There's a war going on around you, and you're invited to join the fight. Welcome to the Battle will be held on Friday, March 25, at Lancaster Evangelical Free Church, 419 Pierson Road, Lititz. The event, which will begin at 5:30 p.m., is organized by North Star Initiative (NSI), a Lititz-based nonprofit that supports victims of human trafficking.

Welcome to the Battle will bring together community agencies to discuss survivor impact, from rescue to restoration. Attendees will learn about the latest tactics traffickers are using to recruit local women into the sex trade, how to identify trafficking activity and what to do if they suspect a family member or friend might be a target of traffickers. This is the fifth year for the fundraising event, said Alicia Corrado, executive director of NSI.

"Lancaster County just launched a local Human Trafficking Task Force," she explained. "This year, proceeds raised will go to (the task force) to aid their efforts as they rescue survivors of trafficking in our area."

NSI is a member of the task force, and the agency works to offer rescued victims of trafficking access to trauma-informed, comprehensive care, Corrado stated. NSI owns and operates The Harbor, a restoration home and program for domestic sex-trafficking victims. "Our goal is for every survivor to leave The Harbor fully restored, so she can return to the community and enjoy a life of sustained independence," Corrado remarked.

The task force uses the victim-centered approach, focusing on the restorative process of each victim, said task force coordinator Brad Ortenzi, who will be one of the panelists. Along with Ortenzi, Welcome to the Battle will feature panelists Heather Adams, Lancaster County District Attorney; Elizabeth Nolan, NSI clinical director; Heather Castellino, deputy attorney general of Eastern Pennsylvania; and Jessica Williams, Pennsylvania state trooper and Human Trafficking Task Force coordinator for Eastern Pennsylvania. The panelists will present a discussion from 6:30 to 8 p.m., with opportunities for questions beforehand and afterward.

Other agencies that will be represented at Welcome to the Battle include FREE (Freedom and Restoration for Everyone Enslaved), ZOE International, Greenlight Operation, She's Somebody's Daughter and TFC Global. Corrado said inviting panelists from outside Lancaster County, including Castellino and Williams, is a deliberate move on NSI's part to underscore the pervasiveness of human trafficking.

"(We want) to further help the audience understand the work that is being done to combat the vicious crime of trafficking in Pennsylvania, not just in Lancaster and surrounding counties," she stated. "(We want) to also highlight what the community can do to keep their families safe and how the community should report to the task force when they see anything suspicious or come across a potential victim."

For more information on Welcome to the Battle or to purchase tickets, visit https://northstarinitiative.org/welcome-to-the-battle