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Beaumont, Texas – Tuesday, Del Papa Distributing & Giglio Distributing are announcing in partnership with the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) a campaign to help stop human trafficking in the communities where they do business.  As part of this effort, employees from the two Companies will receive training on human trafficking and how to identify and respond if they suspect this heinous crime is happening.

“As a local business, we always want to make a difference and to improve the quality of life in our local communities” said Peter Williamson, VP Corporate Relations and Communication for Del Papa Distributing. “Unfortunately, all communities are vulnerable to the horrors of human trafficking, and Southest Texas is no exception. Our employees who visit hundreds of licensed retail locations each week, are now more aware and better prepared to be that extra set of eyes and ears on the ground to help in this fight.”

Beer distributors collectively visit more than 640,000 retail establishments across the country, including bars, restaurants, hotels, convenience stores, package stores, sports arenas and grocery stores. They are uniquely positioned to combat this crime given their access to locations at accounts often unseen by the public.

To help distributors, the National Beer Wholesalers Association partnered with Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, and Executive Director of Street Grace Camila Zolfaghari to produce an awarness training video.

378 of Del Papa Distributing’s employees have now participated in the awareness training session, which included a viewing of the video. The employees were also equipped with contact information to alert authorities if they spot suspicious behaviors and tip cards containing red flag behaviors to carry with them as the visit accounts.

Human trafficking continues to be a major issue in Texas. According to a recent study, 20,729 instances of human trafficking have been reported in Texas since 2007. We know there is much more than that and are prepared to fight back against this terrible crime.