WLECH, WV (WVNS) — The office of West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced it will provide intense training to school counselors and nurses in McDowell County. The training is meant to aid school staff in the targeting and reduction of human trafficking.

“Human trafficking reduces people to property, forces victims into dangerous situations and may go undetected for years,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “These factors make it imperative that we educate as many people as possible to increase the number of eyes and ears who can report this heinous crime.”

According to the Attorney General’s office, they offered intensive training on this subject to more than 7,000 people since 2017. This includes over one-thousand law enforcement officers from different agencies across the Mountain State.

“We know that human trafficking is definitely prevalent in the surrounding areas,” said Perry Blankenship, coordinator of student services and attendance for McDowell County Schools. “We want to make sure staff members who directly support our students have the information and training they need to identify potential issues.”

The training will begin at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at the McDowell County Schools Central Office in Welch.