This is the fourth in a series of columns previewing the presenters at the Imagine – Learn/Inspire/Act Conference on Saturday, May 6 at the Almonte Civitan Hall. The What Now Lanark County Committee is pleased to share the biographies of Wendy Gee and Marita Smith whose talk will focus on Human Trafficking in Our Backyards.
Reports about human trafficking or sex trafficking often make the news. I thought it was a “big city” issue until I learned that, in 2021, seven men were charged with human trafficking in Lanark County. It’s taking place in our communities, and it’s important to know how it happens, how to recognize when it might be happening, and what to do if you have concerns or suspicions.
Wendy will describe human trafficking and share how the treatment program at A New Day Youth and Adult Services supports survivors with specialized services to restore their well-being and set them on a positive path towards stability and independence and community partner collaborations. She will discuss how Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Treatment Centres or Treatment Teams can be key points of contact for human trafficking survivors to access community services and law enforcement as well as obtain health care, forensic evidence collection and psychosocial support. Marita will explain how human trafficking survivors can navigate immediate health care and long-term restorative care and recovery. She will also look at the challenges they face and why inter-agency collaboration is key in maximizing access to healing and support.
Biographies
Wendy Gee has worked with at-risk and homeless youth for over 33 years in the social services field. She is the founding Executive Director of A New Day Youth and Adult Services, a long-term restorative residential recovery home for youth who have exited sex trafficking. She is the current chair of the Ottawa Coalition to End Human Trafficking, a committee that provides a focused strategy through community partnerships and collaboration to raise awareness about human trafficking and research into service gaps and barriers. As a woman with lived experience, Wendy is a sought-after presenter who has educated the public sector, community agencies and school boards about the broader issue of human trafficking and the finer details of parenting a youth who has been sexually exploited. She is passionate about disrupting the business of human trafficking and being an advocate for youth.
Marita Smith is a Registered Nurse who has spent the last decade working in pediatric emergency at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). She has also been working as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner since 2015 and is completing a certification in Sexuality Health Education. Marita is currently a co-lead of the Sexual Assault/Abuse Program at CHEO and is dedicated to not only providing services to children and youth affected by sexual violence, but also advocating for education within the health care system to more effectively provide an intersectional approach to trauma-informed care for victims of sexual abuse and trafficking.
As difficult as the subject of human trafficking may be to examine, we can’t ignore the fact that it’s happening in our midst. We are looking forward to the opportunity to learn more about it through Wendy and Marita’s knowledge and dedication.
This presentation is sponsored by the Stir It Up Collective, a local not-for-profit that promotes awareness of human trafficking and is working towards the creation of programs to help people recover from sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Conference tickets are $40 (includes lunch and snacks) and are available from ticketsplease.ca. For anyone who cannot afford the registration price, some generous people have paid for free tickets, which are available by emailing whatnowlanarkcounty@gmail.com.
Fern Martin
