Organization that helps human trafficking survivors gets $150K to offer services in English and French

An organization that helps survivors of human trafficking in northeastern Ontario has received $150,000 from the federal government to provide its services in both English and French.

With the new funding,Angels for Hope Against Human Trafficking will be able to provide free legal information workshops in both official languages for human trafficking survivors.

"Survivors aren't aware of their rights going through the legal justice system," said Cristina Scarpellini, the founder and executive director of Angels of Hope.

"We feel that when they have a better understanding of their rights and what the legal system is going to entail, they're more likely to go through with it."

The federal government offers the Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund to support official language minorities, such as francophones in northeastern Ontario.

"The support fund is designed to provide resources to facilitate access to justice in both official languages through various means, such as the creation of legal and linguistic tools, workshops and training to bilingual lawyers and stakeholders of the justice system, the development of related training material and the provision of public legal education and information," the Department of Justice says on its website.

By offering legal information in both languages, Scarpellini said her organization will be able to help people in some rural areas that are primarily francophone.

Angels for Hope connects survivors with counselling and education resources to help them navigate the court process.