Peel CAS Enters the Fight to Stop Human Sex Trafficking with nCourage
MISSISSAUGA, ON (February 9, 2026) – Peel Children’s Aid Society (Peel CAS), alongside its community partners across Peel Region, remain united in a shared commitment to end human sex trafficking and support victims and survivors. As part of this commitment, Peel CAS is strengthening its role by providing operational and administrative leadership of nCourage, Peel’s Anti-Human Sex Trafficking Integrated Service Hub, with an official launch event on February 18.
This work aligns with Ontario’s renewed Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy 2025–2030, a province-wide framework backed by more than $345 million in investment that prioritizes raising awareness, early intervention, survivor support, and accountability. The strategy places new emphasis on protecting children and youth at risk and strengthening coordinated responses across sectors.
“Keeping families together has always been at the heart of our work as we continue to strengthen our services to better meet their needs,” said Mary Beth Moellenkamp, CEO, Peel CAS. “Children and youth involved in the child welfare system face heightened vulnerabilities to sex trafficking, and this evolution of service delivery will help ensure pathways to safety and healing.”
Key elements of the newly integrated anti-human sex trafficking hub include:
Youth-Focused Mandate: Primary focus on early intervention and protection for youth ages 12–24
Continued Adult Support: Adults 18+ continue to receive services through referrals with community partners
Integrated Pathway: Sustaining a collaborative model linking child welfare, housing, health, justice, and community supports to ensure survivors have the tools they need to build bright futures
Ongoing Partnerships: Our Place Peel and EFry Hope and Help for Women remain vital partners in supporting clients and coordinating services
“The hub’s main goal has always been to ensure seamless access to supports without clients having to retell the trauma of their experiences to multiple service providers,” said Christy Upshall, CEO, Our Place Peel. “With the integration of child welfare, nCourage’s work can now further provide protection and coordinated care for youth at risk of sex trafficking.”
nCourage will now operate from a dedicated space within The Circle: Peel Centre for Child, Youth and Family Well-Being at 25 Capston Drive, Mississauga. This co-located environment brings partners and services together under one roof, increasing accessibility and strengthening collaboration so youth impacted by sex trafficking can access comprehensive supports in a coordinated, welcoming setting. Together, Peel CAS and its partners continue to advance a safer, more responsive system of care, one that meets youth where they are and supports their path toward healing and hope.
“Integrated, survivor-centred services are essential to helping people safely exit sex trafficking,” said Deborah Riddle, Executive Director, EFry Hope and Help for Women. “When housing, health, justice, and community supports work together through a coordinated model like nCourage, survivors experience greater safety, continuity of care, and real pathways to healing and independence.”
Help is available. If you are a victim or survivor of human sex trafficking or forced labour, or you know someone who is, contact the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline canadianhumantraffickinghotline.ca or at 1-833-900-1010.
If you are concerned about the well-being of a child or youth please call your local children’s aid society. Service is available 24/7 and all calls are confidential.
To learn more, please visit peelcas.org/HumanTrafficking
Quick Facts
70% of human trafficking victims identified by police are under the age of 25
The average age of recruitment into sex trafficking in Canada is just 13 years old
63% of victims trafficked in Ontario are Canadian citizens
The rate of trafficking in persons in Peel Region increased 60% from 1.39 in 2023 to 2.23 per 100,000 population in 2024, higher than the Ontario rate of 1.99 and Toronto rate of 1.80
In 2024-25 Peel CAS received 12,650 referrals
In 2024-25, Peel CAS identified 166 cases where a child or youth is suspected of being involved in trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation
62% of Canadian human trafficking cases originate in the GTA
12 to 24 years old is the average age of victims
Media Contacts
Shane Vieira
Director, Communications
Peel Children’s Aid Society
905-301-3651
Mallory Antonello
Communications Consultant
Peel Children’s Aid Society
905-302-3481
