LANSING - A night of music, enlightenment and emotion filled the Fairchild Theatre on MSU’s campus during the “A Call to Action” event. This event was created to inform individuals of the severity of human trafficking.

“Our main focus is just to be educational...to let people know what is human trafficking, what does it look like especially in Michigan,” said volunteer Haley Hildebrand.

The event aimed to point out that human trafficking is something that occurs everywhere…in places where you would least expect it, and often times committed by people you would never think to participate in this.

“It’s really sad that things like this happen right in our own backyards and I think it's even sadder that people are not aware that it happens,” volunteer Meg Abebe stated.

“Overall, it’s just an atrocity that people need to know about,” said Hildebrand.

Filmmaker Laura Swanson was one of the speakers that took the stage. She is the co-director/producer of the documentary “Break the Chain.”

"'Break the Chain' is a documentary film addressing the issues of human trafficking within Michigan that are often misrepresented or exploited or sensationalized,” said Swanson.

“I noticed that in 2014 there were a lot more headlines coming about human trafficking and once I started reading in and learning more about the movement to end human trafficking, I realized that the same kind of misconceptions that surrounded sexual assault were also surrounding human trafficking,” Swanson mentioned.

Swanson pointed out that many people think that human trafficking tends to primarily be sex slavery and she said that is untrue.

“Human trafficking has 2 sub-sects: labor trafficking and sex trafficking,” said Swanson.

“Labor exploitation can be...the misconception is that it only means immigration or migrant workers and that’s not necessarily true. If you need a job or somebody needs a job…if you figure out a way to exploit them for financial gain and same with sex....sex is a commodity now. This issue is incredibly complex and it can manifest anywhere.”

“A Call to Action” not only wanted to inform people of the severity of human trafficking, but also wanted to provide ways to teach individuals how they can help.

“It’s really easy when you don't know what's going on to turn a blind eye,” said host Kiana Elkins.

“We can take a stand against human trafficking not only globally but in our own local communities. Whether you share a Facebook status or you donate to your favorite charity regarding human trafficking, I think a little goes a long way,” Abebe stated.

“I’m hoping that more people can understand what human trafficking really is and what it actually looks like so that people can actually recognize it instead of having this thought that it’s one way when it’s not just one form so that we can actually have a chance at stopping this and preventing this in our future,” Swanson mentioned.

The Women’s Chamber Ensemble sang a closing song at the end of the event creating quite the ovation from everyone in the crowd.