A Bridgeport church is raising awareness about human trafficking on the eve of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

Organizers say when people think of slavery, their first thought is of race-based slavery in the old South. But they say human trafficking right here in the United States is "a modern form of the same evil."

They add that human trafficking doesn't just target kids.

"They're taking adults, too. They're taking everybody. So it's in Bridgeport, it's in Hartford, it's in New Haven — it's all over the place, and we have to wake up and realize that. It's not just happening over in wherever, but it's also happening right here in Bridgeport, and it's really scary. It's really scary," said Rev. Mary McBride Lee, of El-Shaddai Pentecostal Church.

The World Health Organization says debt bondage is especially common in the Northeast.

The church encourages residents to report any signs of modern-day slavery to police.