Shield NC

Defense Against Trafficking

2022 Year in Review

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We are so thankful for your support!  You made it possible for us to accomplish these highlights in 2022! 

--Developed 33 career & activity based trainings.
--Trained over 800 individuals.
--The Service Group & Faith Alliance held 9 community meetings covering topics on foster care, homelessness, housing insecurity and child safety.
--Collaborated with Wake County Foster Care System to share information to over 1500 home and secured the Town of Apex Proclamation declaring May Foster Care Awareness Month.  
--Co-Led the NC Demand Reduction Task Force.  The task force trained over 90 police officers in strategies for arresting individuals who purchase sex.  
--Wrote The Need for Demand Reduction white paper.
--Shield Leadership served as chair for the North Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking.  NC CAHT launched the first Survivors Network in NC. 
--Welcomed 4 new Board Members!
--Honored World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
--Hosted the first Shield NC Annual Gala & Online Auction. 
--Celebrated Shield NC's 5th Anniversary.
--Created a new Shield NC video.

We are excited for what is coming in 2023.   
--We are moving toward emphasizing survivors voices in 2023 in our process and public educations to make sure Shield is using best practices for eliminating Human Trafficking.  
--Expecting our HB 598 to be passed by the NC Senate in 2023, which will give restitutions to victims of child sexual abuse material, commonly known as child pornography.  
--2023 Annual Gala & Online Auction is on May 21 at 4pm.  
--We will continue to lead the pioneering effort to reduce the demand for the services of exploited persons in NC.Developed 33 career & activity based trainings.

SGFA Sept 20, 2022-Meeting Minutes

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Service Groups and Faith Alliance

September 20, 2022

Meeting Minutes

Affordable Housing in Apex



Attendees:

Officer Kenneth Copeland; Niki Miller, Shield NC ; Phil Welch, Town of Apex-Affordable Housing; Nicole Bernard, Shield NC; Kerry Crespo, Cary Church; George Greene, Pastor Christian Home CC, Karen Morant, Wake HHS; Jennifer Roeder; DebVinci, Shield NC

Introduction

Kenneth provided overview of the group and introduced Phil Welch who shared with the group regarding the Town of Apex Affordable Housing Plan & FY 2021-2022 Annual Housing Report.

Phil Welch, Chair, Apex Housing Advisory Board and Chair, Western Region Affordable Housing Action Group Advocacy Team

P2twelch@gmail.com  919-355-2971

Phil shared the path that brought him to this role and his passion for the need for housing. 

His mission is the education on each town’s plan and bring in local social service groups, best practices and build leadership.  The focus will be in 3 parts today:

Part I Apex Affordable Housing Plan Overview

Part II Apex Annual Housing Report FY2021-22

Part III Support Opportunities for Social Service Agencies and Faith Communities

PART I

Definition of Affordable Housing:

Housing costs less than 30% of total income

Greater than this results in Housing Cost Burdened making them have to make choices for food, transportation, healthcare, childcare etc.

Income and Size are determinators of Affordable Housing

  • Median Income approx. $100,000
  • Housing needs in Apex:
  • 2000-unit deficit in rentals for essential workers

Rental home gap project to double in 10 years

  • Lack of starter homes
  • Not attracting, retaining diverse population
  • Forcing out seniors on limited incomes
  • Not enough subsidized housing

Public Survey – 1200 responses: balanced with diverse demographic, young couple had trouble finding housing; 60/40 to change things vs not to

Who needs affordable housing

  • Everyone
  • Essential workers
  • Specific populations in need of homes: seniors, veterans, single parents, families with special needs individuals

Questions:

            Needs for housing and jobs needed correlation…less than 10% who live in Apex work in Apex

            Is this a more recent problem?  Known as a good place to live and drawing people from all over the country causing stress on the resources.

PART II

Annual Housing report

            Near term and mid to long term recommendations

            Near:

  • Staff Capacity
  • Housing Ad Boards
  • AH Incentive zoning policy
  • Owner-occupied rehab assistance Apex Cares
  • Low income housing tax credit Broadstone Walk  (DHIC 164 units beginning late 2022) = families and Abbey Spring (Evergreen) 84 units; tax credit approval by end of September – Seniors

Mid :

  • Annual housing report
  • Online housing dashboard
  • Diversity and racial equity initiative
  • Affordable housing advocacy partners
  • Support for homeownership
  • Public land acquisition and sale
  • Transit-oriented development density

Long: 

  • Emergency rental assistance and supportive services

Questions:

Plans to do more habitat houses?  He doesn’t know. 

Any changes in perception of Habitat Houses from the new homes that were built?  Would be interesting follow-up.

Habitat is working in Apex to assist in repairs of existing homes. 

Zoning Laws – is there any discussion about rezoning laws to assist diversity?  This is being investigated.

Part III

Think about the audience we focus on as SG or Faith groups

How Might your organization help?

            Partner with AH developers, Habitat, DHIC, RTT etc. to find land/properties, build or preserve home, send volunteers and funds

            Help households prepare for stable homes with family budgeting, credit repairs, paying down debt, upgrading job skills, etc.  The Carying Place, Habitat

            Get word out on new and existing and affordable homes, Habitat, Wake acres apt, Broadstone Walk

            Attend Town Council, Planning Board and County Commission meetings to support worthy AH proposals and speak about benefits to entire town

            Lunch and volunteers for Habit projects

            Housing Dialogue – Segregated by Design – to initiate conversation to understand how to create more opportunities and raise awareness

            Understand what the opportunities are to be helpful like when the mayor mentioned locations to assist with needs in the area … food pantries assistance

SGFA August 30, 2022-Meeting Minutes

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Service Groups and Faith Alliance

August 30, 2022

Meeting Minutes

Homelessness Survey and White Flag in Apex and Cary

Attendees:

Officer Kenneth Copeland; Officer Carter; Officer Danica Coleman; Jason Armstrong, Police Chief for Apex; Elliot Brooks, TFS Street Outreach Specialist; Nikki Miller, Shield; Tiffany Edwards, Apex Baptist; Mindy Varkevisser, Church of Jesus Christ of LDS; Sherry Presnall, WWCM; Ginger Espino, Safe Child; Nancy Wakeley, Peak City Exchange Club; Mike Merker, Jordan Lutheran Church; Phil Welch, Town of Apex-Affordable Housing; Cheryl Stallings, Apex Town Council; Karen Matthews, Apex UMC; Deb Vinci

Introduction

Kenneth provided overview of agenda which will be to review survey results and discuss how we can address the issues.  Elliott will lead our discussion.

Prior Discussion Summary given by Elliot

Statistics in Apex:

11 surveys returned confirmed some locations of homeless in Apex which have been largely unknown due to lack of successful PIT counts

            2 camping off HWY 64

  • Beaver Commons evidence of campers
  • Survey identified person living in shed and has been housed
  • Abandoned areas near motels, hotels
  • 2 in parks
  • Car camper in Apex
  • Cary results were 50 in PIT count which is underreported…zero in Apex

This correlates with what Apex PD encounters

Shelter/Housing Discussion:

  • Cat 1 homelessness and abuse is assisted with help from TFS and WWCM, etc. verses Cat 2 (have a roof over head-couch surfing) From Human Trafficking perspective, vulnerabilities are great even for couch surfers.
    • Lack of expansive safety nets is a big issue because stable place to stay is not necessarily safe.
    • Teenagers trying to escape poor home environment
    • Is anyone in the country doing this well we could learn from?  Elliott does not have this information and will investigate this.  Upstream book mentioned and Elliott reported that the access HUB is used locally. The challenge is that vulnerabilities are not identified and so a second level of detail is used to determine this which is often how prioritized.          
    • Chief Armstrong asked about filling the gap.  Elliott referenced Design for Joy which helps women get training and experience to leave the program and get on their feet.  No equivalents for men.
      • Ex-convicts helped to transition but there is no list or repository for this information. 

No public transportation in Apex. Sleeping in vehicles makes the challenge of engagement difficult

Set up parking lots to allow parking safely and not worry about harassment.  Walmart does allow this, one of the few.  Oak City Cares provides shower option.  New Shower Bus getting ready to be approved…shower and laundry access.  

Sherry shared they see folks that have given up on shelters because they are full.  Why street access is important.  Some of these underserved are scared and disillusioned.

Vouchers as income toward rent is not prevalently accepted in Wake County.  This still allows for a screening process.  All the red tape with Housing Authority also creates barriers for landlords.

More seniors over 65 are on the rise for homeless

            Sherry (2019) …11% of seniors living below the poverty line.  Rents going up such that they are not affordable…also medical debt causing abandoning senior

Cheryl shared they are very aware of the needs around housing.  They are working on it to provide affordable housing for the community.  Only one with active discussions through the town.  Cary does not have it, but they are reviewing their housing policy.

QUESTIONS:

How to help those that are begging for help or food.  So many variables play into this.  Ask if they have access to the HUB.  WWCM has cards to give with this information.  Understanding resource options is difficult for some to do. 

Mark has tried to engage with Apex Cares to do projects and it has been challenging to make this happen. Not easy to navigate.  He will connect with Cheryl and Phil to find avenues to help.

Ideas for Community Engagement:

  • Shower Bus
  • DEGA – mobile vet clinic for low-cost services for financially challenging
  • Fundraising for resources; sleeping bags, gas cards, fuels, fans and batteries (cannot use State and Federal Emergency Services Grant dollars for these things)
  • Volunteer opportunities for community meals, hosting DEGA
  • Know who to call if unsheltered person comes in asking for assistance.  Keep Access Hub number ready to share 919-443-0096
  • Calls from people in hotels are considered sheltered…WWCM helps in case-by-case basis.  Have to determine if there is a long-term plan and refer them to services that can assist.  People have an eviction history, don’t have security deposit or housing is not available are all challenges.
  • Educating businesses on how to recognize unsheltered homelessness
  • Collaborating with appropriate outreach interventions
  • Construction of more affordable housing
  • Educating the community
  • Improving mental health and medical safety nets for community

Phil will be providing presentation to layout all that really can be done to help in future meeting.  White Flag discussion was also tabled to another meeting due to time constraints today.

HUB Number 919-443-0096 for Wake County.  Caller should be prepared to provide a way to be contacted i.e. emergency contact, location, mailbox, phone etc.

Elliott Brooks contact information:

919-501-8504  ebrooks@tfsnc.org

5th Anniversary Celebration!

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In case you missed the Anniversary Celebration, we wanted to share Shield NC's achievements in the past 5 years!  We could not have done any of this without your support and we THANK YOU!   

Empowerment
-Developed 30+ career based trainings. Trained hundreds of people  across the state on Human Trafficking, including state conferences, medical professionals, child care workers, apartment complexes, churches and civic groups.
-Used social media to dispel a number of myths and to teach accurate facts about the signs of Human Trafficking. 
-Led community outreach to hotels, trucking companies, and neighborhoods to empower them to know the signs of Human Trafficking.
-Led initiative with the Department of Justice to develop resource guides for service providers, parents and students during the pandemic.
-Hosted 19 podcasts, as well as highlight on numerous podcasts and news reports.
-Advocated for Town resolutions to bring awareness to Trafficking and vulnerable populations.

Prevention
-Founded the Service Group and Faith Alliance in partnership with Apex PD. The SGFA brings together law enforcement, town council members, ministry leaders and service groups to better shield vulnerable populations such as the those who are homeless, food insecure, battling substance and children in the foster care system.    
-Launched an online campaign with WRAL/Capitol Broadcasting to target individuals in two North Carolina counties who were searching for terms suggesting they are searching for explicit images of minors. This campaign sent out over 100,000 warnings to people who were searching for these explicit images .
-Co-founded the state’s first Demand Reduction Task Force to determine how to reduced the demand for commercialized sex and forced labor. 

Advocacy 
At the Local Level
-Successfully advocated for Apex to require all town employees be trained on Human Trafficking  identification. 
-Successfully advocated for a Resolution that passed for the Apex Purchasing Department to add a clause to all contracts to ensure that any services purchased by the town do not include Labor Trafficking. --Apex was the first in the state to do both of these. 

State
-Worked with Representative Bill Brawley to create legislation that strengthened Anti-Trafficking Law. This legislation made it possible for minors, who are trafficked, to receive aid from CPS.  Also, it changed to procedure in court that you can no longer ask about previous sexual history of rape victims.  
-Introduced legislation to ensure restitution for victims of child sexual abuse material, commonly known as child pornography.
-Successfully advocated with the State Bureau of Investigations for staffing SBI’s human trafficking unit.
-Hosted a cultural training to law enforcement and service providers which led to a change in the way operations to Asian illicit massage businesses were conducted to be more culturally competent and trauma informed.

Federal
-Advocated for a federal Executive Order for additional resources to combat Human Trafficking. Shield NC met with the President’s Assistant on Domestic Policy (for resources and restitution) as well as Legislators (for restitution for child victims of sexual abuse material).   
-Successfully advocated for more provisions for survivors and stronger Anti-Trafficking laws.