POSSE Project helps young people in crisis
It doesn’t happen here.
This is a typical reaction to stories about human trafficking and sexual exploitation. It’s a horrible thing, but it’s something that happens somewhere else, to somebody else – not here.
But that’s not reality, and we distance ourselves physically and emotionally from the dark reality.
“Nova Scotia actually has the highest rate in Canada, per capita, of recruitment of young women and girls,” says Kimm Kent, founder of the POSSE Project.
“Many of them come from rural communities, and it’s often due to poverty and lack of opportunity. It also happens to young men and boys.”
Kent has seen the bruises on people who have escaped human trafficking. Connecting those people with the support they need to help rebuild their lives is one of the many missions of the POSSE (Peer Outreach Support Services & Education) Project.
Now a West Hants resident, Kent created the POSSE Project while doing street level outreach in southern Ontario. The Nova Scotia edition was launched in Windsor on Jan. 6, 2019, built around peer education –young people providing assistance, support and education to other young people in areas including violence, sexualized violence, mental health, homelessness and substance dependency.
“Every community has an underbelly,” Kent says. “I saw there was a need for harm reduction education and information, with a peer-based model.”
People who have experienced violence and sexualized violence often turn to substances to escape the pain. The POSSE Project takes a harm reduction approach to drug use. Approaching people in a non-judgmental way allows for open and honest conversation, explains Amanda Dodsworth, POSSE Project assistant and facilitator.
“As soon as they realize we’re not judging them it opens the door to dealing with other issues: Are you eating? Do you have a safe place to stay?” Dodsworth says. They can begin to build relationships with people who might otherwise rebuff assistance because of stigma and criminalization.
“Once they realize we have no agenda, other than ‘We care about your well-being’ we can help connect them to support,” Dodsworth says.
The POSSE Project has weekly workshops on topics including human rights, harm reduction, understanding trauma, social justice, treaty rights, self-care, mental health and addictions, and how to respond to disclosure of sexualized violence. Young people can obtain certificate training in mental health first aid, applied suicide intervention, first aid, healthy relationships, walking the Prevention Circle and Kairos blanket exercise.
“We train people how to be effective peer support workers,” Kent says. “And in the summer we do street-level outreach – backpacks on our backs, approaching young people wherever they may be. We’re there supervising, and we have a safety protocol in place.”
Kent and Dodsworth say it’s very gratifying to see young people come through the POSSE Project and then get their first jobs, further their education, or write grant proposals for their own projects.
Since its inception, the POSSE Project has made more than 3,000 youth contacts, including both drop-ins and outreach. Between March and November more than 2,270 meals as well as 3,072 snacks and $13,050 in gift cards were distributed.
Although it has had a parttime position for the last five months, the POSSE Project remains a two-person operation, with short term student placement support.
“As we’ve become known, and people have come to trust us, the need for our support has grown,” Kent says. “And so, it becomes challenging to do all of the things that need doing.”
The outreach number for the POSSE Project is 902799-0752. On Facebook it’s under the POSSE Project and on Instagram: posse_ns.