Survivor provides training | News, Sports, Jobs – The Vindicator

NILES — Community health workers attended a survivor-led Human Trafficking Awareness Training on Friday hosted by a division of Mahoning County Public Health called The Mahoning Valley Pathways HUB inside Rust City Church in Niles.

Teresa Merriweather, 41, of Lorain County, a survivor of human trafficking, walked the crowd through a comprehensive view into the world of trafficking drawing from personal experiences, video demonstrations and audience participation to show audience members who is affected, how and the methodology used by traffickers.

“Human trafficking involves the recruitment, harboring or just treatment of individuals into a situation of exploitation through the use of force, fraud, manipulation, and or just coercion that force them to commit acts against their will,” Merriweather said.

At 31, Merriweather described being in a vulnerable state, which led her to seeking refuge in the church where she met her eventual trafficker, a pastor at that same church that held her for eight months.

Merriweather taught the “three T's” she said are used when thinking of survivors of human trafficking.

“The first is the trial, what I went through. The second T is a trauma, the effects of being trapped. And the third T is the triumph of overcoming the the trafficking ordeal,” Merriweather said.

Throughout the three-hour training, Merriweather played videos that described scenarios of trafficking.

One video depicts a woman played by Merriweather as the trafficker profiling a real estate agent to gauge the potential of the home being sold to be used as a home to traffic victims.

Merriweather showed the audience another video that places a young female trafficking victim inside a beauty salon alongside her trafficker — this portion of the training also showed how traffickers begin changing a victim's appearance over time.

Throughout the video, key warnings are noted about the victim's body language, the behavior of the trafficker and the trafficker's branding on the wrist of the some victims are given. These signs, Merriweather said, are being taught to cosmetologists and barbers through continuing education programs, cosmetology or barber school to better help them notice a victim in distress.

“This is real. This is our lives. We all have different lived experiences of survivors,” Merriweather said. ” I know the humiliation, asking how I let this happen. The shame and guilt feeling like it was my fault.”

A common theme throughout the training detailed how trafficking is not just limited to children, but could be anyone from any age group or background.

TRAFFICKING IN OHIO

According to statistics from World Population Review of Ohio, the state ranked fifth in 2022 for human trafficking showing rates of 3.84 victims per 100,000 ratio.

Proximity to the interstate highway system is one reason Merriweather cited for this, allowing for easier transit of victims.

Merriweather described Ohio as a source state for trafficking, used in the recruitment and transitioning of victims in and out of Ohio to their final destination.

Human Trafficking globally is a multi-billion dollar criminal industry with an estimated 20 to 40 million people forced into a modern day system of slavery.

Cathy Hergenrother, director of the MVPHUB, said the organization connects with care coordination agencies that hire community health workers to help undeserved populations.

The Chip Plan, a three-year community health improvement plan, will pair them with individuals that have been trafficked or have substance issues to help provide resources and rehabilitation.

“We would connect them to housing, food, somewhere to get clothing or for their medical needs,” Hergenrother said. “A lot of these trafficked individuals have sexually transmitted diseases or various injuries that need treated as well.”

Merriweather said plastic surgeons are donating free services to cover up scars along with tattoo artists donating their services to cover up brands on victims.

Down the line, Merriweather said the Ohio Attorney General's Human Trafficking Commissions Legal and Legislative subcommittee, which she is a part of, is working towards upgrading human trafficking courses from an elective to a mandatory requirement for community health workers, registered nurses, licensed practical nurse and other professions by 2026.

Merriweather said State Rep. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, has been present at trainings and assured her that he would be ready to assist her in her contiuned training across the Mahoning Valley area.

Earlier this week, Merriweather and her team were honored at the goundbreaking ceremony for Safe Harbor Ohio, which will be the largest human trafficking recovery campus for child trafficking victims in the northeast portion of the United States. The campus will host girls from ages 14-19 years-old for long-term recovery.

“This training is giving them three hours of continuing education credit that is certified through and recognized by the Ohio State Board of Nursing,” Hergenrother said.

Merriweather has become a prominent figure in the fight against human trafficking, not just stateside, but around the world. She is a consultant on a Global Project based out of the U.K. and the U.S. that helps raise awareness and build survivor alliances.

In September, Merriweather will be given an Honorary Doctorate Degree from a Liberian college for her work in Monrovia, Liberia helping rescue trafficking victims.

Merriweather noted that Africa has been the “motherland” of modern-day enslavement with the highest rate worldwide.

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