‘It starts with us’: Human Trafficking Resource Fair Highlights Survivors’ Voices and Expertise

Resource Connect, a REACH-led collaborative partnership,  hosted its first mini resource fair, Resource Connect: Taking Action Against Human Trafficking on October 8. The event brought together organizations working with survivors and law enforcement around human trafficking. The event hosted 15 exhibitors and a total of 170 attendees. 

“You need everyone at the table and sometimes we might feel it isn’t prevalent because it’s hidden,” said Mayor Amarjeet Sohi. “Events like this allow us to have that conversation. What gives us hope is there are people working on this: sharing knowledge and information and working together.”

Resource Connect is a bi-annual event that brings together a community of over 70 agencies and service providers from across Edmonton. Resource Connect: Taking Action Against Human Trafficking was organized to bring the group together for a smaller, more focused event before the next large resource fair in 2026. This event was co-hosted by REACH and CEASE to continue to build on the momentum and relationships resulting from the larger event, which is held every other year.

“The people in this room are taking action every day to  fight human trafficking in our community,” said MLA Brandon Lunty. “We want to work as a partner to end human trafficking for good.”

The event’s main focus was a resource fair that not only connected people serving victims and survivors to supports and services, but brought together a wide variety of stakeholders working on this problem who might not normally meet each other.

One of the keynote speakers at the event, Andrea Heinz is an author, survivor and peer-reviewed scholar who presented her academic work on when to offer exit support to people in the commercial sex industry.

“I am so encouraged to be here today and see so many people who are doing such important work,” said Heinz. “It’s very rare that we connect because we are all so busy, trying to fight the good fight. So when we can come together and have an event like this that REACH and CEASE have put together, it is just so valuable for us to connect and hear what other people are doing.” 

The value of the event as a space to connect and widen professional networks was apparent to Heinz and many other attendees.

“Face-to-face interaction is really unparalleled. It’s one thing to know who people are but it’s another to get to really connect,” said Heinz. “Resource Connect is just such a beautiful name because it really embodies the spirit of us coming together collectively as a team. I really feel like my own personal network is expanding, and some of the resources here I didn’t even know existed and I’ve been doing this work for 13 years. When we come together we do better.”

The event closed out with keynote speaker Angela Morris sharing her expertise and highlighting the essential nature of survivor-led approaches. 

“Survivors create the room. Everything that’s being done is based on our trauma, what we’ve been through. So, it’s definitely important that things are survivor-led and and survivor-focused,” said Morris. “It’s a must that leaders take the time to educate themselves, and sit with us and hear us. Because that’s where the healing starts - that's where the true impact comes from. It starts with us. We are not just a checkbox but experts, and we are worth investing in.”