BUFFALO, N.Y. — The long 902-mile walk started May 3 in Lynchburg, Virginia, and will end in Buffalo on June 19.
FreeTHEM walkers are expected to arrive back in Buffalo on June 19 for Juneteenth. They are raising awareness about human trafficking.
Kelly Diane Galloway, founder of Mona's House and the FreeTHEM Center, will tell you in a heartbeat that human trafficking is "modern-day slavery. It is why this journey has so much meaning. The route the 14 walkers are taking is along the Underground Railroad."
They prepared for the walk, but Galloway admits, "We are definitely over 300 miles in, and our feet hurt, our legs hurt, it definitely has been a challenge. You cannot prepare for these elements like gravel, mountains, hills, sun, no shade, pouring down rain. The elements change, but the mission still stays the same."
WATCH: Go to the 2:10 mark below for more on the FreeTHEM Center:
She wants to raise $1 million to build the nation's largest restoration home for human trafficking victims in Buffalo.
While walking, people have taken notice.
"People are coming outside of their houses," and asking "what are y'all doing? We get to share the mission and one connection leads to another."
People have opened up their homes and offered meals or money for hotels. They have an RV for sleeping.
"We even had one woman fly from Portland, Oregon, just to walk with us one day because she found out about our story on the news," Galloway said.
There are many ways to help, including a virtual walk and challenges.
The journey may be tiring, but it is also a learning experience. Galloway told Channel 2's Claudine Ewing, "I literally today stood in the same room that Harriet Tubman stood in. I stood in the same room that she slept in when she was fleeing for safety in Philadelphia in the Johnson House."