Walking is good, healthy exercise. Walking with someone can be even better. Walking for someone might just be the very best.

Hope Inspire Love's upcoming Freedom Walk aims to raise money for victims of human trafficking and bring awareness to a continuing societal problem.

"We're walking with (survivors), and we want to invite others to walk with us as well," said Amy Thurston, Hope Inspire Love's co-founder, president and chief executive officer (CEO) for the last seven years. "When we walk, we've seen people cry. It might be walking for someone who can't walk. When you walk, it brings hope to you and your community."

Hope Inspire Love's fifth annual Freedom Walk will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, at Musser Park, 135 N. Lime St., Lancaster. The 2-mile silent walk through the city of Lancaster will begin and end at Musser Park and will take participants through the Central Market area and past the downtown government buildings.

Walkers can register for the Freedom Walk at http://www.hopeinspirelove.org/freedomwalk.

"We are seeing a rise in the need," said Thurston. "If we can bring awareness to our community, we can prevent this from happening to our children. Some people can't believe this is happening in our backyard. Now the question becomes, 'What are we going to do about it?'"

"I feel people are becoming more aware because we're finally talking about it," Thurston added. "People realize it's affecting their community. People are reaching out, and we're getting more invites from other nonprofits. Hope Inspire Love has been getting into the community even more, and that's the beauty: It takes a village for what we do. We love telling the survivors that the services are free because the community is behind their journey."

The Freedom Walk will also feature an informational survivors' tent that relays the personal stories of individuals who have been affected by human trafficking.

"This walk is for everyone," said Thurston. "People do it with their dogs. We see church groups, university students, local nurse groups, local businesses will create teams, donors and partners. Some survivors show up. Some people have been doing it for five years. It shows the dedication of the community to our cause. It's people getting uncomfortable, showing up and walking. It can empower people."

Organizers of the Freedom Walk are hoping that 500 individuals will participate and that the event will raise about $50,000 for Hope Inspire Love's survivor services. Hope Inspire Love, which is headquartered at 1380 Harrisburg Pike, Lancaster, also conducts a fundraising gala in April.

"We heard about the concept of a freedom walk and thought it was something tangible we could do in Lancaster County," said Thurston of the 2019 founding of the event. "We took a global concept and made it local. What was neat was having people join us in the mission. Now it has evolved into this beautiful community interaction."

Thurston and husband Steve Thurston founded Hope Inspire Love in 2017. The local nonprofit employs six workers, contracts work from two others and has trained 26 volunteer mentors who have been matched with survivors.

Some of the services Hope Inspire Love offers include trauma-informed mentorship, prevention education and programs related to outreach and awareness.