Cycling for Change tour to combat human trafficking wraps in Syosset

At Shelter Rock Church in Syosset Saturday morning, more than 100 people gathered for the last stop of Cycling for Change's 2025 Cross Country Hope Tour, a nationwide effort to raise awareness and funds to combat human trafficking.

The tour, which had walking, running and biking events in California, Arizona, Texas, Georgia and Washington, D.C., centered on the realities of human trafficking, which the United Nations' International Labour Organization estimates affects nearly 28 million people worldwide.

The event began with a panel of law enforcement, health and nonprofit experts and culminated with a call to action, with around 50 people either playing in a basketball competition in the church's gym or taking part in a 17-mile bike ride, 4-mile fun run or a 1-mile walk.

"By inviting people to do a walk, a run, a cycling event, playing three-on-three basketball, these activities bring the community together," said Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, a board member of the nonprofit Cycling for Change. "Our mission is to amplify the voices of survivors."

The United Nations' 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons found a 25% rise in overall victims in 2022 compared to 2019, with the number of child trafficking victims increasing by 31% during that span. More than 60% of trafficking victims were women and girls in 2022, according to the report.

A 2024 Newsday investigation uncovered that Long Island has seen a dramatic increase in sex trafficking fueled by the opioid epidemic.

James Murphy, a retired detective sergeant with the Suffolk County Police Department who ran the Human Trafficking Investigation Unit, was a speaker at the event. He said the unit's first mission, nearly a decade ago, was to better understand the landscape of human trafficking on Long Island and how people become victims.

"We knew right there that our community had no idea what's been going on in their neighborhood," Murphy said.

He said the unit's work found at least 85% of those interviewed by the department were raped or molested before the age of 12, often within their own households.

"This was the wake up call," Murphy said. "I'm not going to arrest my way out of this."

A partnership between law enforcement and community groups was formed, said Feride Castillo, co-founder of ECLI-VIBES, an Islandia-based organization that aims to empower and support survivors and break the cycle of human trafficking.

"This is a long game. When someone is in the life, it takes a really long time," said Castillo. "Every community is affected by it."

The U.S. Department of Justice in a report last year said nearly 1,912 people were referred to federal prosecutors for human trafficking offenses in the 2022 fiscal year, a 26% increase over the prior year.

Gina Oommen, 49, of Syosset, came to the event with her family after first discovering Cycling for Change two years ago.

"That's when we realized it was a bigger problem out there," she said of human trafficking, adding that she felt responsible to "motivate others to participate and follow."

Vibhor Makkar, 48, of Dix Hills, took part in the bike ride, which stretched from Syosset before approaching Centerport and circling back around.

He said there is "power in numbers" within the biking community and that his goal Saturday was to help spread awareness.

"The more people that we can get to do all this, the more awareness we can spread," said Makkar.