Anti-human trafficking official says Windsor sees up to 200 cases a year. New tool could help victims
CBC
Bianca Colaluca hopes a new tool that connects victims of crime with community programs and resources via social media can support people being trafficked in the region.
The anti-human trafficking project coordinator for the Windsor-Essex Counter Exploitation Network (WECEN) says it's about getting people to a safe place as soon as possible.
"A lot of people actually think that human trafficking is such a large issue here because we are a border city, when in reality it's because we're on the 401 corridor," Colaluca said. "
"We see roughly between 150 and 200 cases a year, and that includes labour trafficking, marriage trafficking and sex trafficking."
WATCH | WPS CARES video about its victim/witness assistance program
The new tool is called WPS CARES, which stands for Windsor Police Service — Community Accessible Resource Education Support.
Organizer, and Windsor police staff sergeant, Patti Pastorius says it uses "informative" videos posted across social media platforms — YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The program is meant for vulnerable victims, she says, so people who are suffering from things such as intimate partner violence, human trafficking, child abuse and sexual assault.
"And each of those links can be shared through text message, email," Pastorius said.
"We can send victims information immediately."
According to Pastorius, the videos are a new take on pamphlets that are handed out when police first arrive at a scene — which are still being circulated.
"This day and age with technology, I tried to think of an innovative way that we could get that information out there."
There's a series of sticker collections and QR codes, directing people to the videos, that are also being handed out by officers on the road, says Pastorius.
"When people come in contact with calls for service or to victims, they can give that information out to the victims immediately.
CBC is once again looking to make the holiday season kind in Windsor-Essex.
Acute Care Alberta has extended its contract for another year with a private surgical facility at the centre of probes into health procurement and contracting.
As food bank use continues to climb across the province, front-line workers in Thunder Bay, Ont., are working to improve both food security and education.
More ads could soon be coming to Toronto’s subway system.
The driver wanted in connection with a fatal hit and run on Highway 401 earlier this week has been identified, police say.
There are mixed feelings about the proposed Grays Bay road and port project, among people who live in nearby communities.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse and includes graphic content.
Provincial police in Lambton County have charged a 23-year-old man with second degree murder following a death investigation that began this past Saturday.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is forming a working group to tackle what it calls systemic issues in the justice system, but answers or solutions could still be months away.
A woman has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death in a 2024 fatal hit and run in Truro, N.S., where the victim was dragged down the street, a case that went unsolved for more than six months.
A stream of people showing up to a brightly lit front porch, each holding up a bottle of wine, spirits, or beer.
Sona Lakhoyan Olivier has been excluded from Quebec’s Liberal caucus for the duration of an investigation led by the National Assembly’s ethics commissioner, the party announced Thursday.
The head of the William Whyte Neighbourhood Association hopes a city plan to crack down on vacant properties leads to a transformation in his community.