Lost at Sea: Navigating the Gaps of Rural America
Jenny Almquist, John Pulley, Amanda Casey & Cat Jacoby, BS | September 23 | 1:45-2:45 PM
Topic: Conceptual, Experience | Knowledge Level: Intermediate
According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (2015), 75% of counties are classified as rural, with one quarter of Americans living in communities with populations lower than 2,500. Yet so much attention and funding for anti-trafficking work is focused on large, urban areas. Since 2012, Fierce Freedom has worked to navigate through a sea of rural communities in Western Wisconsin. Participants will hear a recent example from this past Fall 2020 when our team was asked to respond to the call from another rural, in-state agency who had an alleged victim of human trafficking that required direct services from our Survivor Advocate. The series of exasperating and somewhat chaotic events that unfolded that day will be shared with participants - and the Fierce Freedom team will identify the ways they collaborated well along with the steps they missed. Through this experience and others like it, attendees will learn practical strategies centered around navigating interagency relationships, finding a balance of leading from the head and the heart, and figuring out how to best offer direct services in an area of limited resources.
Presentation Objectives:
· Explain what front-end questions to ask when working interagency before getting involved
· Discuss how to maneuver the missteps many rural direct service agencies make and how to avoid them