A Neurology Nurse Practitioner By Day, An Advocate Against Human Trafficking After Hours (an article featuring Celia McIntosh, President of RRCAHT)

Neurology Today, October 8, 2020

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The Chains of Trafficking (an interview with Celia McIntosh, President of RRCAHT)

The Reporter (RIT) - June 25, 2020

 

​Creating awareness, quality design to promote crucial social causes​

RIT University News - August 18, 2017

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RIT’s School of Design is providing creative expertise to organizations to raise visibility and encourage calls to action for important causes.

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The Vignelli Center for Design Studies and RIT graphic design students and professors—led by R. Roger Remington, Anne Ghory-Goodman and Bruce Meader—developed a visual identity for the Rochester Regional Coalition Against Human Trafficking (RRCAHT) that extended into a campaign designed to raise awareness about human trafficking in the region.

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Rotarians Learn That Human Trafficking Hits Home​

Seneca Daily News - July 18, 2017

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Seneca Falls Rotarians got an education about human trafficking at their noon meeting. The presentation was made by representatives of the Rochester Coalition Against Human Trafficking (http://rrcaht.org)

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Sex trafficking victim shares her story

WHAM-13, Rochester - February 19, 2015

 

"There are not a lot of choices, there are not a lot of options and there is not a lot of awareness," Jacqueline [a trafficking survivor] said she tried to find help, she looked for support but she didn't know where to go.

 

Jacqueline said she was able to escape and the road to recovery is a very long journey but she is a survivor. "There is life after trauma, there is life, there is hope, there really is," Jacqueline said she found hope at Angels of Mercy.

 

The non-profit organization runs the Stop Sex Trafficking, End the Cycle program. Colligan said the group just started a fundraiser to buy a home that can be a shelter for victims.

 

"Where they can come, stay as long as they need to that they can receive freedom dignity and they restoration that they need," Colligan said there are few places in the country to offer a variety of services for victims who escape sex trafficking rings.

 

 

Got a problem? Not a problem

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - January 9, 2015

 

It takes people who see the problem and are committed to fixing it.

People such as Mary Jo Colligan, who several years back invited a few friends together to make pillow cases into girl-sized dresses. The dresses, she explained to me as she cleaned my teeth one morning (Mary Jo is a dental hygienist who would work an earlier shift to accommodate my schedule for cleanings — talk about a problem solver!), protected girls in third-world countries from sex trafficking because the new dresses made it appear as if they had families who cared for them, and therefore less attractive to would-be traffickers.

 

We wrote a story announcing the sewing session and inviting others to help. Mary Jo expected a few people to respond and she got dozens. They wanted to make 100 dresses and instead made more than 500. Today they are the state representative for the Dress a Girl Around the World program and have donated more than 100,000 dresses. Last year they launched their Stop the Trafficking — End the Cycle campaign, and they have created the Butterfly Boutique, which provides business clothing for women seeking employment.

 

 

Activists bring human trafficking campaign to Rochester
Democrat and Chronicle - July 30, 2014

 

The call to join the fight in ending global human trafficking came to Rochester on Tuesday, as one of seven stops of the “Breaking the Links Campaign,” which brings awareness to 21st century slavery.

 

The event, held at the Little Theatre, featured anti-trafficking expert Matt Friedman and his teenage sons, Brandon and Damien, who gave presentations about modern-day slavery, including a clip from the documentary Not My Life.

 

Sponsored by the Rochester Regional Coalition Against Human Trafficking, the event was aimed at teenagers and young adults, who Friedman said are more likely to participate in a cause they are passionate about.