A large crowd gathered at Trent Durham over the weekend to learn, support one another and take a visible stand against human trafficking in the community as they marched through downtown Oshawa as a part of the Stuck In Traffick walk. 

The walk, organized by Policing and Community Well-Being (PLCW) student Robyn Dombroski, and supervised by Dr. Amy Spendik, brought together supporters from Trent, around Durham Region, and from community organizations dedicated to fighting human trafficking. Over 100 participants were in attendance, and many were seen marching through Oshawa as they listened to a guided audio file that identified risk factors, techniques of human traffickers and ways to combat it. 

“After working with the Region of Durham and Durham Region Police in Dr. Spendik’s Problem Solving in Complex Communities course, we noticed not only the need for human trafficking interventions, but also the incredible partnerships across the region that are so eager to tackle the issue,” said Robyn. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the community partners, volunteers, and contributors that have worked so hard to help make this event a success.” 

Experiential learning is an important part of the program, and opportunities to work directly with policing agencies as well as community organizations help students find their best career fit to contribute to building resilient and healthy communities. Efforts against human trafficking are woven through projects throughout the four-year program. 

“The Policing and Community Well-Being program at Trent Durham has long been a strong advocate and supporter of anti-human trafficking, placing this critical issue at the core of curriculum and collaborations with our community partners,” said Dr. Scott Henderson, dean and head of Trent Durham. “The Stuck in Traffick walk and activities are a culmination of those consistent efforts from students and faculty, the sum of many outputs over the years of their undergraduate education of the first graduating cohort of the program.” 

Learn more about Policing and Community Well-Being at Trent Durham.