CPN HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND ABUSE
ROUNDTABLE MEETING
JANUARY 16, 2020
On January 16th, 2020, the Human Trafficking and Abuse Roundtable met at the Department of Administration in Raleigh, NC. Organizations in attendance included:
NC DOA, Council of Women and Youth Involvement, Human Trafficking
Shield NC
Durham Crisis and Response Center
The Women’s Center
UNC’s School of Social Work, Project No Rest
Salvation Army’s, Project Fight
S.A.F.E of Rocky Mount
We Stand Guard
NC Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NC CASA)
Transformation Exchange, LLC
FBI
Johnston County Public Schools
After a brief history of the CPN events leading up to the Roundtable initiation, Frances Bisby provided an overview of the Community Partner Network, its growth in 2019, and how it can support organizations and initiatives currently responding to human trafficking in the Triangle Region: connecting to network resources, employment, the overlap with reentry councils, data farming, and the provision of a collaborative platform from which raising public awareness and recruiting community resources.
Emily Da Camara, with Project Fight, provided an in depth look at Project Fight and the resources that are needed along with their operations statistics from 2019. A list of needs from Project Fight was combined with those provided by the Durham Crisis and Response Center presentation by Charlene Reiss in October in the meeting handout.
Group discussion included the following:
Developing a process to receive community assets on the list;
Researching S.B. 199 requiring the report of activities related to human trafficking;
The importance of including labor trafficking in the initiative as well as the Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. (May need to rethink what we call ourselves. Agreed that Human Trafficking covers both, but wanted to make sure we are addressing DV and SA with an emphasis on how they are all linked together.);
To recruit partnerships with Alliance Health (Mental Health) and Project Access (Primary Care) to manage the recruitment of professionals as well training to respond to HT/SA/DV victims. Need to find and increase bilingual primary, mental health, vision and dental services for uninsured victims.
Volunteers to help pull information from the previous presentations and get permissions/donations of a collaborative message to be approximately 45 minutes long and include: magnitude of the problem, the signs, how to report, and local service providers. Target date one month.
HTDVSA Roundtable would be in favor of sponsoring a resource fair to meet the CPN service partners and bring their clients.
Next meeting to be held in one month, location to have free parking.
COMMUNITY PARTNER NETWORK STRATEGIC PLANNING AND BIRTHDAY PARTY
NOVEMBER 21, 2019
Thank you to all that attended to celebrate our first year in operation. We appreciate your feedback and the wisdom of your experience. Most of all, we value your friendship and kindred spirit as we launch into our 2020 adventure.
We are excited to have grown so rapidly and it has been a wild ride. Both the size of the events, as well as the number of events, far surpassed our expectations. In 2020, we remain committed to keeping our events as free as possible limiting expenses to the cost of materials.
2019 was a year of the piloting processes to see what was effective and worked well within our service provider community. We are still learning and piloting, but have also gained experience and evidence for both disappointments.
SOME TAKE-A-WAYS
No one needs another meeting that does not yield one of the following: new resources, new client opportunities, access to training and relevant industry information, funding opportunities, or accomplishes a goal that directly feeds/informs the process for one of the same. Protecting and optimizing utilization requirements of our members and participants is important to us and aligns with our goals of building capacity. So, these are the objectives for each meeting in 2020.
Events that pool resources for speakers, venders, and public awareness PACK THE HOUSE! And, these can be done affordably. If we do it as a consortium, it can open access to literally hundreds in our audiences for a fraction of the cost by a single organizer.
The requests for CPN member supported events came as a pleasant and unexpected surprise and almost equaled the number of CPN events provided in 2019. We loved doing it, but found, it has grown beyond what Barb and I can do as volunteers and still feed our beloved Canines. So, we will joining the hunt for funding to keep costs down, but will begin in 2020 asking members who wish to utilize the CPN Outreach Tools to promote their events to contribute for time and materials. We will post a few outreach options before the first of the year.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS TRAINING
OCTOBER 24, 2019
Kiricka Yarbough Smith, Human Trafficking Program Director, North Carolina Council for Women and Youth Involvement
Kiricka Yarbough Smith has over 18 years of combined experience working in the areas of mental health, developmental disabilities, substance abuse, domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking. She is deeply involved in the fight against human trafficking in North Carolina, serving as the Chair of the NC Coalition Against Human Trafficking and as manager of the NC Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s human trafficking program. Since 2010, she has been a faculty member of the Futures Without Violence project, fostering collaboration to address human trafficking within domestic violence and sexual assault cases. Currently, Kiricka serves as the Human Trafficking Program Director for the NC Council for Women & Youth Involvement, continuing her commitment to empowering individuals and organizations to serve survivors of human trafficking and create communities free from violence.
Nancy Hagan, Project No Rest, UNC-CH School of Social Work
Nancy contributes eighteen years of experience in direct service and program development and administration in underserved rural communities in North Carolina. Her expertise includes coalition building with LEP Spanish speaking groups, in particular immigrants and agricultural workers, around issues of labor abuse, sexual and domestic violence, and human trafficking. Nancy previously served on the faculty of the College of Education and Psychology, Department of Adult and Community College Education at North Carolina State University where she advised and instructed graduate students, and conducted research with an emphasis on qualitative inquiry. She first encountered human trafficking in the mid 1990s as a faculty member when one of her graduate students reported a suspected case, and since that time, has been active in the anti-human trafficking movement.
Pam Strickland, Founder of North Carolina Stop Human Trafficking
Pam first became interested in the subject of Human Trafficking at a Missions Conference in 2006 where she learned about young girls being forced into prostitution in Asia. Since then, she has led three Mission Trips to Moldova, where part of the team’s job was to educate the young people about trafficking, in an effort to prevent them from becoming victims. Upon learning that Human Trafficking is a problem here in NC, she felt called to be active locally in educating our community about this issue and working towards preventing Human Trafficking. The nonprofit was incorporated in 2010. Pam has attended numerous conferences and received in-depth Human Trafficking Training from a variety of entities including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Freedom Network Training Institute, the Not for Sale Campaign, the FBI, the SBI, and GEMS. NC Stop Human Trafficking is a member of the NC Coalition Against Human Trafficking, and Pam served as the Co-Chair, until she rotated off the Board in December 2018. In 2016, Pam led the effort to start the Pitt County Coalition Against Human Trafficking, modeled after the state-wide group. Pam trains professional groups in how to recognize human trafficking and respond to it. Groups trained in recent months include law enforcement, social workers, teachers, counselors, therapists, hotel/motel staff, healthcare providers and Crisis Intervention Teams. Pam earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1990. She and her husband are members of Oakmont Baptist Church in Greenville, and have a teenaged son.
Charlene Reiss, Durham Crisis Response Center, Sexual Assault Response Team (SART)/Human Trafficking Services Coordinator
Charlene manages a multi-disciplinary team of governmental and nonprofit agencies to ensure a coordinated, victim-centered response to sexual assault victims in Durham. She also works with agencies in Durham, the region, and state to improve our communities’ recognition, referral, and response for survivors of human trafficking.
SHARE HOPE MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR EVENT
OCTOBER 10, 2019
In this community event on Thursday, October 10, 2019, Wake County/Triangle Area vendors and service providers offering FREE supportive services to our neighbors living with mental health conditions showcased their services and lead activities that equip and empower and providing information and onsite services.
MENTAL HEALTH 101 TRAINING
SEPTEMBER 26, 2019
This training, sponsored by Alliance Health raised community awareness about mental health conditions, how to connect to services, and best practices.
WE HEARD FROM ALLIANCE HEALTH
Wendy Gantt, MA, LPC, Community Education Specialist for Alliance Health was our trainer.
Contact Wendy: wgantt@AllianceHealthPlan.org.Alliance is willing to bring this presentation to your organization, faith community or civic group – just contact Wendy!
WE LEARNED:
The difference between “Mental Health” and “Mental Disorder”
Facts about Mental Health in the USA (did you know that approximately 42 million American adults – or about 18% of the adult population – live with some kind of anxiety disorder?)
The impact of mental disorders
Common disorders in youth
Signs of anxiety
How to tell if someone needs help – are they considering killing themselves?
What recovery looks like
How to take care of ourselves as we deal with others in crisis.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING:
A CALL FOR COMMUNITY ACTION
AUGUST 29, 2019
CRIMES OF EXPLOITATION TARGET THE WEAK, THE DISCONNECTED, THE VULNERABLE, AND PARTICULARLY, PEOPLE IN CRISIS AND POVERTY. IT IS HERE IN WAKE COUNTY. IT IS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, OUR SCHOOLS, AND IT IS GROWING.
WE HEARD FROM THE EXPERTS
Salvation Army’s Project Fight Coordinator: Elizabeth Hunter, MAHS
CONTACT: elizabeth.hunter@uss.salvationarmy.orgSalvation Army Case manager: Kathy Nunez
NC Department of Administration’s, C.O.P.E. Human Trafficking Project Administrator: Kiricka Yarbough Smith
CONTACT: kiricka.yarbough.smith@doa.nc.govWorld Relief – Triad’s Anti-Human Trafficking Outreach Specialist: Victoria Plybon
CONTACT: vplybon@wr.orgUS EEOC Enforcement Supervisor, Raleigh Office: Tonya Lennox
CONTACT: tonya.lennox@eeoc.govPoe Center for Health and Education’s Substance Use Prevention Specialist: Jessica Jones, CSAC, LCAS-A
CONTACT: j.jones@poehealth.orgFBI Special Agent assigned to the Fusion Center: Scott Bennett
CONTACT: ncisaac@ncbi.gov or 888-624-7222SBI Special Agent In Charge of Human Trafficking, Carl Wall, and Intelligence Analyst, Ashley Burke
Local Law Enforcement Representatives
WE LEARNED
The elements of Human Trafficking.
What the battle looks like from the national, statewide, and local perspectives.
How the community and the CPN play an integral role in support and assistance.
How you can join efforts to expand and strengthen the work already in progress at the local level.
How you can help local agencies develop and facilitate connectivity to survivor assistance.
I’M IN: COMMUNITY INCLUSION TRAINING
JULY 25, 2019
In July, the CPN hosted training, sponsored by the i2i Center for Integrated Health I’m In: Community Inclusion Program, which is designed to equip and engage Wake County communities in providing a welcoming, and accepting, environment for people living with mental health conditions including: mental, cognitive, intellectual, developmental, addictive and sensory disorders.
We found out more about from Mike Owns and Elliot Palmer:
The Inclusion Movement and the Mental Health Arena.
Being a part of the solution for people living with mental health conditions.
Participating as a vendor at Share Hope’s October 10th Meet Your Neighbor Event.
COMMUNITY PARTNER NETWORK RESOURCE FAIR
JUNE 25, 2019
In June 2019, the CPN took some time off for the lazy days of summer to get to know one another.
Twenty-three organizations were represented and in-depth discussions ensued around legal services, reentry, education, peer support, addiction, and violence prevention. It was a great time to make connections, gain a better understanding of our resource gaps, and consider event teams that group Roundtable focus areas into relatable agendas for public involvement initiatives. Contact information for the June Workshop will be shared with the participants.
MILESTONES
On November 30, 2018, we started with a discussion around Frances Bisby’s fireplace about the benefits of forming a collaborative culture. In just seven months, we have grown the network to reach over 800 contacts, we have hosted 143 workshop participants in three workshops, solidified a homebase, and garnered requested information about housing, NCCARE360, and developed our own internal communication system that is accessible to anyone with internet. We have scheduled service provider trainings and a community resource fair focused on mental health and set up a countywide “Call to Action” event around the hidden crisis in our community – Human Trafficking.
It is exciting to watch new partnerships being formed and to see the momentum building. The infrastructure to the network is completed and our time and energy can now be concentrated on Roundtable recruitment, CPN partnerships, public outreach, and community advocacy.
HELP IT GROW!
Please consider reaching out to your place of worship, civic groups, and associates to join the Roundtables. Bring a guest to a workshop! We would welcome the opportunity to present to groups and organizations about how to engage in the issues that affect our neighborhoods, schools, and quality of life in the Triangle.
NCCARES360 AND COORDINATED ENTRY
MAY 23, 2019
GEORGINA DUKES, MHA, STATE PROJECT MANAGER, NCCARES360 FOR UNITE US
Georgina gave us an overview of NCCARES360, which is the first statewide coordinated care network to electronically connect those with identified needs to community resources and allow for a feedback loop on the outcome of that connection.
Here are the next steps for those ready to get started. It is FREE for service providers, faith communities, and others who interact with vulnerable populations.
Complete Partner Registration Form: This step must be completed for your organization to join NCCARE360. This form requests information on your organization, programs available, and staff in order to set up organizational profiles in the Unite Us software and create user accounts.
Register for Software Training: Direct users of the software such as case managers, community health workers, referral coordinators, etc. are required to attend an in-person or virtual 2-hour training to receive log-in credentials. You can register yourself and your staff,
Schedule a Workflow Planning Meeting (Optional): Unite Us is happy to host a virtual or in-person meeting with your organization to learn more about your team & current workflows in order to make recommendations on which programs & users should use the software. You can email Georgina for more information on workflow planning.
ABBIE SZYMANSKI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RALEIGH-WAKE PARTNERSHIP TO PREVENT AND END HOMELESSNESS
Abbie talked about the Coordinated entry process that is used to help individuals and families experiencing a housing crisis access community resources.
Highlights:
There are eight Coordinated Entry Access sites in the Raleigh Area. If someone comes to you with a housing crisis, the best step is to get them to one of these Access Points.
The Wake Network of Care has more information about Coordinated Entry.
You can always call the Wake County Housing Resource and Referral line at 919-861-1195.
