Indigenous-led summer camp to help students prepare for high school | London Free Press
The Weaving Our Path summer camp, a partnership of the Thames Valley board and Atlohsa Family Healing Services, will educate youth about sex trafficking prevention and give them an opportunity to explore their cultural identity.
“The point of the camp is the foundation of healthy relationships,” said Dionovan Grosbeck, anti-human trafficking male lead with Althosa's Okaadenige program.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, sex trafficking incidents increased significantly, especially along the Highway 401 corridor. Southwestern Ontario, along the superhighway between Toronto and the U.S. border, is considered a human-trafficking hotbed.
Ontario has the nation's highest rate of police-reported incidents, the Thames Valley board says.
Indigenous women and girls are especially vulnerable, making up 50 per cent of those trafficked despite being just four per cent of the population, Atlohsa says.
In Oneida, Okaadenige means one “who braids things,” and it reflects the camp's three-strand approach to combating human trafficking: prevention, education through awareness, and support services.
“A big part of this camp is weaving our paths, weaving everybody together to create healthy spaces, conversations, relationships and to create a healthy flow into high school,” said Elyssa Rose, Okaadenige's anti-human trafficking co-ordinator.
Spaces are still open for the camp that runs Aug. 8-12 and Aug. 15-19 and is open to all Thames Valley students entering Grade 9 in September.
“It is led by a team with Indigenous ancestry with a lot of community partners . . . with different backgrounds,” Grosbeck said.
Activities include medicine walks, preparing traditional meals, fishing demonstrations, story telling, Indigenous arts and crafts, traditional Indigenous games and school tours.
The camp is part of a detailed plan unveiled in April by the Thames Valley board to combat sex trafficking that includes mandatory staff training to help identify students being trafficked or engaged in trafficking.
“We're really focusing on prevention in developing healthy relationships, and we know kids in this age group have been really impacted by COVID,” said Kathryn Lambert, the board's student mental health manager.
“This has been a great opportunity for prevention work that aligns with . . . our anti-sex trafficking protocol outlined earlier this year,” she said. “We are empowering our youth by developing skills for healthy relationships to support social, emotional and spiritual development.”
The camp includes offering parents workshops on cyber security, cyber hygiene and supporting a child they suspect is being trafficked.
WEAVING OUR PATH
FOR MORE DETAILS
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 519-438-0068
TO REGISTER
Visit: weavingourpath.eventbrite.ca
NEED HELP?
If you or someone you know is at risk of or has experienced sex trafficking, please reach out to the Okaadenige program at [email protected]
This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original online location.
ABOUT PBJ LEARNING
PBJ Learning is a leading provider of online human trafficking training, focusing on awareness and prevention education. Their interactive Human Trafficking Essentials online course is used worldwide to educate professionals and individuals how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond to potential victims. Learn on any web browser (even your mobile phone) at any time.
More stories like this can be found in your PBJ Learning Knowledge Vault.
EYES ON TRAFFICKING
This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original online location.
ABOUT PBJ LEARNING
PBJ Learning is a leading provider of online human trafficking training, focusing on awareness and prevention education. Their interactive Human Trafficking Essentials online course is used worldwide to educate professionals and individuals how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond to potential victims. Learn on any web browser (even your mobile phone) at any time.
More stories like this can be found in your PBJ Learning Knowledge Vault.