Community partners in Sudbury will host a Spotting the Signs/Breaking the Chains conference in early May.
It will focus on human trafficking, homelessness and addiction, aiming to educate, inspire and mobilize the community to take action.
Barbara Ridley, executive director of the Salvation Army Cedar Place Women and Family Shelter, said there is a need for education about human trafficking.
“We do know that Sudbury is a hub for it,” Ridley said.
“It is happening every day. It is happening in our hotels, it’s happening on our streets, it is happening on our corners. So it is here and we need to do something about it.”
The conference will be held at the Radisson Hotel on May 2, hosted by the Salvation Army Cedar Place, the Elgin Street Mission and Angels Of Hope Against Human Trafficking.
“A lot of people get their knowledge of human trafficking through movies and that’s not what it actually looks like, especially not in our community,” said Cristina Scarpellini, Angels of Hope founder and executive director.
“In my experience … a lot of the girls are experiencing the ‘boyfriend pimp.’ People have this perception of human trafficking that you know you are kidnapped and that could happen but 90 per cent of the time, you know your trafficker.”
Since the non-profit started in 2015, Scarpellini said it has helped 385 survivors and their loved ones. She said 45 per cent of victims are between the ages of 18 and 24.
Guest speakers at the May conference will include a survivor of human trafficking, a reformed trafficker and speakers on other social issues.
“Homelessness (and) addiction because those are kind of crosslinked with human trafficking,” Ridley said.
“So hopefully we will be able to address all of those together.”
