Anti-Human Trafficking Conference – Merrill Foto News

TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR

The Holy Cross Sisters will be holding an Anti-Human Trafficking Conference on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. at the Northwoods Veterans Post/Pub 1638/VFW Hall, 601 Johnson St. in Merrill. Designed to “Shine a Light” on Human Trafficking, the Sisters urge residents to “come and learn the signs so together we can end Human Trafficking in our city.”

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. to allow visitors to check out the resource tables and other materials.

Speakers will begin at 6:15 p.m. with introductions, the lighting of a candle, and a brief prayer. Speakers include Sister Celine Goessl, who has spent years working with survivors of human trafficking and advocating for awareness to help end human trafficking; as well as Lisa McCormick, Bob Kulp, and Butch Fitzpatrick, who will each share about their experiential and research backgrounds as they relate to human trafficking.

Representatives from Shared Hope International, HAVEN, and the Women's Community in Wausau will be present. And Laura Kulp will be selling articles made by human trafficking survivors.

If you have ever wanted to know what human trafficking is, how prevalent it is in Wisconsin and our area, warning signs to look for, or if you have other questions about this topic, this event is the place to be.

For those unable to attend or interested in arranging a future presentation on this topic for their organization, on a smaller scale, contact Sister Celine to make arrangements. There is no charge for presentations. Sister Celine can be reached by phone at 715.457.5649 or by email at: [email protected]

Sister Celine describes human trafficking, specifically human sex and labor trafficking, as “the greatest and worst crime in the world today, fanned by the pandemic and now surpassing even drugs and the misuse of guns.”

There will be a question and answer period at the end of the presentations.