STURGIS, S.D. (KELO.com) – The annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally brings in hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world.
With that many people, human trafficking has been a problem over the years.
To help combat the problem, a group known as Bikers Against Trafficking was established to help fight and raise awareness against sex trafficking. The group has a major presence in Sturgis this year with a tent along busy Lazelle Street.
Patrick Nave is President of Bikers Against Trafficking. He says trafficking is a big issue during the Rally and they want people to be aware of trafficking and to know the signs.
“We know that according to the United Nations, 1 out of every 113 people around the world is in danger of being trafficked this very moment.” Said Patrick “Doc” Nave, President of Bikers Against Trafficking, “And so it’s a very real thing in every community, especially here at Sturgis it happens. Matter of fact you can watch it happen right down the road, so our intention is to make a difference to help people understand.”
Nave says their main goal is to help those who have been affected by the trauma of sex trafficking.
“And so our goal is to provide clinical counseling for people who come out of that life,” continued Nave, “We help people come out of that life we provide housing for people that come out of that life and we build awareness. We speak at churches schools organizations clubs we set up at a lot of motorcycle events because we believe motorcyclists are the eyes and the ears of many of our cultures.”
The group will be in Sturgis all week, helping authorities and rally-goers to combat sex trafficking.
(Gary Matthews, Home Slice Group, contributed to this article.)