About REACH
In 2008, a small group of concerned agencies and individuals began meeting to address anti-human trafficking concerns in Lucas County, Ohio. From this, three University of Toledo professors applied and received a Department of Justice (DOJ) grant to solidify the group, creating the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition (LCHTC) formerly in January 2009. While starting with a single Ohio county focus, the organization now serves Lucas, Wood, Ottawa, Sandusky, and Seneca counties. In 2023, to better represent the areas of service across Northern Ohio, the LCHTC formally changed its name to Northern Ohio Regional Efforts Aimed to Combat Human Trafficking (REACH). REACH is one of the longest-running anti-human trafficking coalitions in Ohio, second only to Columbus.
Membership is open to those sectors of the community who are committed to supporting REACH by making a positive difference in the lives of trafficked victims, ensuring accountability for customers, traffickers, and the supporters of traffickers, while building a safer community for the region’s residents.
It is not possible for any single agency or organization to comprehensively respond to the problem of human trafficking. The framework of this problem encompasses diverse and extreme victimization; therefore, REACH strives to develop and maintain protocols and procedures that bring together coordinated victim assistance responses through multidisciplinary and collaborative problem-solving efforts. To do so, REACH functions as a group comprised of health care, social service, law enforcement, governmental and nongovernmental non-profits, human trafficking survivors and thrivers, businesses, faith-based, and community individuals who are:
- united in and committed to the sharing of information
- connecting people for the purpose of preventing duplication of services
- building a network of care for local victims of human trafficking
REACH provides awareness and prevention education to thousands of people every year, and networks the region’s service providers and concerned citizens to better support and aid human trafficking victims, survivors, and thrivers. Other achievements include the implementation of standard victim identification and protocols in numerous community agencies (starting with the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department); the creation and implementation of multiple Public Service Announcements every year; creation and implementation of screening tools for service providers (as originally launched by United Way 2-1-1); championing the passing of Ohio’s Safe Harbor Law; providing presence and awareness yearly at Toledo PRIDE; foundational partner and supporter of the Annual International Human Trafficking & Social Justice Conference; and much, much more.
Our Mission
To unite the community to combat human trafficking.
Our Vision
A community without human trafficking.
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee (EC) is responsible for governance of REACH. All other committees report to the Executive Committee. For more information on committee structures, roles, and responsibilities, see the Committees page.
