TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Sun Tran launched the "We See You" campaign to help fight against human trafficking with the help from a $221,000 grant from the Federal Transit Administration. From posters to stickers, passengers will receive resources about human trafficking. Moreover, all of the Sun Tran employees are now trained to identify and report human trafficking situations.
For driver Ernesto Urbina, he's interacted with many different passenger over his 17 year career. Many times, he's stepped in to help those that need a safe place.
"I've had kids actually say 'I can't go home, I need a safe space'," he said. "And then we call dispatch and they come and we help them out. It's happened a few times where the bus has been a safe place for some teenagers."
He said one teen had an abusive father and came to his bus, looking for a safe space.
"The kid actually became a friend of mine and he’s an adult now," he said. "And he's doing well. He actually keeps in contact with some of the drivers here."
John Zukas, the director of safety and security for Sun Tran said when people are coercing someone else or a person doesn't look like they are doing well and avoiding social interactions, those can be signs of a trafficking situation.
"If they see anyone under duress like this they should call one of our supervisors and our security services who are also trained in regard to human trafficking," he said.
Urbina said they call dispatch right away and a supervisor comes out to the bus to keep an eye on the person until ultimately calling authorities. If they exit the bus, the supervisor is able to give a description and the direction in which they left.
"It's a lot of eyes and ears on the road with just Sun Tran being out there," he said. "We've actually assisted TPD before and we work together to handle the situation."
Zukas said they have resources available on their websitefor people to learn about how to help those in human trafficking situations.
"It’s really important not only for our employees to know what’s going on but to notice those types of things but also for individuals to see the decals and jot something down really quickly," Zukas said.
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Tina Giuliano is a reporter for KGUN 9. She is a native Arizonan and grew up in Scottsdale. Tina is passionate about storytelling and is excited to work telling Tucson's stories. Share your story ideas and important issues with Tina by emailing tina.giuliano@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
