Co-operators donates $30,000 to fight human-trafficking in Bruce County

The Co-operators across Bruce County have donated $30,000 toward the fight against human-trafficking in the region.

Thursday afternoon, Jennifer Cook of The Co-operators in Kincardine and Stacey Catalano of The Co-operators in Port Elgin presented the funding to Danielle Bois, community relations and fund development co-ordinator at the Women's House Serving Bruce and Grey, on behalf of their colleagues, Dean Ribey of Walkerton, Jason Legge of Owen Sound and Derek Young of Wiarton. The funding comes from The Co-operators Advisor Community Fund.

Bois said the money will be used to sustain the youth sexual assault and human-trafficking program, to off-set costs not funded by the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services.

"This dedicated program delivers prevention, intervention, and support services to youth experiencing, or at risk of, sexual assault and human-trafficking, across Bruce and Grey counties," said Bois. "The program currently receives $52,000 in core funding from the ministry, which supports a small portion of staffing costs for a two-person service team. However, that amount does not cover the full cost associated with the service delivery, essential program components — staff salary for one position, training, travel, communication, and youth engagement materials remain unfunded.

"The funding from The Co-operators will help bridge this gap and ensure uninterrupted, trauma-informed support for vulnerable youth in our region."

The goal of the program, said Bois, is to enhance safety, awareness, and recovery supports for youth (ages 10–24) impacted by sexual exploitation or human-trafficking across rural and urban communities in Bruce-Grey.



Jennifer Cook (left) of The Co-operators in Kincardine and Stacey Catalano of The Co-operators in Port Elgin present a donation of $30,000 to Danielle Bois, community relations and fund development co-ordinator at the Women's House Serving Bruce and Grey; photo courtesy of Jennifer Cook

Program objectives:
 

• Increase youth access to trauma-informed crisis intervention and advocacy
• Strengthen multi-agency coordination and safety planning through the Sexual Assault Response Team and MARAM Community Risk Tables
• Provide targeted education and prevention programming in schools, shelters, and community settings
• Support youth, sexual assault and human-trafficking survivors through legal, medical, and recovery processes, reducing barriers to justice and healing

Youth sexual assault and human-trafficking counsellor - one primary role is funded through community sponsorship.

Key responsibilities:
 

• Provide one-on-one and group counselling for youth survivors of sexual assault and trafficking
• Deliver outreach and prevention workshops in schools and community agencies
• Co-ordinate multi-disciplinary response with police, child protection, and health professionals through Bruce-Grey’s community response tables
• Facilitate court preparation and accompaniment for youth navigating justice processes
• Funding also supports the purchase of emergency undergarments for survivors who must surrender their clothing for forensic evidence collection following a sexual assault; this ensures survivors maintain dignity and comfort immediately after completing a rape kit or medical examination
• Develop and distribute youth wellness and safety kits to reduce exploitation risk, and court support kits for survivors of trafficking to increase health and wellness when testifying and attending legal process
• Offer mobile crisis response and safety planning across both counties (including travel to rural and remote areas)

Target reach:
 

• Youth aged 12–24 across Bruce and Grey counties, with a focus on under-served rural communities
• Approximate annual caseload: 50–60 individual youth clients per staff, 25-plus support in shelter program, 10-plus in Women’s House long-term housing, plus 300-plus youth reached through prevention education sessions