PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Several sheriff’s deputies from the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office joined other law enforcement professionals, domestic violence advocates, healthcare professionals and caseworkers on April 12 at the University of Maine at Presque Isle to address the response to human trafficking in Aroostook County.
According to Chief Deputy Shawn Gillen, the training was offered to law enforcement officers, prosecutors, healthcare providers, mental health professionals, advocacy services, substance abuse counselors, and the Department of Health and Human Services in the hope of providing a better understanding of what to look for in victims of human trafficking.
Course objectives included: to Initiate multi-disciplinary collaborative strategies in responding to trafficked victims/survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault; to define and clarify individual and organizational roles and responsibilities in responses, as well as Identify and respond to adult foreign-born trafficked victims/survivors; and enhance knowledge on the legal options, assistance and benefits that are available for trafficked victims/survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Gillen said the session offered instruction to apply victim-centered strategies to assist trafficked domestic violence and sexual assault victims/survivors, develop culturally competent and linguistically accessible approaches for effective case management to assist trafficked victims/survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, and create an action plan to develop and implement a collaborative response to addressing human trafficking in the community.
The training was sponsored by the The Aroostook County Domestic Violence Task Force. The task force is comprised of members of the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office, Hope and Justice Project, Presque Isle Police Department, AMHC Sexual Assault Advocates, MicMac Domestic and Sexual Violence Advocates, and Maliseet/Wabanaki Woman’s Coalition.
