Midland centre launches anti-human-trafficking program

The training and career opportunities funding is aimed at getting women into the workforce.

Midland’s Huronia Transition Homes gets $745K from the Women’s Economic Leadership and Legacy (WELL) Fund.

The WELL fund is dedicated to empowering women to gain economic security and financial independence.

“Investing in Women, is an investment in Ontario,” said the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity, Brampton Centre MPP Charmaine Williams at the announcement in Newmarket Tuesday.

For more than 40 years, Huronia Transition Homes has been a place of refuge, advocacy, and transformation for women and children experiencing violence.

Beginning as an emergency shelter in Midland, Huronia Transition Homes has significantly expanded their service and now provides service to women who have experienced violence, serving over 1,000 unique women annually, and nearly 200 children.

Since 2017, HTH has had a dedicated anti-human trafficking program, supporting women who have survived human trafficking.

Through the WELL Fund’s $745,000, HTH will expand these services by building a Pathways to Education and Employment Program in Midland.

The program will support survivors of human trafficking through specialized, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive education, skills development, and job training.

The Pathways to Education and Employment Program was created to consider the unique needs of survivors, with a holistic approach to recovery.

“We are incredibly excited and grateful for the government of Ontario’s investment through the WELL Fund to combat human trafficking,” says Haily MacDonald, executive director.

“Supporting survivors means more than safety, it means real economic opportunity. This funding allows us to expand trauma-informed supports and empower women to reclaim independence, feel empowered and build safer futures.”

The opportunities created through this fund will support the provincial work to end human trafficking. Women who have survived trafficking know it is not their fault, they are believed and we have specialized services dedicated to helping them reclaim their lives and rebuild their futures.

Huronia Transition Homes is committed to inclusive service delivery that respects the diverse needs of all survivors, including Francophone, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQQIA+, newcomers, individuals with disabilities, survivors in rural and remote communities, and children and youth.