County receives funding to prevent human trafficking
These are items found in one of the bags available for areas that deal with children and human trafficking cases, Safe Harbour representatives said approximately 100 were created and any entity interested in receiving one may reach out to Kathy Clemens at (607) 337-1656 for more information. (Photo by Zachary Meseck)
CHENANGO COUNTY – Representatives of the Chenango County Youth Bureau have announced that the county has received $23,000 for the year of 2021 in Safe Harbour grant funding which is to be primarily spent on supporting at risk youth vulnerable to human trafficking.
Chenango County Youth Bureau Director Kathy Clemens said Safe Harbour is a New York State program that attempts to assist existing child welfare and allied youth-serving systems, including runaway-homeless youth programs, probation, persons In need of supervision, youth bureaus, and other critical partners.
According to New York State Police Troop C Public Information Officer Aga Dembinska, the most common type of human trafficking that is reported in Troop C involves teenagers running away from home and visiting someone they met online.
Dembinska said from there the victim can be held against their will or find it difficult to get back home.
She added that human trafficking cases are rare for Chenango County.
Clemens said by promoting proper training and partnerships with professionals they can prevent cases from occurring.
“This approach leverages existing system strengths to create a more effective and efficient response to youth who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation or trafficking, or who are vulnerable to it,” said Clemens. “Safe Harbour is funded for five years, and after that the funding goes away so we’re trying to make the most of this while we can.”
“Right now we’re distributing bags to critical areas that would see victims of human trafficking, including schools, the sheriff’s office, and to the state police.”
She said they have created approximately 100 bags, and each bag comes with a variety of items to help victims cope including notebooks, coloring supplies, and hygiene products.
Clemens said she hopes to use the Safe Harbour funds to promote training that will help keep at risk populations safe and guide professionals to be able to handle instances of human trafficking effectively when they encounter it.
“A lot of those people haven’t had the training, especially if they haven’t graduated from school lately,” said Clemens. “We’re working with the Chenango County Child Advocacy Center and Liberty Resources to identify their needs and do what we can.”
Chenango County Youth Bureau Director Kathy Clemens said Safe Harbour is a New York State program that attempts to assist existing child welfare and allied youth-serving systems, including runaway-homeless youth programs, probation, persons In need of supervision, youth bureaus, and other critical partners.
According to New York State Police Troop C Public Information Officer Aga Dembinska, the most common type of human trafficking that is reported in Troop C involves teenagers running away from home and visiting someone they met online.
Dembinska said from there the victim can be held against their will or find it difficult to get back home.
She added that human trafficking cases are rare for Chenango County.
Clemens said by promoting proper training and partnerships with professionals they can prevent cases from occurring.
“This approach leverages existing system strengths to create a more effective and efficient response to youth who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation or trafficking, or who are vulnerable to it,” said Clemens. “Safe Harbour is funded for five years, and after that the funding goes away so we’re trying to make the most of this while we can.”
“Right now we’re distributing bags to critical areas that would see victims of human trafficking, including schools, the sheriff’s office, and to the state police.”
She said they have created approximately 100 bags, and each bag comes with a variety of items to help victims cope including notebooks, coloring supplies, and hygiene products.
Clemens said she hopes to use the Safe Harbour funds to promote training that will help keep at risk populations safe and guide professionals to be able to handle instances of human trafficking effectively when they encounter it.
“A lot of those people haven’t had the training, especially if they haven’t graduated from school lately,” said Clemens. “We’re working with the Chenango County Child Advocacy Center and Liberty Resources to identify their needs and do what we can.”
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