The transportation industry, law enforcement and government agencies across the Four Corners region are coming together to strengthen regional strategies to protect youth from trafficking and exploitation - and you can join!

Since 2009, TAT (Truckers Against Trafficking) has worked alongside the transportation industry to combat human trafficking throughout North America, reaching over 2.6 million industry members with information about how to recognize and report the crime. In May, TAT joined local partners — including various SWTA members — to host a series of events across the Four Corners region, including Page, AZ, Gallup, NM and Ignacio, CO. These events brought nearly 200 leaders together to explore how collaboration across the region could improve and to identify next steps for preventing, identifying and responding to youth trafficking.

“What we’re building isn’t just an event,” said Bernadine Beyale, Founder and CEO of 4 Corners K-9 Search and Rescue. “It’s a connection. It’s a partnership. Because every person in this room sees a different piece of the same problem. A bus driver sees something. A teacher notices something. Law enforcement responds to something. Advocates support something. But rarely are all of those perspectives brought into the same room.”

Recognizing that Indigenous youth face disproportionately high rates of vulnerability to exploitation, trafficking, and violence — and because May is also Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) Awareness Month — TAT embarked on a series of partner consultations to create youth- and caregiver-focused campaign materials that are relevant for and resonant to Native/Indigenous audiences. These adapted materials were debuted at the May events, and will continue to be deployed throughout the region alongside industry partners.

“TAT’s years of partnership with passenger transportation has only reinforced the fact that transit agencies can be key partners in addressing human trafficking at a community level,” said Lexi Higgins, TAT director of Industry Engagement. “From training their personnel to recognize and report human trafficking in the course of their everyday jobs, to displaying information that can reach survivors, vulnerable populations and the general public, there is a full menu of actions transit partners can take to make a difference when it comes to this heinous crime. We are proud to work alongside the transit agencies across the Four Corners region who have embraced TAT’s mission and eagerly come alongside law enforcement, government agencies and other transportation stakeholders to make a real difference.”

And the May 2026 events were only the beginning. Moving forward, TAT will continue to provide anti-human trafficking training to regional stakeholders responsible for transporting and/or protecting youth, and to collaborate with local partners to display youth- and caregiver-focused information on transit systems and other public-facing spaces.

If you’re interested in learning more about TAT’s Youth on Transportation Initiative, resources for Native and Indigenous youth and caregivers and/or TAT’s free anti-trafficking resources for transit agencies, please visit www.tatnonprofit.org/transit or reach out to Lexi Higgins, TAT’s Director of Industry Engagement: lhiggins@tatnonprofit.org.