71 youth at risk of exploitation stuck on StreetReach wait list

StreetReach said there are 71 kids in need of help, but it doesn't have the resources to help them.

Theyouth areat risk of sexual exploitation andare on thewaiting listfor help from the province.

• Behind the scenes:StreetReachsearches for missing kids in Winnipeg

There has been a 400 per cent increase in referrals toStreetReach, which identifies youth at high risk of being exploited, say briefing notes given to Family Services Minister Scott Fielding.

"We went from 23, anaverage of 23, to 96 referrals every year," said Jennifer Richardson, who is the manager of Tracia's Trust. "With that increase in referrals we haven't been able to provide service to all those kids."

She attributes the spike in requests for referrals to the fact that more front-line workers, like medical professionals, police and teachers, have been trained to spot the signs of exploitation.

StreetReach was created in 2009 as part of Tracia's Trust, which isManitoba's Sexual Exploitation Strategy.

StreetReachworkers identify andtrack down youth at risk of sexual exploitationand take them somewhere safe. They also help find teens who have been reported missing who are also at risk of sexual exploitation.

The agencyhas 11 people on staff;five government positions and six positions funded through agreements with local non-government organizations, saida provincial spokesperson.

However, the briefing note says the province is adding nine full-time positions to help keep up with the demand for help.

StreetReachis currently working with 40 kids andsee them on a daily basis. Half are receiving full services and the other half arein the assessment phase. The program has capped the number of kids on the assessment list at 20 because it doesn't have enoughstaff.

"Generally we tend to stay involved with kids for a bit of time. Once they are on our list, or have been identified as high risk, we have to have some indicators that got them on the list to be stabilized," said Richardson. "So if we're seeing really long periods of reports of missing [youth] to police, orseeing frequent reports of missing to police, we need to see that decrease before we become not involved."

Richardson saidthere is notimeline in place yet for hiring the ninenew staff members. Shesaidwhen the team of 20 is in place,they will work 16 hours a day, seven days a week to prevent children from being exploited.