LaSalle police are taking the steps to make sure residents know the signs of human trafficking.
Senior Constable Harbinder Gill says you may not think of Windsor-Essex as a hub for this type of activity, but it's still something to be aware or.
He tells CTV Windsor human trafficking is complex and nuanced.
"Human trafficking is not something like the movie 'Taken,' it's not smuggling"
Gill says the practice sees people use coercive relationships to trap people into forced labour, sex work or even organ harvesting — he adds trafficking cases do make their way to the Windsor-Essex area on occasion with Ontario having the highest incidents in Canada of human trafficking.
Pascale Colucci attended the forum Wenesday evening at the LaSalle civic centre and says her grassroots group is looking to hold a walk for freedom on October 20th.
"There are many forms of trafficking and it's a passion of my heart because justice needs to be served. These people have lives, they're innocent, they're being used for profit and they are voiceless, so we are standing together with the community to fight for freedom, to fight for their freedom, to let them know we are and we are here."
An $80,000 grant from the Ministry of the Attorney General helped support the initiative in LaSalle.
Much of that money went to buy an automatic licence plate reader for the service to help track those who may be trafficking people.