ADVOCACY
Human Trafficking Awareness & Response Conference
Friday, October 24, 2025 - Held at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford,
Photo courtesy of Pitt-Bradford; from left, YWCA Victims’ Resource Center Program Director Shelley Alcorn, Bradford City Police Chief Mike Ward, McKean County District Attorney Stephanie Shaffer and keynote speaker Jen Spry.
The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford hosted a full-day Human Trafficking Awareness and Response Conference on Oct. 24, bringing together professionals, students and community members to learn how to recognize and respond to human trafficking.
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Around 100 nursing, criminal justice, and computer information systems and technology majors from Pitt-Bradford and Pitt-Titusville heard perspectives on building awareness and strengthening community-based responses to human trafficking from a state legislator, representatives from health care, law enforcement, higher education and victim advocacy organizations, and even a trafficking survivor.
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“To recognize the signs is to see the person in front of you,” said Jen Spry, who shared her own story of being trafficked as a child during a keynote speech. The registered nurse and forensic nurse examiner now trains advocates, medical professionals and law enforcement to intervene, build trust with victims and connect them to medical care and safety.
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Throughout the event, representatives from regional organizations, including the YWCA of Bradford, Bradford Regional Medical Center and Bradford City Police, Zonta Club of Bradford, and national partners such as ZOE International, Shared Hope International and Greenlight Operation, provided resource materials and support contacts for victims and advocates.
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