Forum held to update community on prostitution problem

Homewood residents gathered at Raleigh Avenue Baptist Church Tuesday night to update community discussion about prostitution.

WellHouse founder Tajuan McCarty thanked the Homewood community for continuing the conversation. This was the third meeting hosted in the area, something she does not always see.

“This is the first community that has continued a conversation,” McCarty said. “… I’m excited about tonight too because I think this is our next step in the community and an update.”

Rep. Jack Williams offered an update on the Human Trafficking Safe Harbor Act, which was unable to pass through the Alabama State Legislature.

The bill included steps to protect minors who are being prostituted so that they are treated as victims rather than criminals. It also allows for a three-day retention period, which Williams said is to prevent women from being bailed out of jail and taken to another city quickly after arrest.

“I wanted to make sure we stopped that cycle, where an hour after arrest they went with their pimp,” he said.

Although the law unanimously passed the State House, Williams said it was unable to pass the Senate. It is unlikely it will return to the legislature this year, but he hopes it will be discussed in the first 30-day session next year.

Things such as the Safe Harbor Law help bring important conversations to communities, McCarty said. Some changes can already be seen in how prostitution cases are handled by some law enforcement agencies.

Officers will call McCarty when young women are brought in for prostitution. Sometimes, officers will work to provide them resources rather than immediately arrest them.

“To have the police call, that’s something new that’s happening, and it’s a really great step,” McCarty said.

The WellHouse is a faith-based organization, and McCarty said another important step is bringing up the issue of prostitution in church. She encouraged Raleigh Avenue Baptist Church Pastor Nic Seaborn to provide a safe space for men and women to discuss temptations or times they were victimized.

“[It helps] to just be able to say sex in church, in the South,” McCarty said.

As a result of community support, volunteer coordinator Susie Gunter is working to organize a Special Ops team for the Homewood area. Special Ops is a group that goes around a community, offering to pray for or talk to people on the street, including drug addicts, homeless individuals or sex trafficking victims.

“We are very much in the baby stage of planning,” Gunter said. “This is not something we’re just going to jump out and start doing.”

She is hoping for a group of volunteers who are committed to going out one hour a week as well as a plain clothes police officer willing to volunteer their time.

Changes in the WellHouse are also on the horizon. The organization has been able to gain land to house more women, moving up from 25 beds at this time. That expansion will also help women with children, said WellHouse development director Ashley Anderson.

The WellHouse has brought in four women in the past four days who are pregnant. Care for women and their children is a positive step in helping, Anderson said.

“To imagine that that life is going to come in, and we’re going to be able to provide for this young lady and her baby, we rescued two people, not just one,” Anderson said.

Along with helping bring awareness to these issues, Williams said working with the city to improve plans for development could help reduce the issue. Conaway noted construction on Oak Grove Road as a step toward a better community.

“A developer could come in and price these folks out of business. It wouldn’t solve the problem, but it would solve your problem,” Williams said.