Press Release
Press Release: Contra Costa District Attorney and Zero Tolerance for Human Trafficking announce the Contra Costa County Anti-Human Trafficking Campaign 2014 Press Conference: Thursday, January 16, 11:00 A.M. Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office 900 Ward Street, Martinez January is “Anti-Human Trafficking” month in Contra Costa County, designed to raise awareness of this $32 billion-a-year worldwide criminal enterprise. Along with the Board of Supervisors’ Zero Tolerance for Human Trafficking Initiative, the District Attorney announces its month-long campaign to bring the message home: “Human Trafficking Is Real in Contra Costa County.” The District Attorney and Zero Tolerance Committee will be holding a press conference on Thursday, January 16th to discuss the public awareness campaign. Human trafficking involves the selling and using of humans for sex trade, often times soliciting and then ensnaring children as young as 12 to 13 years old. Commercial sex rings and selling young women and men has become a profitable trade for traditional street gangs, replacing the harder-to-find commodities of drugs and weapons. The internet and technological advances also come into play, whereby criminals use social media to recruit young victims, and then use social media to advertise, communicate with, and meet customers. Human Trafficking also occurs with the exploitation of individuals in the work-force. Men, women, and even children, are forced into providing services or labor for an individual or a business by the use of force, fear, fraud, or duress, essentially turning them into modern-day slaves. Human Trafficking is the world’s second most profitable criminal enterprise, as has been pointed out by California Attorney General Kamala Harris. California has the dubious distinction of having one of the nation’s “top 4 destination states” for trafficking human beings. It is vital that outreach and social services work to combat this ever-growing problem. It is critical that law enforcement receive training and investigative tools to identify and catch these predators. During the next month, Contra Costa County will be displaying billboards in the streets of Richmond, advertisements in bus shelters throughout the county, and posters at the bus and BART railways throughout the county. All of this is intended to alert the public of the growing problem of Human Trafficking. Together, with information, knowledge, and resources, the people of Contra Costa County can work together to STOP Human Trafficking. Mark Peterson District Attorney Contra Costa County For more information, please contact Bobbi Spinola at 925-957-2214, bspinola@contracostada.org
New Resource Guide Released for Human Trafficking Prevention Month
Contra Costa Crisis Center has released a new Quick Resource Guide specifically focusing on services and resources for trafficked and exploited persons in Contra Costa County as part of Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The Quick Resource Guide can be downloaded here (English or Spanish) or you view the guide on the Contra Costa Crisis Center website, www.211database.org.
Board of Supervisors to declare January Human Trafficking Prevention Month
Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month On January 14th the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors will acknowledge the critical issue of human trafficking in a proclamation declaring January 2014 “Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month”. Please join us at 9:00 am on Tuesday the 14th in the Board’s chambers at 651 Pine Street in Martinez.
Executive Director Search
To learn more about the Executive Director search or to apply, please click here. You can also submit a cover letter, resume and writing sample to: Melissa Caine-Huckabay mcainehuckabay@wccfjc.org (510) 262-0257 (fax) All applications must be received by 5pm January 13, 2014
FJC launches Executive Director search
A message from Advisory Board Chair, Devorah Levine: Dear FJC Partner, We are writing today to inform you of exciting new developments at the West Contra Costa Family Justice Center (FJC). Over the past five years, the FJC has grown from an idea shared by community leaders into a dynamic partnership. As the FJC prepares to enter a new phase of development, the West Contra Costa Family Justice Center Advisory Board and Project Director are pleased to announce that we will begin the search for an Executive Director. The Executive Director will be responsible for leading this diverse coalition of public, private, and community based organizations addressing interpersonal and family violence in Contra Costa County. The Advisory Board is grateful for Melissa Caine-Huckabay’s extraordinary leadership during this formative time. Melissa will remain as Project Director to support a smooth transition in the coming months. The FJC partnership has charted new territory in Contra Costa providing integrated, multi-agency, multi-disciplinary services for victims of family and interpersonal violence in a single location. Building on the momentum and good work at an interim location, the FJC recently broke ground on a new permanent facility at 256 24th Street. The 24th Street building will provide a permanent home for the FJC and will triple the number of services available on-site and strengthen partnerships supporting victims of family violence and abuse and their family members in West Contra Costa. The search for an Executive Director will begin in December with applications due by January 10th. To learn more about the search, click here or contact the FJC at (510) 965-4949. Thank you for your ongoing partnership and support. Devorah Levine Chair, West Contra Costa Family Justice Center Advisory Board
CoCo County Creates Multi-Service Centers For Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault Victims « CBS San Francisco
From KCBS: CoCo County Creates Multi-Service Centers For Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault Victims « CBS San Francisco.
California Health Report: Ending Domestic Violence is a Group Effort
October 31, 2013 By Leah Bartos For two years, she had been trying — and failing — to get away from the violence and abuse. She worried not only about her own safety, but also the safety of her three young children. She wanted a divorce. She wanted custody. But despite her efforts, this resident of Contra Costa County faced a seemingly insurmountable challenge. There were logistical problems — childcare was hard to come by and she didn’t have a car to travel to the courthouse. Then, there was the problem of misinformation. Though she was able to file a restraining order, her husband was habitually in violation. She was confused and didn’t know her rights. In a letter eventually presented to the County Board of Supervisors, she recalled an ordeal all too familiar to survivors of domestic violence: “Every time I tried to do something, he was right there behind me. If I went to court, he showed up to file papers. If I called the police, he would tell them I was crazy and needed to be arrested,” she wrote. “No one believed me.” Finally, in early 2011 she found help. A new establishment in Richmond just opened its doors. There, at the West Contra Costa Family Justice Center, she was paired with an advocate who would stay with her for the six months it took to resolve the case. The center is modeled on an idea that has been gaining traction across the U.S. — that by housing multiple agencies under one roof, victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse and human trafficking are less likely to fall through the cracks, and their cases more likely to resolve successfully. At the West Contra Costa Family Justice Center, clients can access everything from legal aid to assistance with shelter and mental health services on a drop-in basis. Like many other family justice centers, the partners include local law enforcement, the district attorney’s office and a myriad of community organizations. “It’s not just about organizations getting along and working well together. It’s about how we can work together to have an immediate and lasting impact on someone’s life,” said Melissa Caine-Huckabay, director of the West Contra Costa Family Justice Center. “I don’t like to be melodramatic, but it some cases, that can be as significant as life and death.” Caine-Huckabay recalls the author of the letter as one of the center’s first clients to need multi-system assistance. She has now successfully petitioned for divorce and has sole legal and physical custody of her children. “The model itself is simple, but the energy and the power that you harness when you do that is just phenomenal,” Caine-Huckabay said. “For this particular client, it did make a huge difference in her safety and the safety of her children.” While the physical Family Justice Center has only been operating for two and a half years, the philosophical seeds behind its approach have long been germinating. The center is part of the county’s Zero Tolerance for Domestic Violence Initiative, a public-private partnership that began in 2001. According to Devorah Levine, the principal analyst for the initiative, the spirit of collaboration between the partners has always been strong on this issue. The Family Justice Center, Levine said, is the service delivery vehicle for a larger vision that has been in the works for over a decade. “It made sense in terms of what we have been trying to do for many years,” Levine said. “The idea is basically to flip the paradigm, so that we are looking at what families are experiencing and develop our services with that in mind.” Not the least of the practical realities they considered was the sheer size of the county. Contra Costa, the “opposite coast” of the San Francisco Bay, has an area of about 800 square miles, with public agencies scattered throughout. For victims of domestic violence to stay safe, Caine-Huckabay says they need to visit a dozen or so agencies — a city police department, the district attorney’s office, family court, criminal court, child and family services, just to name a few. With a car, she estimates commute time between agencies would total more than three-and-half hours. On public transit, it would take 13 hours. “It was really profound when we saw how much we were asking victims of violence to take on themselves,” Caine-Huckabay said. “Instead of an agency-centered model of ‘you come to us,’ we [are] a more victim-centered model, where we come to you.” Eventually, the initiative members plan to build one or two more family justice centers servicing the central and eastern parts of the county. Concord, Antioch and Pittsburg also have high rates of domestic violence, Levine said. Richmond was selected as the site for the pilot Family Justice Center, in part because crime data reflect a disproportionate rate of domestic violence calls, in addition to the higher rate of violent crime in general occurring in the western part of the county. Richmond Police Captain Bisa French said the department receives an average of 30 to 35 domestic violence cases every month. And every year, one to two of those incidents result in homicide. (Countywide, Contra Costa averages 10 to 12 domestic violence-related homicides each year.) But from French’s perspective, the cost of domestic violence is much higher than can be quantified in simple crime statistics. “Violence is something that’s learned primarily in the home,” French said. “Not only does domestic violence continue generation to generation, but some of these young guys, the way they learn to handle conflict is through violence. That carries out in the schools, that carries out in the violence of shooting people and stabbing people in the streets, because violence is the way they learn to deal with conflict.” French, who also sits on the board of the Family Justice Center, said that if they can help teach healthy methods of problem solving, they might be able to curb future violence — a public safety concern
Lt. Gov. Helps Break Ground on New West County ‘Family Justice Center’
Posted by Alex Gronke (Editor) , November 01, 2013 at 04:45 PM By Bay City News California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom joined police and local elected officials in Richmond this morning to break ground on a $1.8 million resource center for victims of sexual and domestic violence and their families. The new West Contra Costa Family Justice Center, located at 256 24th St., is a partnership among the county, the city of Richmond, its Police Department and local domestic violence victims’ advocacy organizations. The facility will consolidate both city and county resources to create a one-stop shop where victims of domestic or sexual violence, elder abuse and related crimes can get crisis response, case management, legal and health resources and access to safe housing, county officials said. The center is set to relocate next fall from its current location within a Police Department substation at Hilltop Mall to the new, 7,200-square-foot building that once housed a mental health intake facility. Over the past year and a half, and open just one day per week, the interim center has served some 500 local families, police Chief Chris Magnus said. The new facility will have the capacity to serve many more local domestic violence victims, a large number of whom are from groups including low-income residents and immigrants who may be more reluctant to report domestic violence due to language or cultural barriers, he said. The services they receive there will help stop the destructive cycles of violence that often start at home, he said. “Violence in the community is related to violence in the home and this new facility will provide more resources for victims of domestic violence, creating a healthier and safer community overall,” the chief said. Rita Alfaro, 25, a volunteer at the Family Justice Center, said she has seen first-hand how children in families suffering from domestic violence can begin to heal with help from the community. During a weeklong summer camp program with about 40 children between 7 and 13 years old affiliated with the center, she said, kids who were usually detached and uncommunicative learned to open up and relate to their peers and adults. “By the end of that week, everyone was really working together,” she recalled. Known as “Camp Hope,” the program is “an opportunity for young victims to reclaim their childhood,” she said. Alfaro said the new center will be a welcome change from its current location, which is sandwiched between a WalMart and JC Penney, where many people don’t know to look for it. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who hoisted a golden shovel alongside city and county leaders, police and domestic violence victims’ advocates, praised Alfaro and the center’s many other volunteers and supporters. Newsom said the new facility is a sign of the progress crime-ridden Richmond has made in recent years and its commitment to lifting residents out of tough circumstances. “We celebrate today a rebirth, a renewal of community spirit that’s always defined the best of Richmond,” he said. “You haven’t given up on this community, and you’re starting to see the contours of real change,” Newsom said. While county and city leaders touted today’s groundbreaking as a major milestone, some also noted that the project was 10 years in the making and involved plenty of wrangling among the city of Richmond, the county, district attorney’s office and local organizations including STAND for Families Free of Violence, Community Violence Solutions and others. “It’s not ‘Mission Accomplished’,” Magnus said. The county deeded the shuttered building on 24th Street, a former mental health intake facility valued at $900,000 to the city, which is using $1.7 million in bond funding to cover construction and renovations, officials said. The bond money will have to be repaid, and the center’s future stability will depend on the continued partnership among a local government, non-governmental organizations, community members and corporate sponsors. Read full article here.
West Contra Costa Family Justice Center breaks ground at new Richmond location
By Malaika Fraley Contra Costa Times Read full article here. RICHMOND — Construction has begun on the future home of the West Contra Costa Family Justice Center, a haven for victims of domestic and sexual violence that officials hope will serve as a national model for violence prevention. “Even if you don’t want to talk to police — not everyone is ready to prosecute — you can come and get services. It’s going to be a family-friendly place where a mom can get services while kids play in a safe environment,” said Richmond police Chief Chris Magnus. He was among the local, county and state dignitaries and community stakeholders who celebrated Friday at a groundbreaking ceremony for the project 10 years in the making. The center is a joint effort by numerous public, private and nonprofit agencies to provide aid to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, child abuse and human trafficking and their families. The goal: break the cycle of violence at home to make the community safer by giving people easy access to services in a single location. Plans are in the works for similar centers in Central and East Contra Costa County. “This is truly an astounding project and one that communities across the nation will look to for guidance on how to successfully stop violence where it starts,” said John Gioia, the county supervisor who represents Richmond. Since the center opened with an interim location within the Richmond Police Department’s Hilltop mall substation in 2011, it has served more than 500 West County families. The expanded center is expected to open in fall 2014 in a 7,200-square-foot facility at 256 24th St., walking distance from the Richmond BART station and civic center. There, people will be able to meet with police, counselors and attorneys, obtain emergency shelter and safe housing, and get job-placement help. The building, a long-shuttered mental health patient intake center, was donated to the city by Contra Costa County and is being renovated through foundation and government grants, bond money and private and corporate donations. The $2.75 million project to open the expanded center is funded, but the fundraising efforts are far from over as more money will be needed to support operations, Magnus said. Learn more about the West Contra Costa Family Justice Center at www.wccfjc.org or by calling 510-965-4937. Contact Malaika Fraley at 925-234-1684. Follow her at Twitter.com/malaikafraley.
FJC Groundbreaking Celebration Friday 11/1/13
Join the Family Justice Center and Partner Agencies for a groundbreaking celebration 5 years in the making! Friday November 1, 2013 at 10am at 256 24th Street (at Macdonald) in Richmond, CA. RSVP to the Family Justice Center at (510) 965-4949 or ltoney@wccfjc.org Light refreshments will be provided. Host Committee: John Gioia, Supervisor Contra Costa County • Don Lau, Chairman, For Richmond • Bill Lindsay, City Manager, Richmond • Chris Magnus, Chief of Police, Richmond Police Department • Gayle McLaughlin, Mayor, City of Richmond • Bielle Moore, Community Affairs Manager, Richmond Sanitary Service