 18, 2014 Houston, Texas hosts a human trafficking awareness and fundraising event at St. Cyril of Alexandria Catholic Church, 10503 Westheimer Rd., Room 127 from 7-10pm Central time. Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition is sponsoring the event which is aimed at raising awareness to the community and funds for rescued victims of trafficking. The Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition (HRRC) is a dedicated coalition of Houston-area non-profits, faith-based organizations, government agencies and law enforcement agencies.  The HRRC was established as a volunteer coalition in 2005 in response to the growing recognition and alarm over the prevalence of human trafficking in the Greater Houston Metropolitan region. One of the highlights of the event is the screening of the Houston based documentary, The Cantinera, produced and directed by Ruth Villatoro of Toros Films. After the screening Ruth Villatoro will participate in a town hall interactive discussion about the film and how it’s brought attention to the plight of the “cantina girls” working night after night in Latin bars, not only in Houston, but …

Dottie Laster, human trafficking

Dottie Laster Presenting at Coastal Bend Coalition Against Modern Day Slavery 3rd Annual Symposium

Published by

  On Friday, April 11, 2014 Dottie Laster will be speaking to an audience of law enforcement, health care providers, CPS personnel, mental health service providers, social workers, and citizens at the 3rd Annual Coastal Bend Coalition Against Modern Slavery Symposium being held at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas. The event will be from 9-4 (Central time), registration begins at 8:30 am. A day to exchange information to raise awareness and educate about the issue of human trafficking, the symposium also wishes to provide solutions and tools to combat the injustice of modern slavery in the Coastal Bend region of Texas. “Make no mistake-human trafficking is not just a global problem. It is a national crisis-one that every parent, every teacher, every policymaker, and every law enforcement official must work to understand-and must help to address.” Eric Holder US Attorney General – April 2012 Dottie Laster has spent over 10 years in the effort of the anti-human trafficking movement nationally, and in her home state of Texas. She is the co-founder of the San Antonio, Texas Coalition …