When people ask Mark Kadel how prevalent human trafficking is in the Inland Northwest, he gives the same answer.

"How often does it need to happen?" he said. "What figure is large enough to make you care?"

The director of World Relief in Spokane, a nonprofit that helps victims of sex and labor trafficking find jobs and safe homes, Kadel wants to spark a broader conversation about the issue.

That's why he's giving a presentation tonight at North Idaho College about sobering cases he has seen, why human trafficking is so prevalent and how North Idaho residents can help.

"What makes people advocates is when it happens to their daughter or sister or niece, or when they realize these are other people's children," he said.

Individuals being abducted or held against their will doesn't just happen in movies like "Taken," Kadel said, though he still recommends every father of a teenage woman see the flick.

"It's happening in every community in the world," he said, adding that just over 50 percent of cases involve sex trafficking, the rest labor trafficking. "It's a criminal activity that's behind closed doors. It's over the Internet, happening in neighborhoods. Things people are completely unaware of."

He has seen enough to know.

Sometimes human trafficking occurs in ways some wouldn't expect, he said. World Relief once helped a former housekeeper whose boss had imprisoned her in his home and physically and sexually abused her for years.

Some cases occur in forms that are more accepted, or ignored, like prostitution.

"Prostitution is human trafficking. No woman wants to be a prostitute," he said.

He pointed to last year's raids on the myriad massage parlors in Spokane, which served as fronts for prostitution.

"It's very difficult to put a quantitative figure on it," he said of how often such situations occur.

He attributes the continuing success of sex and labor trafficking to simple human nature.

"It's basically a supply and demand economic situation," he said. "Where there is a greater demand for the selling of human beings than there is a supply."

There is plenty people can do to help, Kadel said.

Like being nosy. Keeping their eyes peeled and piping up when something seems off.

Advocates can always promote education and awareness through World Relief. The nonprofit's North Idaho chapter meets in Coeur d'Alene once a month, when individuals and organizations can learn about various volunteer opportunities.

To learn more, email loosethechain@gmail.com. Worldreliefspokane.org and exoduscry.org also offer information on ways to get involved.

Kadel will speak at 6:30 p.m. in the Lake Coeur d'Alene Room, upstairs in the Student Union building, on the NIC campus.

"I want to empower people," Kadel said. "When people hear these stories and think, 'This is horrible, I can't believe this is happening,' well, now that you're aware of it, now it's up to you to do something about it."