YMCA honours local peacemakers

A Sudbury woman and a local high school will be recognized on Thursday with YMCA Peace Medals.

"The recipients of the YMCA Peace Medal are a tremendous inspiration and they demonstrate how we can improve the quality of life in our local, national or global community," Jacqueline Grube, vice president of children's services at the YMCA said.

"They exemplify the values of the YMCA Peace Week and the positive impact any one of us can make."

One recipient is Cristina Scarpellini. She is the head of Angels of Hope Against Human Trafficking. The charity helps people who have been victims of the forced sex trade.

Scarpellini gets phone calls almost daily for help.

"Sudbury is now considered a hub for human trafficking, and Ontario alone makes up 69 per cent of police-reported cases in Canada," she said.

She says she works to support victims and their families.

Recently, she received a call from a girl who managed to escape a human trafficking situation. The girl had been living with two other women outside of Sudbury, when their trafficker started beating up one of them. One of the women said she was going to phone 911 which prompted the trafficker to leave. The girls took a bus to Sudbury and phoned Scarpellini.

Human trafficking in Sudbury

"I met with them right away. We got them some food, got them some clothes [and] connected them with outside resources."

Scarpellini keeps in touch with one of those women, who is doing well.

"She's doing great. She got her child back. She went into treatment. She's now a PSW and we still keep in contact to this day," Scarpellini said.

But not all cases she deals with have happy endings.

"There has been cases out of town that I've helped out with that have resulted in death."

"Just recently there was a death by homicide of a young girl. I didn't know her personally but I offered support to her family that knew that she was being trafficked [and] sexually exploited."

Scarpellini is looking for donors to make the documentary, called The Reality of Human Trafficking in Sudbury. It will feature stories of women in Sudbury who have been sexually exploited.

Students helping the food bank

Students from St. Charles College in Sudbury will also be honoured with a YMCA Peace Medal.

The school's food drive is being recognized for "coordinating a generous donation of two school buses filled with food for the Sudbury Food Bank," Grube said.

"Their generosity has inspired local action across Sudbury to support those who do not have access to food," Grube added.

"This group has demonstrated selfless acts of kindness to help feed the community, give back, encourage and empower our youth to make a difference in the world."