For Disaster Relief, Sometimes Smaller is Better

On the afternoon of Jan. 12, 2010 the earth shook violently in a small island nation in the Caribbean. The aftermath shook the collective conscience of the developed world.

Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries prior to the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, suffered widespread devastation. Death, displacement, and disruption of supply lines were plastered on newspapers and TV screens worldwide. Cracked beyond repair, the presidential palace symbolized a fractured nation.

The world responded.

Celebrities held a massive “Hope for Haiti” telethon to raise money. Text message based giving, where $10 would be added to a cellphone bill, allowed small, impulse donations. Millions of dollars flowed from donors to aid organizations like UNICEF, Oxfam, and, now notoriously, the American Red Cross.

On the Ground

Conduit Mission, based out of Franklin, Tennessee, was a smaller organization helping in the direct aftermath. Conduit’s investment in the Haitian people started long before the earthquake—nearly a decade ago—supporting the people in the city of Jacmel. When the disaster struck, Conduit’s existing infrastructure allowed for immediate assistance, along side the other major aid organizations.

Ben Holeton, who had traveled to Haiti with Conduit before, arrived on the ground in Haiti the day after Port-Au-Prince airport opened back up to commercial traffic, about six weeks after the disaster. “To see places I knew lying on the ground in rubble was definitely a harrowing experience,” Holeton says. “It’s hard to forget.”

Waste

Over five years post disaster, an investigative report released by NPR and ProPublica challenged the narrative released by one of the biggest aid organizations operating in Haiti: the American Red Cross. The report found that, with nearly $500 million raised, only six permanent houses were constructed. This number stands in contrast to the Red Cross claim of sheltering over 100,000 Haitians.

Although the organization was on the ground early providing necessary relief, the report has tarnished the reputation of the Red Cross’s efforts in Haiti. Darren Tyler, founder of Conduit Mission, says the report confirmed what many people on the ground already knew about the Red Cross: they are not equipped for long term redevelopment.

In contrast, Conduit has built 52 homes in Haiti with only a few hundred thousand dollars. Conduit’s relationships with the Haitian people gave them a mandate for action. “These were our friends.” Tyler says. “And, so, when your friend’s house gets knocked down, you want to do whatever you can to help them.”

Holeton was personally involved with building six houses. He says part of a smaller organization’s effectiveness is the ability to adapt. Conduit has the flexibility to change course as needs arise. A large organization, like the Red Cross, is much more bureaucratic and rigid. “They operate like a government,” Holeton says.

Part of that inflexibility stops the Red Cross from looking long term, and instead seeks short-term fixes for problems. The shelters provided by the Red Cross, somehow costing $5,000, were more like plywood tents—no match for the tropical climate and hurricanes common in Haiti. Conduit on the other hand was able to provide concrete houses for a cost of $6,500. Tyler says they are looking forward at how they can innovate the housing, not just replace it. “The theory being: not only increasing the quality of life, but the possibility of life so that they are living differently now,” Tyler says.

While the methods and actions of the organizations are different, the Red Cross’s operations affect the smaller organizations on the ground. As the sentiment grew among locals that large NGOs were not addressing the concerns of the Haitian people, aftershocks rippled through the community Conduit served. Tyler recalls making an unplanned trip to meet with community leaders, who expressed concern. Protestors held signs written in Creole and threw rocks at the building, where they met. Conduit’s financial transparency was able to re-establish calm, but remains a lesson in how organizational reputations can be bundled in disaster areas.

Moving Forward

As the report makes waves in the United States, another concern is how it will affect future disaster relief efforts.

Darren Tyler, Founder of Conduit Mission

“That’s my biggest concern.” Holeton says. “The next time a Haiti happens, or an Indonesia, people are like ‘oh, the Red Cross didn’t do anything. They didn’t do nearly as good as I expected them to last time, so I’m not going to donate any money.’ That hurts.” He and Tyler agree that the relationships Conduit has built with supporters should shield them from financial backlash.

“We just really try to empower our tribe.” Tyler says. “So instead of going wide, we try to go deep.”

This allows Conduit to have a truly global reach. Besides Haiti, the organization operates in Togo, Africa, Guatemala, India, and conducts disaster relief in the United States.

A Conduit

With a stated goal to be “a ‘conduit’ of God’s power, God’s love, and God’s resources,” Conduit focuses on the humanity of the people it serves. With Haiti only resurfacing in the news because of the scrutiny on the Red Cross, Conduit’s tribe has a different perspective. “When I hear talk about what’s going on down there, to me, it’s not just a poor country in the Caribbean,” Holeton says. “It’s my friends and family down there, people that I know and love.”

Conduit is a small player in the humanitarian aid world. If its track record is a sign of effectiveness, the smaller players may end up changing the game.

In Your Own Backyard

Chief Deborah Faulkner stepped up to the microphones of a small news conference her department had called just 45 minutes earlier. Her sharp dress blues offered a stark contrast from the nondescript brick office-space she stood before.

“Franklin is a special place.”

She’s right. The town just 14 miles south of Nashville has a rich history dating back to 1799. Surviving a bloody Civil War battle, the town prides itself on beautiful aesthetics. Main Street is painted with shops, restaurants, and the neon marquee of the Franklin Theatre. In a word, it’s quaint.

This backdrop has attracted nearly 70 thousand residents. Major corporations have relocated headquarters here, taking advantage of a high quality of life for their employees. With its small-town charm and reputation for affluence, it’s no big shock that Franklin boasts one of the lowest crime rates in the state.

Yet on this day, Chief Faulkner stood before members of the press announcing raids on two businesses and four apartments related to prostitution. Police executed search warrants at the Oriental Massage Center and the Capital Chinese Foot Spa Massage in the culmination of over a year’s work investigating the businesses’ activities.

The department’s investigation included partners not typically associated with operations in this community: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Homeland Security. Another group joining the ranks seemed out of place with the others. End Slavery Tennessee’s mission focuses on systematically eradicating human trafficking and sex slavery in the state. 

End Slavery’s prominent mention in the list of involved agencies cast the specter of sex trafficking in this picturesque community. Studies show that human trafficking is a growing problem in the state. Of Tennessee’s 95 counties, 85 of them have reported at least 1 case of human trafficking.

In Franklin?

When Chief Faulkner fielded a question by a member of the press about sex trafficking, Sergeant Charles Warner, the department’s Public Information Officer, quickly jumped in.

“We’ve never said that. We’ve never talked about sex trafficking,” Warner said.

Chief Faulkner further clarified the organization’s evolvement. “It’s our understanding from our research, and talking with other law enforcement agencies across the United States, that where you have this type of activity, you could also have people who are held against their will,” the Chief said. “We wanted to make it available to them, if in fact we did discover this.”

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Ending Slavery

Bucky Elliott is a community leader for End Slavery TN in Spring Hill, Franklin’s neighbor to the south. His red hair and goatee are the first things you notice, but his enthusiasm for End Slavery’s work soon overshadows them. He has worked with the organization for nearly five years.

Elliott explained that the law sets a high threshold for a prostitution case to become a trafficking case. If the victim is an adult, law enforcement must prove she was forced, coerced, or deceived by the alleged trafficker.

Traffickers have rigged the game against victims. They have mastered the art of manipulating their victims to maintain control. Tracey Brooks, an Intelligence Analyst with the TBI, says that many of the victims may not even view themselves as a victim.

“That is the way they have been trained,” Brooks said. “A lot of girls that we have talked to that are 16, 17 years old, they don’t view themselves as being used by somebody to make money. Even though they don’t get to keep any of the money and they are not allowed to leave.”

When a minor is involved in prostitution activities, the law automatically classifies the crime as trafficking. Even so, Elliott sees the reported cases as “just the tip of the iceberg.”

“Usually if it is a pimp situation, they’ve got three, four, five girls in their stable,” Elliott said. “So, it’s only really representing the fact that it is happening, it’s not really quantitative of how much.”

End Slavery TN fights with a multifaceted approach: Training and educating the community, aiding victims, and preventing future cases of trafficking. While no aspect of the fight is easy, raising awareness in the suburbs of Nashville has its own set of challenges. “It’s still taboo,” Elliott said. “It’s just not a comfortable topic to talk about.” The “safe” communities must see that it isn’t just overseas or in seedy downtown hotels. Sex trafficking is in the backyard.

Tracey Brooks says the TBI also focuses on community education efforts. Talking to state agencies, law enforcement, church groups, and nonprofits are all a part of getting the community to “see it for what it is, and not what they think it is.”

The End of the Day

The evening of the Franklin raids, the police department issued another press release.

“5 rescued from human trafficking; 7 arrested on multiple charges following massage parlor raids in Franklin,” read the headline in bold blue text. Successful police work and observant citizens offered freedom to 5 victims of a horrific crime in a family community.

Even though the police were careful in the morning, Bucky Elliott had a hunch the Police knew what they were dealing with when executing the search warrants.

The Capital Chinese Foot Spa Massage was behind an apartment complex and directly across the street from a public high school. Oriental Massage Center backed up to the fence line of a single-family home. A neighboring business politely declined to comment; only saying “we knew nothing about it.”

Not long after the press release was sent, a light snow fell on the city. The clean, white dusting offers the city a fresh start, and for a few Franklin residents, “not in my backyard” is true—at least for now.

HOMELESS PAPER MAKES A DIFFERENCE

The nonprofit publisher of a weekly street newspaper empowers homeless persons to help themselves. The Contributor’s ability to provide near instantaneous jobs, contributes to a housing acquisition rate by vendors of 35 percent .

Potential vendors are interviewed, trained and given 15 papers to start their business. Subsequent papers are purchased for $0.75 and sold for $2.00. The vendor keeps all profits from the sale of the paper.

This unique form of charity builds responsibility and pride among vendors.

Contributor vendor Brian Wolz saw instant relief when he joined the Contributor six years ago. “As soon as I started doing this, I started making money,” Wolz said. “ You can make it, you really can.”

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With a homeless population on par with the national average, Nashville stands out through innovative initiatives combating homelessness. The city and other nonprofits focus on getting people out of the cold and into homes through the “housing first” approach.

With winter only weeks away, the need for protection from the elements drastically increases. Nashville has already seen two homeless deaths in the past month.

Contributor vendors see winter as a mixed blessing. Harsh elements make for long days, but these factors also tend to yield higher sales.

Learn more about Contributor vendor Brian Wolz below:

NASHVILLE IMMIGRANT RIGHTS GROUPS PREPARE FOR EXECUTIVE ORDER

President Barack Obama has not yet announced his executive order on immigration, but already Nashville immigrant advocacy groups are preparing for the changes.

The president announced that he would take unilateral action before the end of the year to improve the nation’s immigration system. His announcement came just days after Republicans took control of the U.S. Senate and made gains to their majority in the House of Representatives.

Republicans criticized the timing of the president’s announcement as a signal that he will be unwilling to work with the new Congress on important issues. Senator Rob Portman on MSNBC’s Morning Joe said he expects lawsuits against the action.

Although details of the executive order are still unknown, immigration advocates believe that it will be similar to the 2012 order known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

Nashville’s Immigrant Community

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In Nashville, immigrants account for the majority of the population grown from 2000-2012. Groups like Catholic Charities of Tennessee provide resources like counseling, documentation assistance, and rights awareness.

Donna Gann, the Coordinator of the Immigration Support Services with Catholic Charities says she expects an increase in their work with the immigrant community in Nashville as a result of President Obama’s executive order. Initially, they must inform the community of what exactly the executive order will do.

“They trust our organization because we’ve been in this service for so many years.” Said Gann. “They trust us to tell them what they need to do.” In the wake of broad changes, groups like Catholic Charities provide a vital service to the community.

Listen below for more on how advocacy groups prepare for change in immigration law:

Wine Coming To Tennessee Grocery Stores

NASHVILLE — A small team of Red White and Food supporters gathered around a TV at the restaurant of the Renaissance hotel in downtown Nashville. They eagerly await polls closing, hoping for success in their seven-year fight for consumer choice.

On Nov. 4, voters in communities across Tennessee voted on a referendum allowing grocery stores to sell wine. 78 municipalities collected enough signatures to place the referendum on the ballot. All 78 passed the measure by a wide margin, allowing grocery stores in those communities to begin the sale of wine July 1, 2016.

It seemed like a simple proposition. 36 other states already allow the sale of wine in grocery stores. Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association launched Red White and Food in 2007 to make Tennessee number 37.

Opinion polls told the TGCSA that wine in retail stores was something Tennesseans wanted. However, the only legal outlet for purchasing wine did not share the public’s sentiment. Fierce opposition from lobbyists representing liquor stores stalled the effort.

“For decades they had this very lucrative, government-protected monopoly,” says Rob Ikard, President and CEO of the TGCSA. “They were going to protect that ground at any cost.”

The liquor store lobby stoked the fears of legislators through traditional southern values to earn “no” votes.

“In other bording states around Tennessee, where grocery stores were able to sell wine, there weren’t children running rampant in the streets drunk,” Ikard said. “So we’ve asked the question, ‘why shouldn’t we be able to do that?’”

Time and time again the liquor store lobby succeeded in killing the effort. In 2013, a bill in legislature did not even make it out of committee.

For convenience, many liquor stores positioned themselves next to grocery stores. (Credit: William Haynes)

Liquor stores in Tennessee dedicate large sections to wine. (Credit: Cool Springs Wine & Spirits)

Gaining signatures for the ballot initiative was key to success. Participating grocery stores allowed petitioners to sit at the entrance of the store. (Credit: Red White and Food)

Governor Bill Haslam signs the bill paving the way for wine to be sold in grocery stores. (Credit: The Tennessean)

In many grocery stores, the first thing a customer will see is a reminder of the wine referendum. (Credit: William Haynes)

Kroger is one of the many grocery stores involved with the Red White and Food campaign. (Credit: William Haynes)

The Process
Despite failing on a legislative level, the Red White and Food initiative continued to raise support from Tennesseans. 2014 brought a new legislative session, and another chance to pass a bill for wine in grocery stores.

With overwhelming support from citizens, the liquor stores “saw the writing on the wall” this year, Ikard says. The spirit and grocery retailers struck a compromise. In March of this year Gov. Bill Haslam signed into law SB 0837/HB 0610.

Instead of immediately allowing grocery stores to sell wine, the law established a framework for individual municipalities to vote on whether or not to allow it. The complexity of the process presented challenges for the initiative. With many steps involved, it would be easy for a supporter to get lost in the shuffle.

“I think a lot of people thought, ‘I thought that was a done deal,’ when it made it out of the legislative body,” says Kroger representative Melissa Eads. “We had to first remind and educate: no it’s not a done deal, now we have to collect signatures. We have to get it on the ballot.”

Red White and Food set up tables in grocery stores across the state, gaining petition signatures to get the referendum on local ballots. This effort yielded 262,247 signatories and landing the referendum on the ballot in 78 municipalities, said a press release from the group.

Nervousness and excitement filled the table of supporters at the watch party. “I’m ready to get a glass of wine,” said one supporter. While the results would not be final until the next evening, early returns pointed to a resounding victory.

After devoting seven years to the cause, unmistakable emotion was in the air. Like college graduates, the supporters were proud of their accomplishment, excited about the future, and closing a long chapter of their lives.

Nashville’s Kurds Speak Out

A community with deep ties to the conflict in Iraq speaks out against Turkey’s roll in the ISIS fight.

Once a quiet community, Nashville’s Kurds want their voices heard on U.S. foreign policy the Middle East.

“Turkey, ISIS are the same,” chanted a crowd in front of the US District Court for Middle Tennessee on a rainy Friday in early October. “Only difference is the name.”

Some waved American and Kurdish flags, while others held homemade signs, begging for support of Kobane.

The conflict with ISIS thrusts a decades old rift between the Turks and Kurds onto the global stage.

As war wages in the Middle East, Kurdish-Americans in the city dubbed “Little Kurdistan” hope for an outcome that includes an independent homeland.

Kurdish rally in front of U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee Credit: The Tennessee Kurdish Community Council

The Turkish Problem

Turkey has already proven to be a less than reliable partner in the conflict with ISIS.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry attempted to reassure the world of Turkey’s engagement at the Global Counter Terrorism Forum in late September saying, “Turkey is very much part of this coalition, and Turkey will be very engaged on the frontlines of this effort.”

With the besieged Kurdish town of Kobane on the border with Turkey, the Turkish government’s inaction fueled speculation around the NATO ally’s true allegiance.

Kurds in the Middle East claim a Turkish/ISIS link, fearing the government in Ankara is enabling the radical Islamic group.

To complicate matters further, Turkey conducted airstrikes last week on the leftist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, while still refraining from military engagement with ISIS.

It took President Obama directly calling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to finally open a path through Turkey for Kurdish fighters’ counter assault on ISIS.

U.S. Response

The Obama Administration is dealing with record low approval ratings in his dealing with ISIS. According to a new Fox News poll, 59% of likely voters disapprove of Mr. Obama’s handling of foreign policy, while 57% disapprove of his handling of ISIS.

While the Obama Administration continues its tepid response to ISIS’s advancement, the Kurds will continue to fight for their lives in towns like Kobane, Syria and Irbil, Iraq.

Kurds in Tennessee

Nashville typically evokes images of cowboy boots and honky tonks, not the largest Kurdish population in the United States. However starting 1976, Kurdish immigrants fleeing persecution have found a home in the Tennessee capital.

Seeking low-cost of living and jobs, they found their way to an enclave off Nolensville Pike—an immigrant rich area southeast of downtown. The location allowed for the small community to thrive, without the typical forces in the American South pressuring it to conform.

Now, an unassuming strip mall serves as the de facto city center for “Little Kurdistan.” Kurdish owned restaurants, markets and a salon flank the Salahadeen Center of Nashville—a local mosque.

A market in the Little Kurdistan neighborhood of Nashville Credit: William Haynes 

Free Kurdistan

Retaining much pride for the region they left, the conflict with ISIS has given new life to opportunity to push for Kurdish independence. Through social media, the Tennessee Kurdish Community Council organizes rallies, like the one in front of the courthouse, to raise awareness for the Kurdish plight.

Along side the “stop ISIS” signs were messages to “liberate Kurdistan.” Cries to “Free Kurdistan” are as much a message against oppressive Middle Eastern governments as they are against the terrorist group.

With the United States finally arming the Kurdish militias in the fight against ISIS, it could signal hope that a victory on the battlefield would lead to a sovereign, independent Kurdistan.

Dr. Walid Phares told Fox News, “Kobani has now become a Stalingrad for the Kurds.” While that may indeed be the case, many Kurds are hoping it will be their Battle of Yorktown.