MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — A Marshalltown group is delivering cards and letters to dozens of local businesses to raise awareness of human trafficking. The group Labor and Sex Trafficking Watch has joined with the Marshalltown Police Department and the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office in the new effort.

The 47 businesses include hotels and motels, gas stations and fast-food restaurants. The cards are aimed at helping train employees working with the public to recognize signs of human trafficking and provide guidance on what to do when human trafficking is suspected, said the group chairwoman, Lynne Carroll.

“Members of our group are delivering the packet (the card and the letter) to those 47 different businesses instead of mailing, so we can have a conversation about it,” Carroll said. She told the Times-Republican that training was provided to hotel and motel managers a couple of years ago, but there’s since been turnover in the staffs of those businesses.

“So I thought a training card would be good for staff and be a resource for every new person coming on board” at a business, Carroll said. “We want managers to implement this as part of their training for staff and to also use it as an ongoing resource.”

The card information was compiled by Marshalltown Police Lt. Tricia Thein. “It is important to recognize that not every victim will identify as a victim and reach out for help,” Thein said. “In fact, they may be resistant to attempts to help them. This is one reason why it is so critical for people to refer all information to the police, as we have the ability, through networking, to follow up on these cases across different jurisdictions.”