September 16, 2013
San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking (SFCAHT)
General Meeting Minutes
Monday, September 16, 2013
11:30 am – 1 pm
SanFrancisco Public Library Main Branch
100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA
Latino/Hispanic Room A, Lower Level
Members Present:
SteeringCommittee:
Julie Soo, Commission on the Status of Women / Co-Chairof SFCAHT
Nancy Goldberg, Jewish Family and Children’sServices / Co-Chair of SFCAHT
Antonia Lavine, Jewish Coalition to End HumanTrafficking
Departmenton the Status of Women Staff:
Dr. Emily Murase
Aimee Allison
Minouche Kandel
Stephanie Nguyen
Iris Wong
CollaborativeMembership:
Robin Brasso, National Council of Jewish Women
Helynna Brooke, Mental Health Board and SF MentalHealth Education Fund
Irene Casanova, Larkin Street Youth Services
Kimberly Chelf, Freedom House
Cristy Dieterich, Department of Public Health--Newcomers Health Program
Kelly Gilliam, F.D.Homes
Brenda Hepler ,EPCAT-USA
Benita Hopkins, SF Not For Sale/Love Never Fails
Victor Hwang, SF District Attorney's Office
Linda Janourova, Jewish Coalition to End HumanTrafficking
Alix Lutnick, RTI International
Lailah Morris, SF District Attorney's Office
Anna Pickren, Dream Project Foundation
Sister Therese Randolph, RSM, Northern CaliforniaCoalition of Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking
Ruth L. Robinson, Northern California Coalitionof Catholic Sisters against Human Trafficking, Stop Slavery
Brendan Rogers, University of San Francisco
Sarai Smith-Mazariegos, MISSSEY, Alameda FamilyServices, DreamCatcher, Nika's Place
I.
Welcomeand Introductions
Co-ChairNancy Goldberg welcomed members and attendees introduced themselves. Ms. Goldberg then introduced the agenda forthe meeting which was approved without objection.
II.
Recapof the SFCAHT August 2nd Conference on Child Sex Trafficking
1.
Film
AimeeAllison screened her original film, “A Day in the Life of a Victim of Child SexTrafficking”. This 13-minute filmfocuses on the story of one child sex trafficking victim who was trafficked inSan Francisco, the East Bay, and Las Vegas from the age of 11.
Afterscreening her film, many members of the collaborative acknowledged Ms. Allisonand her team for their work. Ms. Allisonacknowledged one volunteer, Jerome Newton, who spent countless hours working onmaking the film with her after being inspired by the survivor’s story andmission.
Ms.Allison then reviewed the distribution plan for the film. It is currently uploaded to Youtube but notyet public. She is planning on sendingout the link for providers to use freely. Ms. Allison is also looking into third parties who can create anddistribute CDs of the film for a small fee for those who do not have internetaccess.
2.
Conference Evaluation
Stephanie Nguyen provided a summary of the conference evaluations.
187 community partners and service providers attended the SanFrancisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking (SFCAHT) Conference on ChildSex Trafficking. Educators, health careproviders, government agencies, law enforcement, and community advocates from85 agencies worked together to discuss best practices, strategize a morecoordinated response to trafficking, and develop policy recommendations toaddress the crisis of child sex trafficking in San Francisco. Of the 187 advocates who attended the SFCAHTConference on Child Sex Trafficking on August 2, 2013, 110 submittedevaluations, an exceptionally high response rate of 59%.
An overwhelming majority of attendees reported that they had anexcellent experience at the conference (93%) and left with valuable newinsights (88%). Many stated that theywould attend a future SFCAHT conference (91%) and would recommend futureconferences to colleagues and friends (93%).
The San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Traffickingand the Department on the Status of Women are utilizing recommendationsdeveloped from the conference to strategize a plan of action.
3.
Action Items
Brenda Hepler stated that she would like to see better collaborationsbetween the government entities and community agencies. She also proposed SFCAHT reserves a space ineach library for information and resources related to human trafficking duringAnti-Human Trafficking Month (January). She stated that San Jose has successfully accomplished this in yearspast. Co-Chair Goldberg recommends thebooks, Sold and Girls Like Us, be displayed at libraries in January.
Julie Soo would like to raise public awareness. There is not an identifiable place forsurvivors to run. She hopes to seehospitals and places of worship become safe sanctuaries for survivors to seekrefuge. Sister Therese Randolph,Northern California Catholic Coalition of Sisters Against Human Trafficking, statedthat she is working to put collaborations between religious entities andhospitals on the agenda for her own coalition and will connect withCommissioner Soo after the meeting.
Helynna Brooke expressed support for a collaboration with hospitals toprovide safe places for survivors to seek care. She also proposed an addition to current protocols to mandate providersto refer survivors to hospitals immediately for physical/mental healthclearance and services.
Irene Casanova stated that the Larkin Collaborative is committed tostaffing the human trafficking hotline and providing emergency shelter beds fortrafficked youth regardless of age.
Alexandra Lutnick stressed the importance of incorporating aperspective focused on youth empowerment. Often these youth are labeled as both victim and perpetrator—throughoutthis, providers need to outreach in a way that channels their resiliency. Ms. Lutnick also emphasized the importance oflooking at the structural factors that put these young folks at risk, such aslack of education or work experience and involvement in the child welfaresystem. The community needs to be ableto offer job skills training, internships, and other viable alternatives tolife on the streets.
Kelly Gilliam agreed with Ms. Lutnick with regard to youth beinglabeled as both victim and perpetrator. Working with at-risk youth at her agency, she has noticed that thoseselling at-risk youth are often peers of the youth of both genders. She feels it is necessary to provideadditional targeted training in schools to both raise awareness among youthabout the issue and among teachers and administrators about how toappropriately respond.
Sister Therese Randolph hopes to address the demand aspect oftrafficking by raising awareness and targeting potential perpetrators at majorCity events. She suggested having acoalition or task force to work on outreach and public awareness campaigns inthe months leading up to the Superbowl.
Dr. Murase added that Oakland is developing mandated anti-traffickingcurriculum for 7th graders. The SFSchool Board is also considering adopting similar curriculum.
Antonia Lavine stressed the need for data collection and research inSan Francisco and the Bay Area. Shefeels it’s important to collect demographic data and narratives of real-lifetrafficking situations to better inform policy and victim services. She also suggested conducting research on thecauses of human trafficking, and on all the factors that cause particularpopulations to be at-risk. This researchcould be used to educate both community providers and City agencies to addressthe gaps in service.
Ms. Nguyen suggested first implementing recommendations that weretangible and easily executed. Therecommendations that were drafted at the conference had suggestions for bothlarge-scale changes in policy and protocols as well as suggestions that couldbe implemented by direct service providers. One specific recommendation she proposed adopting was creating avolunteer opportunity list and mentorship list to connect those interested incontributing with causes that need pro-bono support. Ms. Nguyen also expressed support forrekindling data collection efforts, as a clearer picture of community needs andgaps in service could bring additional funding toward addressing this issue.
Robin Brasso highlighted the pervasiveness of human traffickingthroughout the country. She recentlyattended a reception for Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard that raised awareness ofthe problem in Hawaii.
Sarai Smith-Mazariegos stated that it is essential to have firstresponders immediately supporting survivors who come forward. She added that ideally these first responderswould come from the community and be detached from any formal system orinstitution. These first respondersshould be there with police when they conduct operations where survivors may beinvolved. Ms. Smith-Mazariegos alsoemphasized the need to establish rapport with the survivor prior to anyinterviews and to acknowledge the survivor’s process of healing and need forsafe space in the immediate moment.
III.
PosterContest
Ms. Kandel provided an update on this year’s Human Trafficking PosterContest and distributed copies of the entry form and revised contest rules.
Members discussed phone numbers to include with the winningposter. Last year, SFPD’s Vice Crimestip line was featured on the poster. Suggestions for phone numbers to include this year include the phonenumbers of: SFPD’s Special Victims Unit, the Asian Anti-TraffickingCollaborative/Asian Women’s Shelter, and the Larkin Street Youth ServicesCollaborative Human Trafficking Hotline.
Several members expressed concern that having more than one numberwould intimidate or discourage folks in need from reaching out. Other members stated that it was essential toinclude multiple numbers from both government entities and community agenciesfor survivors who distrust law enforcement.
Ms. Allison suggested including one number for folks to reportsuspected trafficking to law enforcement and another to connect to directservice providers.
IV.
SB1193
Dr. Murase discussed new legislation requiring businesses to postanti-trafficking information and resources in their storefronts. This is currently an unfunded mandate thatneeds more publicity and outreach.
Ms. Kandel distributed a sample poster with the required language andthe policy brief created by the Office of the Attorney General. She invited folks interested in creating amore accessible poster and outreaching to local businesses to sign up for theSB1193 Committee.
V.
SFCAHT Communication
Ms. Kandel invited members interested in being involvedwith SFCAHT communication efforts to sign up for the CommunicationsCommittee. This committee would haveoversight over the newsletter, the website, and general communication amongstmembers and the distribution lists.
VI.
Update on the Mayor’s Task Force on Human Trafficking
Ms. Kandel announced that the Mayor’s Task Force on HumanTrafficking will be releasing an Anti-Human Trafficking Roadmap in the comingweeks.
VII.
Community Updates
Ms. Brooke invited members to attend a workshop onTrauma-Informed Care to be held on Thursday, September 19, 2013 at theCalifornia Endowment building. Shedirected those interested to visit tinyurl.com/trauma-informed-care for moreinformation about this workshop.
VIII.
Adjournment
Ms. Kandel invited SFCAHT members to email her any agenda items forthe next meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 1 pm.
Suggestions for NextSteps:
- Establish collaborations between religious entities and hospitals.
- Draft an addition to current protocols to refer survivors to hospitals immediately for physical/mental health clearance and services.
- Develop a coalition to work on outreach and public awareness campaigns prior to major events.
