Human trafficking is in our province. Could you spot the signs?

 

On Thursday, January 11, representatives from Magdalene House in Red Deer, Alberta, arrived in Whitecourt for a Stop Human Trafficking event at St. Joseph’s Church.  David and Cathy Bouchard, and Tammy Rogers, are touring smaller communities around the province in hopes of reaching those who may need their help, and to spread the word about human trafficking.

“Our primary focus is to help women, who have been trafficked, in their recovery” explained David, president of the Magdalene House Society.  “They stay with us for 12 months and during that time they go to a recovery program, called Trauma Informed Care.  It helps them to get on their feet, to be able to find meaningful work and to become independent again.”

The society was registered in 2009 and has been working hard ever since.  “We opened our house in 2015 and then we unfortunately ran out of funds, so we had to close it again but we’re developing an education program to make young people aware of the lures that traffickers use, so that they can avoid them.  That’s our focus right now until we can raise enough to be able to open the home again” said David.

Another focus right now is providing an outreach program where Magdalene staff could visit with the women that are being trafficked.  “Either on the street or however we can get a hold of them, and letting them know that we have a safe place for them, if they ever wanted to get out of the sex trade.”

11 women have gone through the treatment at Magdalene House and several have stayed longer than others.  David said that they have success stories that they are very proud of, not because of them, but because of the women themselves, for having worked so hard.  “We provided a service to make it happen, but they had to do the work themselves.”

They have worked with both woman and girls, and David said that, sadly, the younger they were, the more reluctant they were to stay because they didn’t feel they were worthy of the help.  The older women they worked with, who had been trafficked for years, tended to be looking for a way out.  “They stayed longer, and they actually did manage to recover and get back on their feet.”

The Magdalene House Society has worked with social organizations throughout the province, including Rotary and Kinsmen, and church-based ones, such as the Knights of Columbus and Catholic Women’s League (CWL).  Noella Andrews, president of the Whitecourt St. Joseph’s CWL, said that she felt it was important for the community to hear David’s presentation.

“It’s so important because human trafficking happens everywhere, around the world, even in Alberta and it’s not just sex trafficking, it’s also forced labour.  You have foreign workers coming in that are promised one thing and then suddenly, they are making six dollars an hour and living six people to a small apartment.  It’s not right and it shouldn’t be happening in Canada, but it does, and I think it’s important that everyone is aware that it’s happening really close to home.”  Thursday also happened to be National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.  “It was a good day to choose to do this” said Noella.

Since their inception, the society has had tremendous success in finding out people who are trafficking, and being trafficked, within Alberta.  David said that Calgary has a great team in regard to police service and that Edmonton has been good as well.  “Where I’m from in Red Deer, they don’t believe it’s happening.  One of the things we see, not only here, but across Canada, is that traffickers like to work in small communities because nobody is looking there.   That’s part of the reason why we are coming out to the smaller communities to say that it can happen here too.”

If you feel that someone you know could be in trouble, David recommends taking action.  “The first thing is that if they are in immediate danger, call 9-1-1.  But otherwise, there is a toll-free number, 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).”  He recommends providing information, including what you saw or heard and then the hotline will send an investigator out.  “I always encourage people not to hesitate if they do hear things or see things, and to make sure they let people know.”

For more information on human trafficking, including things to look for, visit www.magdalenehouse.ca.