Whenever an organization invested in humanitarian work needs more space in which to expand, it’s a good problem to have. That’s the case with the Joy Smith Foundation (JSF), and it’s bringing the foundation to Niverville.

Currently located in downtown Winnipeg, the JSF works to expose human trafficking and provide aid for victims to escape, heal, and reintegrate into society.

Many of these victims are still children, 13 years of age or younger, having been pulled into sex trafficking via deceptive internet relationships.

The problem isn’t just happening in someone’s else’s neighbourhood. According to the foundation, children from every neighbourhood in every community throughout the southeast are being lured every single day.

“We believe very strongly that it takes a nation to stop human trafficking, and everybody has to be involved because it touches so many people,” says Joy Smith.

The relocation of the JSF to Niverville is strategic. There’s room in this part of the region, she says, for expansion well beyond their current office space.

Additionally, in the very near future, JSF anticipates putting shovels in the ground for a much bigger project, producing a first-of-its-kind facility in Canada, and possibly the world.

“We’re moving our whole organization out there in the anticipation of the construction of our first National Human Trafficking Education Centre,” says Smith.

According to Smith’s daughter and foundation CEO, Janet Campbell, the facility will act as both a centre for education and training as well as a safe space for survivors to heal and reintegrate.

But the organization is taking it one step at a time. In February 2026, the JSF headquarters plans to make its move to the second storey of a newly built commercial space on Main Street.

Why Niverville?

“When you have survivors of human trafficking, you need to have a community that wants to help,” Smith says. “And we want [the survivors] to be able to integrate back into the community.”

Smith, a woman of faith, says she prayed for guidance in deciding where the headquarters should relocate. The fact that they were led to Niverville should serve as a big compliment to the community, she adds.

Both Smith and Campbell will have offices at the new location, along with about eight other staffers. Smith hopes to provide an atmosphere where locals can drop by, say hi, and ask questions about the organization.

One JSF staff member, Marilyn Chapman, already resides in Niverville. Others, like Joy, will have to commute. But an eventual move to Niverville isn’t off the table for Smith and her husband.

A Pandemic of Human Trafficking

At present, JSF is the only independent national organization solely dedicated to ending human trafficking. Since its inception in 2011, they’ve helped more than 7,000 victims regain their freedom and take back their lives.

Sex trafficking isn’t easily infiltrated. Predators prey on children through social media and gaming platforms, posing as people of a similar age. School friends and acquaintances are sometimes paid by predators to collect and provide contact information for vulnerable kids, mostly girls.

It starts off innocent enough, but eventually these adult predators manage to collect enough information, including indiscreet photos shared under pressure, to turn to manipulation and threats.

Finally, victims are lured away from home to provide sexual services to strangers. The business can net a predator $280,000 a year from one victim alone.

“Many people won’t talk about it,” Smith says of families who’ve been affected. “They can’t speak about what’s happened to them. [We remind them that] they are not defined by the criminals that do bad things to them. People can restore their lives, and this is what we want for them.”

While education and prevention are among JSF’s major mandates, equally imperative is the effort to provide restorative help.

But there’s another aspect to human trafficking: forced labour. JSF has recently taken on this cause as well. The organization has funded billboards across the nation to expose the issue and reach victims.

Forced labour is a rapidly growing problem in Canada. Very often, but not always, the victims are recent immigrants. Experienced predators will lure them in with scintillating job opportunities and hard-to-refuse perks, only to put them to work without pay and only the barest essentials to survive.

Without money, they are stuck working at the employer’s mercy.

Recruiters of this kind often seek nannies, live-in caregivers, agricultural or construction workers, and truckers.

“My own parents were immigrants,” says Smith. “So when people come to our country, they need to be welcomed and supported. We’re the true north, strong and free. At least, that’s what we’re supposed to be.”

Serendipitous Occurrence

Once a schoolteacher, Smith turned to the political arena when she decided to work towards the creation of new Canadian laws to protect children from sexual predators.

She was first elected to Manitoba’s Legislative Assembly and eventually moved to the House of Commons in Ottawa. It took years of dedicated work in both arenas to gain traction and be taken seriously. Eventually, these efforts resulted in the passage of two federal bills.

Even so, the task remains daunting considering the magnitude of the crime. But ongoing miracles, Smith says, keep pushing her forward.

A serendipitous occurrence was when her daughter decided to quit her job and take the helm at JSF.

“I’m 78 and I was really worried about having to shut down the foundation,” Smith admits. “Janet, who was senior vice president of a huge company, taking care of all of Canada and the U.S., came to me and said, ‘Mom, I’m tired of making rich men and women richer. I want to do something meaningful with my life.’”

This was the impetus by which the foundation spread across the country. Since that time, the organization has built important relationships with Canadian law enforcement and border control officers, all working towards a common goal.

Now, she says, volunteers are needed.

“We’re spread so thin. We need more and more people with the growing crime rates in our country.”