CORNING, N.Y. (WENY) -- In every year since 2010, January marks National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. A local nonprofit organization, The Potter's Hands Foundations, is helping victims of trafficking and sharing more on the issue's impacts right here in the region.

According to statistics from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, almost 17,000 victims were involved in identified cases in the United States in 2023 and 412 of those were in New York State.

In Corning, the Potter's Hands Foundation is providing a safe space for women who are victims of abuse and trafficking to help them with their reintegration into society.

The Potter's Hands Foundation was incorporated in October 2013, however, the residential program began in 2018.

"We serve women ages 18 and up who are coming out of just horrific situations and our goal is to help them kind of redefine themselves and move past their past so that they can just be productive members of society and begin to heal through that process," said Deb Kuehner, the executive director and founder of The Potter's Hands Foundation."

The program provides on-site classes, counseling, life skills work, and more. The nonprofit will also refer people to outside therapists or take them to community support groups.

"Our program is set up kind of like a work day for them, so 9 to 12 and 1 to 4, they participate in classes on things like sexual abuse, addiction and recovery, entitlement, codependency, anger management, boundaries, things that will help them just kind of get a better handle on some of the things that they've been through and to be able to work through those things," said Kuehner.

Kuehner spoke with WENY News about some misconceptions surrounding human trafficking. One of which is that it doesn't happen in our region. She says that trafficking can commonly be mistaken for being kidnapped and taken away from family but, it happens within families more often than people think.

"Sadly, about 40% of trafficking victims are trafficked by their own families, and during COVID, the typical age a child is first trafficked is 12 years old," said Kuehner. "That's what it was before COVID when everybody got online at home and everybody had a computer at their fingertips. That age actually dropped a little bit to like 10 or 11 years old, because they are more vulnerable and people have access to them online. So when you think of sex trafficking, it's not only a physical sexual act but it's also pornography. So we just have to know what our kids are doing. Make sure you have those safety features in place and make sure that you are communicating with your kids so that they know that they can come to you if something doesn't seem right or feel right."

Potter's Hands hosts multiple fundraisers a year and some are run by volunteers. The nonprofit is looking for volunteers to help with this year's programming including the upcoming 12th Annual Dinner and Dessert Auction on April 5 from 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. at the Seneca Lake Events Center in Watkins Glen.

"Our big three are the gala that we do in November every year," said Kirchner. "We did it at the Elvira Country Club this past year and we're doing it again there next year. We do a dinner and dessert auction every spring, which is a blast. People come and they pay for their food and then we auction desserts off with a live auctioneer. It's so much fun and that's April 5th at the Watkins Glen Event Center. Tickets can be purchased online, and then we also have a golf tournament in August."

If you or anyone you know may need help or want to volunteer, you can reach out to Potter's Hands Foundation through their website linked here.

For 24/7 confidential help, you can also call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888.