NAMPA, Idaho — Human Trafficking stops here. That was the message at an event held by the Nampa Association of Realtors focusing on preventing human trafficking and abuse. Elizabeth Smart was one of the keynote speakers for the event.
“That gives me goosebumps. It does. She is nationally known for the misfortune she had to go through as a young adult. And to hear her story will give you such an emotional pull to understand what that does to a person,” says Melanie Steinhaus, 2023 President of the Nampa Association of Realtors.
Elizabeth Smart says, “I couldn't believe it was real so I didn't immediately respond in time, I mean, I felt something cold and sharp lying across my neck and I felt a hand trying to pull me out of bed. And I remember for the first time truly in my life understanding what it meant to be terrified.”
Nearly 20 years ago in 2002, Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped from her home in Salt Lake City Utah at the age of 14. She would then spend nine months of her life in captivity facing physical, mental, and emotional abuse. And since her escape, she's been raising awareness of child abuse and human trafficking.
“When I talk about my story, sometimes it can sound so impossible because you think of being at home, you think of that being your safe place, the place where no one can, and yet I was taken from my home at knifepoint,” says Smart.
Smart shared her story and helped others navigate human trafficking and abuse in their communities.
Other victims from here in the Treasure Valley shared their stories as well.
“I am here to make you aware that trafficking comes in all forms and the perpetrators will seek out weakness to control you,” says one of the speakers at the event.
It takes courage and strength to share your story. One thing Smart points out is how difficult it can be to use your voice, but how powerful it is when you speak out.
She says, “Tonight is a beginning place, not an ending place, I hope it's a beginning. People in the audience go home, talk to their children, talk to their friends, and keep talking to children and friends because this conversation carries on through the rest of your life. Through the rest of their lives.”
