Kristi House to host 25th Anniversary Silver Lining Gala
Barbara W. Havenick and Elizabeth Schaul named gala co-chairs.

Kristi House is turning 25. In honor of this milestone, our annual gala will commemorate our years of service treating and transforming the lives of children and their families. In tribute to the thousands of children we’ve helped heal, we’ve named our 25th Anniversary event the Silver Lining Gala, honoring their journeys from trauma to triumph. The Silver Lining Gala will be held on Saturday, February 8, 2020, at Four Seasons Miami. The event will bring together luminaries from the business and political world, community leaders, lawmakers and child advocates, all committed to protecting and healing children’s trauma, and supporting our Children’s Advocacy Center. 
Going for the GOLD
In our journey working with commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC), we've made important strides in treating survivors of one of the worst crimes committed against youth. In addition to transforming lives, we’ve increased public awareness, addressed and dismantled misconceptions, championed and shepherded legislation, and much, much more.
 
It was 2007 when Kristi House began its program to address CSEC, a population of victims of sexual abuse who were being misidentified and overlooked, and for whom no services existed. For the first time we brought together agencies that had contact with child victims of sex trafficking and at-risk youth, but no place to refer them for help.
 
We have learned a lot in the past 12 years. We know it takes a community of providers to address the needs of CSEC. Child protective services, law enforcement, prosecutors, public educators, mental health specialists, medical professionals and other resources are all key. 

Earlier this year, with a major grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice, we launched one more critical piece to helping girls overcome exploitation: Bridges to the Future. The program provides educational support, vocational training, jobs skills development and career planning for girls overcoming sex trafficking. Bridges is truly a community-wide effort involving FIU, Miami Dade College and corporate partners. Regions Bank is providing financial literacy training for Project GOLD girls, and PowerPlus Tutoring is providing critical educational support so girls can achieve the needed academic credentials to achieve their dream careers.

Indeed, Project GOLD has been a journey of leading and learning. In the past four years we have published five papers in peer-reviewed, scholarly journals and currently have two others under review, all led by our research-mentor Dr. Maureen Kenny of FIU. We are always presenting at national conferences and major meetings, helping to share what we have learned in our efforts to serve, and heal, sex trafficked kids. Clinicians and researchers around the globe are looking at our programming and replicating our work. 

We’re excited to have forged another key partner for Bridges to the Future with Ark of Freedom Alliance, dedicated to raising awareness and providing services to male youth and LGBTQ victims of trafficking.

We are actively seeking partners and sponsors for internship and apprentice opportunities for Project GOLD members, and invite anyone who can join us in partnership to give us a call.
Spotlights
Join us in saluting some of our superstars behind the scenes, in the trenches and in the community who make Kristi House happen.

Donor Spotlight:
Independent Pilots Association Foundation
The sky is the limit...thank you Independent Pilots Association Foundation!

What do you want to be when you grow-up? From musicians to teachers and social workers, our Project GOLD girls are regaining their footing and finding their personal strengths to pursue a variety of career pathways. By co-sponsoring the newly launched Bridges to the Future, the IPA Foundation is helping to fill an important gap between recovery services and mapping out a new life. The program includes educational support, vocational training, job skills development, paid internships and career planning. 

The IPA Foundation, which is composed of professional pilots who fly in service of United Parcel Service, is committed to making a positive impact in the lives of child sex trafficking survivor. This year, their support meant that dozens of Project GOLD girls got personalized attention and support via dedicated tutors, specializing in a range of subjects. Last year, the foundation helped to fund summer programming which provided a wide range of enrichment activities from fitness sessions to painting workshops, all within a safe environment.

“The Independent Pilots Association Foundation is dedicated to the welfare of children and is proud to support Kristi House and Project GOLD. We applaud the efforts of all involved to combat sex trafficking and to give young survivors the help they need to set a course for a bright future,” said IPA Foundation Trustee Eric Wetsch.

Board Spotlight:
Kara Zeder Rosen, President
For our Board Spotlight, we are starting at the top with our Board President Kara Zeder Rosen. Kara has brought us through several years of incredible growth, overcoming challenges to provide services that our community needs. Earlier this year, the top-producing realtor was recognized by the Miami Foundation as the 2019 Emerging Philanthropist honoree for her dedication and commitment to Kristi House. Thank you, Kara!
 
The Zeder family has been a Kristi House ally and supporter for two decades. Matriarch Judy Zeder built an impressive legacy and left big shoes for her predecessor, and daughter, to fill. Kara was nominated to the board in 2012, and it didn’t take long for her to make her way to board chair. She hit the ground running, fund-raising and friend-raising, with unprecedented speed and unparalleled success.

Despite Kristi House’s stellar reputation for excellent services and stewardship of support, serving as President has not been without challenges. A statewide foster care crisis resulted in Kristi House’s 15-year state contract for non-residential services being reallocated, leaving a huge, half-million-dollar hole in its annual operating budget. A change in staff leadership in 2015 left big shoes to fill. Undaunted, Kara has led on the frontlines, coalescing with our community partners; bringing on highly qualified CEO leadership; and delivering break-even budgets while expanding services.

Kara has inspired large corporate and philanthropic gifts to Kristi House to support core operations helping abused and trafficked child-victims. These gifts have fueled the momentum that Kara began as Board president four years ago. During her presidency, private giving has increased by 25 percent and we’ve grown operations to more than $5 million annually. Under her leadership two additional satellite locations have been opened to better serve clients in deep south Miami-Dade, and evidence-based practices have been added to address physical abuse, and co-occurring substance abuse coupled with trauma.
 
Kara stands out for her leadership in bringing the board, staff and Kristi House partners together during times of change in an environment of ever-diminishing resources. She has been intrepid dealing with an array of challenges, melding with powerful leaders and forging through to solutions to the place of strength Kristi House now finds itself in. Kara’s leadership has been remarkable for anyone of any age, but especially amazing considering she’s just getting started!
Staff Spotlight:
Bradel Canfield, Project GOLD Program Manager
Kristi House’s Project GOLD has been especially fortunate to have Bradel Canfield on its team. Bradel’s passion is mentoring teens who are at risk or have been exploited, as well as advocating for the rights of foster youth in Florida.
 
Bradel was naturally drawn to helping Project GOLD girls overcome trafficking three years ago when she began as a volunteer sharing her skills as a yoga instructor, teaching weekly classes for the girls. Having grown up in South Florida within the foster care system and surviving human trafficking, she was a natural mentor. Soon thereafter in 2017, she accepted the first full-time Survivor-Mentor position at Project GOLD, made possible with support from private funders and Voices for Children Foundation.
 
The girls in the program gravitate to Bradel, who works with them one-on-one and in groups, facilitating open discussions, yoga, journaling, and other activities. She was promoted to Program Manager recently and has hired another full-time survivor “Success Coach” to mentor girls in the program.
 
Bradel dedicates a day or more each week to the human trafficking division of the Miami Children’s Courthouse, which is known as G.R.A.C.E. Court (Growth Renewed through Acceptance, Change and Empowerment). This unique, specialized court is devoted to the needs of children who have been identified as victims of commercial sexual exploitation and labor trafficking. Within G.R.A.C.E. Court, Bradel serves as an advisor and advocate for teenage victims of sex trafficking and at-risk teens.
 
Bradel is currently working with leadership to establish protocols and continue to develop Project GOLD to best serve commercially sexually exploited children. Along with a team of other Florida Survivor Leaders, Bradel has been working, grassroots, within the Florida Statewide Survivor Alliance (FSSA), founded to advocate for changes in Florida legislation relating to human trafficking.
 
As a Prevention Curriculum Group Facilitator for the highly regarded “My Life My Choice” curriculum out of Boston, Bradel leads a weekly Project GOLD group in the program. She is a newly Certified Facilitator for the evidence-based “Not a Number” prevention curriculum that teaches at-risk teens how to keep safe. Bradel represents Kristi House in the South Florida Human Trafficking Task Force. She has made several presentations at major conferences and events in the past two years, lending a strong voice for survivors of trafficking and inspiring Project GOLD girls to pursue their dreams. 
Back to School Tips: Spotting Child Sex Trafficking
The fight against child sex trafficking requires vigilance from all of us. It’s been called the dark trade because much of it happens out of sight. However, there are signs that can help us identify when a child is in danger, and they are often conspicuous.   

If you notice any number of the red flags below, we encourage you to contact the Abuse Hotline of the Florida Department of Children and Families by calling 1.800.96-ABUSE or reporting online, ReportAbuse@dcf.state.fl.us .

  1. Exhibits poor hygiene, weight changes, malnourishment or fatigue.
  2. Use of lingo or slang from “the life” among peers, or referring to a boyfriend as “Daddy.”
  3. Wearing new clothes of any style, or getting hair or nails done with no financial means to this independently, is a more general indicator of potential sexual exploitation.
  4. Truancy or tardiness from school may be a sign that sexual exploitation is occurring during school hours, or during hours when the young person should otherwise be sleeping.
  5. Having a tattoo that he or she is reluctant to explain may be the result of tattooing or branding by a pimp. Pimps and other sexual exploiters often tattoo or brand children and youth, particularly girls. Youth are commonly branded with their exploiter’s name tattooed on the neck, chest, or arms.
Community Trainings Open to All
Kristi House offers free community trainings at its main office and Naranja office locations. Stewards of Children is a sexual abuse prevention training program based on the premise that child safety starts with adults. It educates on how to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. Children with Problematic Sexual Behavior was developed to help parents and child-serving professionals learn about inappropriate versus normal sexual developmental behavior in school-age children and how to respond. Other programs deal with trafficking, signs and symptoms of abuse, and child traumatic stress. In the classroom, our educators are presenting the evidence-based Child Safety Matter s program.

Programs on the calendar include:

  • Stewards of Children
  • Children with Problematic Sexual Behavior
  • Children and Traumatic Stress
  • Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children 101
  • What Every Parent Should Know

See Kristi House’s Web Calendar for all the dates and description, and RSVP on Eventbrite to reserve your spot!
Kristi House & lululemon
Kristi House has enjoyed a partnership with lululemon since 2018, beginning with their Lincoln Road store. That soon expanded to all the South Florida stores, including Brickell City Center, Merrick Park and Aventura Mall, joining our cause. lululemon is investing in our work through their generous financial support, as well as hosting special events for Kristi House.  We are bringing our community together to spread awareness about Kristi House and make the practice of yoga & meditation accessible to all.

The second Sunday of every month lululemon hosts a donation based yoga event at rotating locations with 100% of the proceeds given to Kristi House in support of our education and prevention programs. 

The next event is on September 8th at 9 a.m. at the beautiful, new lululemon store in Aventura Mall. We hope you can join us!

Namaste
Save the Date!

Yoga for Kristi House
9/8/2019, 9 a.m.
Aventura Mall - lululemon

Give Miami Day
11/21/19

Silver Lining Gala
2/8/20
Four Seasons Miami

Breaking the Silence Luncheon
5/13/20
Jungle Island

@KristiHouseCAC