Notre Dame College continues its commitment to ending human and sex trafficking in Ohio through its annual educational awareness seminar, especially in light of a recent national report that lists Ohio fourth among states in forced labor and sex slavery, behind California, Texas and Florida.
The College in partnership with the Renee Jones Empowerment Center presents the 2019 Northeast Ohio Annual Human Trafficking Symposium Friday, August 9, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center on the Notre Dame campus in South Euclid, Ohio.
The conference is open to the public as well as offers pending continuing education credits for nurses, social workers and teachers.
The agenda includes overviews of law enforcement, health care and outreach efforts to combat human and sex trafficking in the Buckeye state and covers applicable laws and treatment options as well as reflections from actual survivors of forced labor and the sex trade.
Ohio Trafficking
According to this 2019 report from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Ohio reported 219 cases of human trafficking in 2018, more than twice its neighboring states of Virginia (98) and Kentucky (71) and nearly 25 percent more than Michigan (176) and Pennsylvania (127).
The Ohio Attorney General’s office counted 199 victims of human trafficking in 2018, with 187 of them women. A total of 126 were Caucasian, and 61 were aged 21 to 29 years old.
Ohio’s highway system, its corridors of Interstate 70 and Interstate 75, in particular, with their proximity to international borders and multiple transportation stops and myriad of hotels make it ideal for forced labor, human and sex trafficking. The FBI in the past has even named Toledo, Ohio, the fourth worst city in the country for such trafficking.
According to a medical report, Ohio victims often are recruited through the Internet and heroin and opioid use, violence and threats are often used to force women and children into prostitution.
Approximately 18 percent of Ohio’s victims said they became involved in the sex trade before age 18 and 10 percent said they became involved before age 12, according to the medical account. Those medical statistic from 2015 indicated nearly 3,000 native Ohio adolescents are at risk for sex trafficking and estimated another 1,078 have been trafficked into the sex trade over the course of a year.
Conference Agenda
The 2019 Northeast Ohio Human Trafficking Conference also features the Renee Jones Empowerment Center Youth Ambassador Training Academy, which prepares students ages 16 to 24 to affect local and global change to prevent human and sex trafficking by generating awareness at schools, conferences and community events.
Specific sessions include:
- Treatment: A Human Trafficking Case Review: Presentation to Disposition, and Beyond
Presenter: Angella McMahan B.S.N., RN, SANE-A, SANE-P, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital - Trauma Recovery
Presenter: Sue Marasco, Ph.D., Director of Education and Trauma Recovery Services, May Dugan Center - UNLEASHED Exhibit Experience
Renee Jones Empowerment Center Committee Survivor Talk Back Panel - Health Care: Medical Students Making an Impact in the Community in the Fight Against Human Trafficking
Presenter: Alexis Davis, M.D. Candidate, Class of 2020 Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine - Homeless and Missing Youth: The Risk They Face of Becoming Human Trafficking Victims
Presenter: Karen McHenry, LISW-S, LCDC-Bellefaire JCB; Homeless and Missing Youth, Program Director - Law Enforcement
Presenter: James Mackey; Sergeant, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department - Street Outreach Panel
Moderator: Anna Jones, LISW-S, Clinical Social Work/Therapist, Up The Steps
Registration
Seating for the conference is limited. Early registration is encouraged to guarantee entrance.
The cost of the symposium is $50, or $25 for students and seniors. A valid ID must be presented on the day of conference. Conference registration includes materials, continental breakfast and lunch.
Registration is available online at Eventbrite.com.
Continuing education credits are pending approval for nurses, social workers and teachers and will be issued by University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital.
For more information, email rjmotivation@yahoo.com or call 216.651.9601.
July 2019
About Notre Dame College
For almost a century, Notre Dame College has educated a diverse population in the liberal arts for personal, professional and global responsibility. Founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1922, the College has grown strategically to keep pace with the rapidly changing needs of students and the dramatic changes in higher education. But it has never lost sight of its emphasis on teaching students not only how to make a good living but also how to live a good life.
Today, the College offers bachelor’s degrees in 30 disciplines plus a variety of master’s degrees, certification programs and continuing and professional development programs for adult learners on campus and online. Notre Dame College offers NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletic programs for men and women and is located in a picturesque residential neighborhood just 25 minutes from the heart of Cleveland. Hallmarks of the Notre Dame experience include stimulating academics, personalized attention of dedicated faculty and staff, and small class sizes.
Notre Dame College is located at 4545 College Road in South Euclid. For further information contact Brian Johnston, chief communications officer, at 216.373.5252 or bjohnston@ndc.edu.