Billings group claims the movie will aid the fight against human trafficking

Billings, Montana – On July Fourth, a movie was released to raise awareness of human trafficking.

Project Stand, a Billings organization, wants to teach parents and kids more about avoiding traffickers.

“They’re complete victims,” said Jennifer Sanchez, Project Stand outreach coordinator. “These children are pulled from their homes and their families and they’re taken to have things done to them that no human should ever have done to them.”

“Sound of Freedom” premiered nationwide on Independence Day, with the hopes of bringing freedom to victims.

According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, it was Tuesday’s highest-grossing movie.

2,198 people were reported to U.S. Attorneys for human trafficking offenses in 2020, up 62 percent from 10 years prior, according to the Bureau of Justice.

The movie tells the tale of Tim Ballard, a former Homeland Security special agent who traveled to Honduras to save children.

According to Sanchez, who has been following the movie’s creation, it has inspired people to do what they can to aid victims.

“I hope that it stirs a passion inside people so much that they want to do something to help,” said Sanchez. “And here in Billings, Montana, there are ways that people can help”

According to Sanchez, Project Stand warns parents and kids about potential online exposure to human traffickers.