Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital (APD), a member of Dartmouth Health, is offering a free, one-day conference to educate healthcare providers, educators, social workers, and youth organizations about human trafficking in the state of New Hampshire.
“Helping Humans: Human Trafficking in New Hampshire” will be held on Saturday, March 30 from 9 am to 3 pm at Mascoma High School in Canaan, New Hampshire.
According to the New Hampshire Human Trafficking Collaborative Task Force, trafficking is the exploitation of a person through labor, services, or a commercial sex act by force, fraud, or coercion. New Hampshire was one of the first states to criminalize human trafficking activity and, in 2014, a comprehensive rewrite of the Human Trafficking statute (SB 317) strengthened the law to increase New Hampshire’s capacity to fight this crime.
"Increasing awareness will result in more positive identification of human trafficking," said Amanda Fay, MS, RN, Clinical Educator and Program Development Coordinator. "Participants will learn how to recognize the 'signs and symptoms' of human trafficking in a patient/student, the steps to take, the resources available, and what the person will need for the follow-up care."
The keynote speaker at the event is Jasmine Grace, founding director of Jasmine Grace Outreach, an organization that helps individuals break free from drug addiction, sexual exploitation, and a hopeless way of life.
Additional speakers include:
- Janet Carroll, RN, CEN, SANE-A, SANE-P, Nurse Manager of the Forensic Nursing Program at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
- Meg Chant, Program Director, New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, and Director, New Hampshire Human Trafficking Collaborative Task Force
- Meghan Jenks, Program Specialist, NH Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence
- Erin Laskowski, Human Trafficking Program Specialist, New Hampshire Health & Human Service's Department of Children, Youth, and Families
- Lieutenant Bureau Commander Richard Norris and Officer Dean Bullock, Lebanon Police Department and Internet Crimes against Children (ICAC) Task Force
- Charlie Pendlebury, Detective Sheriff, Merrimack County Sheriff's Office
- Kate Rohdenburg, Program Director of WISE, a Lebanon, NH-based organization leading the Upper Valley to end gender-based violence through survivor-centered advocacy, prevention, education and mobilization for social change
This conference is free with a donation of nonperishable food items, personal hygiene products, notes of encouragement, or socks to Bags of Hope or a small denomination gas or grocery gift card to WISE.
About Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital (APD)
Known for highly personalized and high-quality care, APD is the community hospital of the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire. Founded in 1932 and a member of Dartmouth Health since 2016, APD’s areas of clinical excellence include surgical services, primary care, geriatric care, sleep health, orthopaedics, and emergency services. The APD campus is also home to a senior living community with assisted and independent living facilities. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.