The Barrie Women & Children’s Shelter has two beds dedicated to victims of human trafficking, but it’s not considered enough to address the local problem.
“There is a continual flow in (and) out of those beds and we could use more to meet the demand,“ said executive director Teresa MacLennan. “Barrie is considered a 'gateway' for human trafficking. We have highway access to the north and south and the (Highway) 400/11 corridor of highways provides easy transporting of women from city to city.”
The provincial government announced Monday that $7.65 million will be allotted over the next five years for victims of human trafficking through the province’s victims’ services organizations.
The money, aimed for front-line service organizations for victims, is meant for specialized services to support those caught in the cruel web of human trafficking.
In making the announcement Monday, Premier Doug Ford pointed to examples of human trafficking, including a labour human-trafficking ring operating out of Barrie in 2019 using immigrant workers. Four people were arrested and are scheduled for a court appearance in October.
"Through our government's anti-human-trafficking strategy, we are helping young women and children escape a living nightmare and rebuild their lives," Ford said during the phone-in news conference. "We will continue to work with police to give them the tools and resources they need to go after the thugs responsible for this disgusting crime and put them behind bars where they belong.”
The additional money is meant to support a program that covers essential expenses for victims; enhanced front-line services through Victim Crisis Assistance Ontario to help people transition out of human trafficking; and money to to cover key court-related expenses.
In making the announcement, Ford — along with Attorney General Doug Downey, who is also the MPP for Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte; Solicitor General Sylvia Jones; and Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop, associate minister of Children and Women's Issues — said it is part of the government's five-year, $307-million anti-human-trafficking strategy released in March. Its goal is to raise awareness about human trafficking, protect victims and intervene early, support survivors, and hold offenders accountable.
“I am hopeful that this new funding will provide expanded services to victims in our community,” MacLennan said from the Barrie shelter. “I am also going to remain hopeful that funding to the violence against women sector will increase to meet the exhausted system needs that exist.”
Other organizations in the community that also work with people victimized by human-trafficking rings are also looking for support from the province. They say more needs to be done to address the issue and support those who are victimized.
In Barrie the women’s shelter — which is part of the National Human Trafficking Hotline and offers a crisis line for victims — along with other groups including the Gilbert Centre, Probation and Parole, Barrie Native Friendship Centre, Youth Haven, Family Connexions and Barrie city police launched Project SafeHorizon, a Barrie-based collaborative group of community agencies, dealing with the issue of human trafficking.
The group addresses all forms of human trafficking and identifies gaps in services.
“While there was a very public case of labour trafficking a couple of years ago in Barrie, the vast majority of human trafficking is the sexual exploitation of young girls and women,” MacLennan said. “As young as 11 years old, girls are being groomed to become victims of trafficking.”
The groups that formed Project SafeHorizon consider supporting victims of human trafficking as part of their mandate, but say there are challenges.
While the shelter has two beds designated for victims of human trafficking, MacLennan says they receive no specific funding and overcrowding means that every year 500 women are turned away.
