The speaker for the February meeting of the Pitt County Coalition Against Human Trafficking, which is at 9:30 a.m., Feb. 16, at 1412 S. Evans St., is Briana Brantley, special projects coordinator with the Pitt County Coalition on Substance Use (PCCSU).

Brantley is currently the coordinator for the Thriving Families Program under PCCSU.

With Pitt County reporting overdose deaths at 25.6 percent, according to North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, it can only be surmised that the intersections between human trafficking and substance use disorders are expansive in the community.

“We are happy to hear how PCCSU is addressing substance use disorders in Pitt County,” said PCCAHT facilitator Pam Strickland.

“Substance use disorders create a population more vulnerable to being trafficked, and that is because an untreated disorder of this nature offers traffickers an avenue into a person’s life and an avenue to exploit that person. Not to mention substance use disorders among parents leave children unprotected, and sometimes traumatized. When we grapple with issues like substance use, then we are also attempting to deal with human trafficking in our community.”

Brantley is a graduate of East Carolina University with a bachelor’s degree in health services management and a master’s in public health.