The National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH) shows that in just 2020, there were 10,583 reported cases of human trafficking, 72 cases reported to authorities in Nebraska alone. Nebraska ranks at 15th on the list of states with the highest rate of human trafficking, just behind Arizona. The Set Me Free Project exists in an effort to eliminate the threat.

The Set Me Free Project is an educational organization that teaches children and families ways to keep themselves safe from human trafficking. The Project was founded in 2014 by Stephanie Olson, an alumni of University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelors in Psychology. Their goal is to stop human trafficking before it begins.

They provide specially formulated education for grades 3-12, sending trained educators to schools, community and parent groups, businesses, or even over Zoom and other web-based programs. They have taught educators, law enforcement, first responders, social services, health care professionals, religious organizations, and retail and food service employees. As The Project puts it, they “provide a foundation for all students to recognize the intrinsic value in every human being.”

Their educational curriculum is called the READY to Stand Curriculum™. They make sure it is interactive and age appropriate in every presentation, and have it split into multiple groups:

Elementary: for grades 3-6, and designed to teach the basics for kids in terms of understanding consent, what bullying and cyberbullying consist of, and and keeping safe online

Sex Trafficking For Youth, for grades 7-12, teaching them what that term means, what the risk factors are, and consent and bodily autonomy

Social Media For Youth: for grades 7-12, teaching them how to stay safe online, how social media and human trafficking connect, dating apps, and meeting face-to-face in real life

Healthy Relationships For Youth: for grades 7-12, recognizing the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships, types of abuse, setting boundaries , and being a healthy partner

Labor Trafficking For Youth: for grades 9-12, explaining what labor trafficking is and how to identify it, what recruiting tactics are, and teaching safe labor practices

Adult Presentations: defining sex and labor trafficking, the realities in the Midwest, teaching how to talk about consent and trafficking with youth, and creating safety plans with young people

Since 2021, they have also offered the Sydney Loofe Memorial Scholarship to students attending high school in Nebraska, maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA, and who demonstrate a plan to attend an institute and obtain a degree that with impact the community in areas of countering human trafficking, online safety, and/or cyber security. This memorial is named after Sydney Loofe, 24, who was killed in 2017.

If you should desire to donate to their organization, you can go to their website at setmefreeproject.net/donate, or text “Stop It” to 443-21. You can also donate via Amazon Smile and the Together A Greater Good (TAGG) App. You can write to them at 11620 M Circle, Omaha, NE 68137.

For more information about the organization, go to setmefreeproject.net. If you would like to request an educator, go to setmefreeproject.net/what-we-do. If you believe that someone is in danger of human trafficking, you can call the Nebraska Adult & Child Abuse & Neglect Hotline at (800) 652-1999, or call your local law enforcement.