Human trafficking discussed at town-hall meeting

(Tami Eagen)

By Tami Eagen – Sydenham Current

Close to 600 people of all ages filled the room for a town hall meeting on Thursday, January 17 at the John D. Bradley Convention Centre to discuss human trafficking in Chatham-Kent.

Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Rick Nicholls led the evening, along with speakers from the community.

“We care about you, about your children,” Nicholls said.

The final speaker of the night was Jennifer, a survivor, who spoke candidly about her 21-year experience in human trafficking.

Jennifer said she graduated from a year long recovery program and has been away from it for two and a half years.

“I always had my head down, I was always ashamed of who I was but here I am now standing here talking to people… talking about my past,” she said.

“I just want to say thank you for listening to my testimony. Life is good.”

Nicholls called Jennifer a brave woman during his closing remarks on Thursday.

“The turn out exceeded our expectations by far,” he said.

“We had close to 600 people here this evening to hear from, what I would call, our ‘panel of experts’ and most importantly Jen. They needed to hear from our survivor. I was so pleased with the entire evening.”

Sergeant Kim Miller, the OPP’s Regional Abuse Issues Coordinator, and Const. Meredeth Rota, from the Chatham-Kent Police Service’ Intelligence Unit, took the stage together to share a presentation, which featured videos of human trafficking victims speaking about their experiences.

“Kids today post everything on social media, so they know all about you,” Miller said, adding that predators often target young people.

“Our kids are probably not talking to who they think they are,” Rota added.

“They are beginning to trust these people who are looking to exploit them, to manipulate them and to gain power and control over them. We are very close to the 401. We are between Windsor and London, two very big cities. Windsor and Sarnia being border cities. We are a place that is very easy to stop for a couple days and move on.”

The Chatham-Kent Police Service and the OPP recognize that hotels and motels are often used by the sex trade industries and have reached out to local staff to educate them on what to look for, Rota said.

The intelligence unit is active in the community and they try to educate those in “high risk” situations and give them the tools they need to stay safe, Rota said.

“Intelligence is gathered to keep track of who is seeking services and who is in the community providing those services,” she said.

“There are a lot of investigative tools that aren’t necessarily broadcast publicly, but I can tell you that we are very active.”

Statistics Canada data shows that victims of human trafficking are most often young women.

Police-reported data shows that of the 865 victims of human trafficking between 2009 and 2016, 95% of those victims were women and 72% of the victims of human trafficking were under the age of 25.

Meka Cedar, the director of CK Support Services victims unit addressed the younger people in attendance.

“Having someones back doesn’t always mean covering for them,” she said.

“I can also be saving them from a very bad decision that could very well impact them and their family for the rest of their lives.”

Cedar said there there have been 12 clients in Chatham-Kent involved in human trafficking and some of those individuals are from the community.

The youngest of those clients was only 16-years-old, Cedar said, adding that although Victim Services works alongside law enforcement and other emergency services, they are a separate when it comes to their records.

“I would never, ever force someone to report something you are not comfortable with.” Cedar said.

Victims are provided a confidential, safe and secure environment to discuss their feelings and reactions to traumatic events.

There are also emergency funds provided to those who qualify, Cedar said. This can include short term immediate counselling, transportation costs, emergency child care/dependent care for special needs or elderly, emergency accommodation and meals.

For more information about services provided by Victims Services visit their website at http://ckpolice.com/victim-services/

Tara Greenway, a registered nurse with the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, also gave information about CKHA’s Sexual Assault / Domestic Violence Treatment Centre.

The services provided are available to people of all ages and genders through the Emergency Department or by phone, Greenway said.

For more information on the services provided by the Treatment Centre, visit http://www.ckha.on.ca/ or call 519-352-6400 from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Here is some contact information about some local services.

Canada Mental Health Association
24/7 Crisis Response Team 1-866-299-7447

Chatham-Kent Sexual Assault Crisis Centre
519-354-8688

Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit
519-352-7270

Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (Sexual Assault Crisis Treatment)
519-352-6400 ex 6382

ACCESS Opens Minds
519-437-6320

Salvation Army Family Services
519-354-1430

Chatham-Kent Housing Services
519-354-6628

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