In late February, authorities rescued a mother and her infant during an operation targeted at human trafficking in San Joaquin County.

In May 2017, Stockton police spent three months investigating a website that led detectives to the human trafficking of eight girls between 14 and 17 years old.

Two months before that operation, a 17-year-old girl and a woman were rescued on the first day they were pressured to perform sex through force, fear or coercion, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.

“San Joaquin County is not immune to the horrific destruction of human trafficking,” said Joelle Gomez, CEO of the Children’s Home of Stockton and chairwoman of the San Joaquin County Human Trafficking Task Force.

The task force and the San Joaquin County Office of Education will host the third annual Human Trafficking End It Summit from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Jan. 11 at the Robert J. Cabral Agriculture Center at 2101 E. Earhart Ave. in Stockton. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited. To register for tickets, visit https://bit.ly/2Bjq41W.

“The End It Summit provides our community with critical education on how each and every one can do their part to support survivors or help eradicate modern day slavery,” Gomez said.

This year’s summit keynote speaker is Kay Buck, CEO of the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking.

Buck has spent nearly 30 years “at the forefront of this fight” and addresses this issue through hope, victory, empowered advocacy and systemic change, Gomez said.

The community event will also give attendees the opportunity to hear from county leaders during a panel discussion and listen to the firsthand account of a human trafficking survivor.

Organizers said the forum also is an opportunity to highlight accomplishments achieved by the San Joaquin County Human Trafficking Task Force over the past year and share goals for the upcoming year.

The task force, which was started in 2014 with the aim to stop human trafficking, includes more than 60 local agencies, including the Children’s Home of Stockton, St. Joseph’s Medical Center, the Stockton Police Department and the Women’s Center-Youth and Family Services.

Anyone in need of free and confidential services may contact the San Joaquin County 24-Hour Human Trafficking Hotline at (209) 948-1911 or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at (888) 373-7888.

Organizations that can help in San Joaquin County include the Women’s Center-YFS at (209) 941-2611; Child Protective Services at (209) 468-1330; Without Permission Crisis Navigator at (209) 277-7758; and the DA’s Victim Witness Program at (209) 468-2500.