Professional Movers: What You Might See
Professional movers enter homes, apartments, storage units, hotels, and businesses every day, placing them in unique positions to notice situations that others may never see. While movers are not investigators or first responders, they may observe concerning indicators of grooming, exploitation, or human trafficking during the course of their work.
This survivor-informed course, taught by human trafficking survivor Sheri Lopez, provides practical education on recognizing potential warning signs while maintaining personal safety and professionalism. Participants will learn how grooming often begins long before trafficking, what concerning behaviors and environmental indicators may look like, what movers should and should not do if something feels wrong, and how to report concerns appropriately without placing themselves or others at risk.
Designed specifically for the moving industry, this self-paced course can be completed by one individual and includes a Certificate of Completion issued in that participant's name upon successful completion. The goal is simple: equip movers with knowledge that could help recognize exploitation earlier and potentially change—or even save—a life.
Curriculum
- Disclaimer and Copyright
- Introduction
- Why this course was created for professional movers
- Understanding human trafficking
- What you may see
- Living conditions
- Technology and surveillance
- Behavioral Indicators and relationship dynamics
- Things professional movers may hear
- Why your role as a professional mover matters
- Reporting procedures
- If a child is in danger
- Closing message
- About the Survivor - Informed Learning Institute
- A bit about Sheri and her journey
- Course completion
Meet Sheri Lopez
Sheri Lopez is a human trafficking survivor, prevention educator, speaker, author, and survivor advocate dedicated to helping communities recognize grooming before exploitation occurs.
As the founder of Pearl at the Mailbox, a nonprofit organization focused on grooming prevention, the Survivor Informed Learning Institute, and the Arizona Human Trafficking Survivor Coalition, Sheri has educated thousands of professionals and community members across the United States on grooming prevention, human trafficking, exploitation, and survivor-informed practices.
Sheri's expertise is shaped by both lived experience and years of prevention education, legislative advocacy, and collaboration with professionals nationwide. She has testified before the United States Congress on human trafficking, contributed to state and federal legislative efforts, served as a lived-experience expert witness in human trafficking criminal cases, and authored books focused on grooming prevention and exploitation.
After surviving seven years of trafficking that began with grooming at the age of fifteen, Sheri has dedicated her life to helping others recognize the patterns she was never taught to see. Today, she equips parents, educators, healthcare professionals, child welfare professionals, law enforcement, faith leaders, businesses, and communities with practical, survivor-informed education designed to help prevent exploitation before it begins.
"My mission is simple: to help people recognize grooming before exploitation occurs. Because prevention begins with recognizing the patterns." — Sheri Lopez