Menomonie Nonprofit Inviting Community to Canvas of Hope Event

The Bridge to Hope is inviting Menomonie residents to their Canvas of Hope Paint and Sip event honoring Human Trafficking Awareness month.

The annual event will be held on January 27th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Raw Deal in Menomonie. Anyone is welcome to attend for free, but the paint and sip portion of the event will cost $40 and begins right at 6:00 pm.

The Bridge to Hope provides shelter and support to those affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. The nonprofit serves people in Dunn and Pepin Counties and operates a shelter.

Jennifer Lyons is the shelter’s coordinator, and shared some of the services they offer to local residents. “We provide services to those who are or have gone through any type of abuse, domestic abuse, sexual assault, human trafficking,” she said. “We do have an emergency shelter here that provides emergency shelter for those who are actively fleeing domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.”

In addition to the paint and sip, the nonprofit will share local data on human trafficking at the Canvas of Hope event as well as different ways residents can help in their community.

According to Wisconsin Department of Justice data, there were 108 instances of human sex trafficking and 10 instances of involuntary servitude human trafficking across the state in 2023.

Shared Hope International, a nonprofit that works to prevent sex trafficking, also issued Wisconsin an “F” grade on its 2025 report card for policy fixes aimed at reducing child and youth sex trafficking. Their report found Wisconsin succeeds in ensuring inclusive definitions, but falls short in protecting victims from unjust criminalization, providing them with legal relief, and supporting survivors.