SUPPORT ARC DURING COVID-19 CRISIS
ONLINE CHILD PREDATORS are Increasing Activity During COVID-19 Stay Home Orders
As we find ourselves in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us assume that our children are so isolated from society that they cannot be touched by predators. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Predators realize they have a captive audience with children who are spending even more time during the pandemic on apps and social media. For the predator, it is like shooting fish in a pond. Our experience tells us that we may see an increase unlike anything in the past with missing and exploited American children by the time this pandemic is resolved.
ARC is staged and ready to do what we have done since 1993, rescue child victims and bring them home. But it will not be feasible without the financial support of our donors.
We are asking you to help us prepare for the onslaught of crimes against our nation's children that are increasing daily during this national emergency.
Please donate to ARC's mission and save missing and exploited American children.
SAVING INNOCENCE STEPS UP DURING COVID-19 OUTBREAK
Saving Innocence's Letter to Supporters
As information about this unprecedented pandemic unfolds every hour, we wanted to update you, our incredible supporters, on our work during this concerning time for so many across the world.
While the global community has been instructed to stay in, WE GO OUT. Our job at Saving Innocence never ends. Each day, we are hopeful that a call does not come in, and a child is not in crisis, but unfortunately, that is not our reality. Our extraordinary caseworkers are ready and equipped to answer each call with bravery whenever we are beckoned to help.
It is so important that we do not forget about our young girls and boys during this challenging period because whenever there is a disruption of any kind, it is the most vulnerable who are affected the most. We are definitely serving the most vulnerable. We must understand that with the quick spread of COVID-19, sex traffickers create a conduit to infecting thousands of Americans, and the risk for exploitation tremendously increases.
In March, we recovered 16 children, which is double the amount we recover under normal circumstances. While we are collectively shifting the way we work and live worldwide in the face of this crisis, the exploitation of children hasn’t changed.
Our team’s dedication to creating a world where no child is sexually exploited endures. We are steadfast in our determination to end child sex trafficking while ensuring that each child has access to comprehensive services, justice, a safe family, and the possibility of rebuilding their lives. In the coming weeks of ambiguity, your faithfulness and generosity are more important than ever- to make sure our critically important work is not diminished. Times of crisis should strengthen our resolve to serve, to band together and take care of one another- and we’ve always been able to count on you.
Thank you for your incredible support. Our Saving Innocence team hopes you and your loved ones are safe and doing well. Know that you are in our thoughts. We are all in this together!
All the best,
Saving Innocence Team
**Exciting news: Interested in how you can learn more about exploitation of children and advocacy? We're expanding our resources and making an exclusive training available for you! Be on the lookout in your inbox next week for details.
You can always learn more about the work that we do through our WEBSITE or stay up to date by following us on INSTAGRAM!
ASSOCIATION FOR THE RECOVERY OF CHILDREN
ARC REACTS TO COVID-19 CRISIS
Under the Current COVID-19 crisis, most of America is on lockdown And while we are taking similar precautions, we are not doing so at the expense of losing children that are still being trafficked and abused. You can rest assured that ARC is operating at full capacity and employing tactical and technical strategies that far exceed anything most NGOs are using as well as successfully countering any defensive measures perpetrators may think they can use during this time when the nation is preoccupied with the virus.
Your Donations to ARC Directly Support Child Rescue Missions. DONATE HERE.
The value in such information resides in the fact that no perpetrator can hide as easily as they once thought they could because ARC is monitoring the footprint contamination. And with that, ARC is able to spearhead rescue operations more efficiently. With our alliances in DOJ and other local and state law enforcement entities more children will have the chance to be discovered and come home quicker than ever before.
We want to recognize each and every person that has supported our efforts with your finances and prayers. Because of you, we are able to do all of this. We are grateful and thank you for that continued support.
Bazzel Baz
ARC Founder and President
COVID-19 INFO FROM San Diego District Attorney's office
Victim Resources During COVID-19
Social distancing and stay at home orders due to COVID-19 may create more stressful situations for victims of domestic violence. Here is an UPDATED COMPREHENSIVE LIST of services and resources available for victims of crime and survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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School closings due to COVID-19 present potential for an increased risk of online child sexual exploitation, which why it is very important to monitor your children's online activities. If your child is a victim, call the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force at 1-800-843-5678. Here are some important resources to protect children online.
San Diego Area
Prosecutors Join Forces to Protect Consumers
Local law enforcement agencies are working together to protect San Diego County residents and to remind the public of consumer laws in place during the COVID-19 state of emergency and Governor Gavin Newsom’s order for Californians to stay at home.
1736 FAMILY CRISIS CENTER
1736 Family Crisis Center Needs Your Help
For 48 years, 1736 Family Crisis Center has been devoted to helping the most vulnerable members of our community: those affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, homelessness, unemployment, poverty, human trafficking, mental health disorders. While the COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges like we have never seen, we provide essential services and are committed to supporting our clients through this difficult time and connecting them with the resources they need to survive. Doing so, however, requires significant changes to the way we provide services. Agency wide, we have a dire need for cleaning supplies, cleaning services, staffing, personal protective equipment, transportation, and technology—and emergency funding to secure these resources.
In this constantly changing landscape of regulations and available resources, your support is crucial in helping us meet our most immediate needs:
- General operations funding we can allocate nimbly to ensure uninterrupted delivery of critical, life-saving services such as emergency shelter, housing and financial assistance, mental health services, legal assistance, and more;
- Cover the costs of sanitation services and supplies at all service sites—especially at emergency and transitional shelters, whose clientele must remain in place for the duration of the Stay at Home Order—and administrative offices, to ensure the health and well-being of both our clients and staff;
- Conduct trainings on new, mandatory program requirements, such as practicing social distancing during street outreach, and emerging practices, such as treatment modalities to help domestic violence survivors overcome traumatic experiences sustained as a result of California’s Stay at Home order;
- Recruit additional staff to quickly and effectively respond to emerging community need, for example, hiring additional staff to fill in emergency vacancies, or to provide educational enrichment services such as tutoring to respond to district-wide school closures. Additionally, to meet social distancing requirements, we need to hire more staff to implement staggered work schedules;
- Build vital human resources capacity to ensure the uninterrupted provision of essential services by hiring a staffing coordinator;
- Purchase technology such as webcams, tablets, and laptops to provide therapeutic and case management services via telecommunication platforms, and trainings for staff to ensure compliance with HIPAA and other best practices for client privacy.
We need your help. If you can, please visit 1736familycrisiscenter.org/donate.html, and join us in making sure those who need it have access to comprehensive supports for their safety, health, and well-being.
SPY UPDATES
Updated Information from SPY
Safe Place for Youth (SPY) shares the latest information for youth here:
Information on the DPH Hotline (below)
The DPH Call Center has been established to triage and refer requests for isolation and quarantine housing. This should be prefaced with an update on capacity:
- LA County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is working to establish 2,000 quarantine and isolation (Q/I) rooms at various sites throughout the county. As of March 21st, Dockweiler Beach can accept up to 25 individuals and families. OEM leading efforts to establish Operations and Site Managers.
- The units are RVs that provide individuals and families with a living space with a bed and bathroom.
- Given the current resources and amenities of the Dockweiler Beach RVs, the following individuals and families are eligible for Q/I rooms:
- Confirmed or suspected (tested) COVID-19 case
- Independent with all activities of daily living (ADLs)
- Cognitively able to understand and adhere to isolation or quarantine procedures
- Medically stable enough to be managed in the community
- Independent with medical needs such as wound care, oxygen, blood glucose checks, etc.
- The Departments of Health Services’ (DHS) Housing for Health is leading efforts to bring the Dockweiler Site to be fully operational and maximize capacity. This will be the model to inform how other sites will be put on-line.
- The Department of Public Health (DPH) established a call center that is accessible from 8 am to 6 pm (833-596-1009) every day that will provide intake and coordinate housing and related transportation for individuals and transportation to available sites. The phone line is active with limited distribution and will go public on Monday. DHS and DPH are exhausting all options to increase staffing capacity so that all activities can be brought to scale, and the room capacity can increase.
Questions or concerns can be sent to COVID19@lahsa.org.
SPY's housing programs, including The Nest, Roots to Grow, and A Bridge Home Sunset are still up and running. With their partners, SPY continues to provide shelter, food, essential services, and a caring connection. As you know, the comfort of a well-stocked pantry isn’t a reality for our young people. For many, the food provided at SPY is one of their only reliable sources for a meal. As we move forward, SPY is in need of monetary contributions so it can continue providing food to its residential programs and the street-based youth who are coming to the Access Center. SPY has partnered with local restaurants who are also feeling the impact of COVID-19 to prepare hot meals for 100 young people every day. A donation of just $25 will feed 5 street-based youth, and $500 will provide a meal for each SPY youth, housed and unhoused. TO DONATE, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
CAST NEEDS HELP
As a first responder, Cast is working around the clock to ensure survivors get the care they need and deserve. Most are worried about much more than the coronavirus and can't help but put their health at risk as they flee traffickers. Help us continue our first response efforts by donating to our emergency fund today.