NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE
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The Nottawasaga Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) will be hosting a free, family-friendly Youth Symposium on Thursday, October 26, 2023.
The event will take place at Banting Memorial High School located at 203 Victoria Street East, in Alliston, New Tecumseth from 6-9pm. The event is targeted for those aged 13 and older, including family members, and is open to the public. Topics that will be discussed are social media/online safety and human trafficking.
There will be lots of our local community partners in attendance with lots of valuable information on services their agency provides, as well as guest speakers including:
- Kaitlin Bick, a Peer Support Worker at LOFT Community Services, who is a survivor of domestic sex trafficking. She is a former substance user who uses both her lived and professional experience to support and advocate for others. Kaitlin recently completed her Advanced Counselling certificate at George Brown College. For the past 4 years, Kaitlin has worked frontline with survivors of human trafficking and precariously housed individuals ensuring that all there basic needs are being met. She uses her enthusiasm, positivity and resilience to deliver a message of hope to other survivors and those who are struggling. Kaitlin facilitates workshops and trainings to service providers and is dedicated to bringing awareness to domestic human trafficking and ending homelessness.
- Michelle Furgiele, a Canadian survivor, Senior speaker and Consultant, Course Content Director with Timea's Cause Inc., She is also the Head of the National Survivor consulting team. She was trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation by Canadian sex traffickers. Michelle began her healing journey and was put in touch with a survivor lead-organization, Timea's Cause, formerly known as Walk With Me Canada. Through her work with the organization, Michelle has been presenting for high schools, elementary schools, Police Agencies, Service Providers, Financial Institutions, the Hotel and Hospitality industry, and more. Michelle has co-written several manuals on how to detect Human Trafficking and has assisted victims in crisis. Some of the agencies she has assisted are the Ontario Provincial Police, Waterloo Regional Police, Lindsay Police, American Express, Deliver Fund United States, and Houston Police Department just to name a few. Michelle was also the co-founder of Timea's Market, a social enterprise that employed and supported victims of sex trafficking in Canada.
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