Schaumburg library to present seminar on human trafficking

Shelter Inc. and The Salvation Army will host a three-hour seminar titled “Human Trafficking and Children from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 22, at the Schaumburg Township District Library in the Rasmussen South meeting room, 130 S. Roselle Road, Schaumburg.

The topic will be presented by Dr. Michael Smith. Admission is free and three continuing education credits will be given to licensed social workers in attendance.

Seminar attendees will be educated on the local and global dimensions of human trafficking; how children are recruited, controlled and trapped; as well as how to identify, report and communicate with trafficking victims and exploited youth.

Smith has been actively engaged in combating human trafficking since joining the Salvation Army five years ago. His clinical background is in working with sexual trauma victims and sexual offending. In Portland, Ore., he led a community-based research effort to address domestic sex trafficking. His recent research has focused on trauma-informed services to trafficking survivors.

Created in 2006, STOP-IT is a Salvation Army program that has built collaborative relationships with government and nongovernment service providers, trained hundreds of persons and provided countless hours of outreach in an effort to identify, safely rescue and restore victims of human trafficking.

Shelter Inc. is a nonprofit child welfare agency that protects abused and neglected children and adolescents by providing foster care, emergency and longer-term group home services in a safe and caring environment.

Increased public awareness concerning child abuse, neglect and other social problems directly impacting children and their families is accomplished through a Community Education Program.

For details, visit shelter-inc.org or call (847) 590-6190, ext. 37.