#myCaptureLink({'contentId' : VersionedContentId(1.116283.1364065599), '':''})
Emily
Fitchpatrick, founder of On Eagles Wings Ministries and the Hope House
talks about the project with supporter, Pastor Brian Matherlee form
McAdenville Wesleyan Church. (John Clark/The Gazette)
Published: Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 15:10 PM.
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A group that helps girls who were once forced to sell their bodies will be coming to Gaston County.
On Eagles Wings Ministries plans to renovate a home to turn it into a haven for girls involved in the sex-trafficking trade.
The home on six acres sat empty for five years, said founder and president Emily Fitchpatrick. Several churches came together to raise enough money to buy the property.
The building will be transformed into Hope House, which will become home to four girls ages 12 to 17. Fitchpatrick hopes to build two more cottages on the site with room for four girls in each home.
Gaston County provides a location that’s close enough to Charlotte to help girls there, but far enough away to keep traffickers at bay, Fitchpatrick said.
North Carolina has become a hotspot for human trafficking, according to the N.C. Coalition Against Human Trafficking. The state’s major highways and interstates, transient populations and large rural areas make North Carolina an attractive place for traffickers.
On Eagles Wings Ministries doesn’t take government money. The faith-based nonprofit doesn’t charge for its services and relies on volunteers and donations.
Trafficking is here
People don’t think of human trafficking as something that happens in the U.S., let alone in North Carolina, Fitchpatrick said. Some picture prostitutes as older women feeding a drug habit, but the average age of a person entering prostitution is 13.
“You think of the 30-year-old meth addict,” Fitchpatrick said. “They don’t think of a 13-year-old kid.”
In the Charlotte area, Fitchpatrick’s group monitors websites for ads that sound like a pimp is trying to sell sex.
Many girls involved in sex trafficking are misidentified by authorities who don’t recognize the signs, Fitchpatrick said. Girls are often runaways who’ve had trouble at home. Many have been abused.
“The problem that we have is the identification piece,” Fitchpatrick said. “Many of these girls are being treated as delinquents, not victims.”
All of the girls who have been clients of On Eagles Wings Ministries have been sexually abused, Fitchpatrick said.
Some girls are also too naïve. One 16-year-old girl from Charlotte met a man in a mall who said he worked for a modeling agency.
“She ended up being locked in a house in Charlotte for three months before she was able to get out,” Fitchpatrick said.
Fitchpatrick was recently selected to serve a two-year term on the newly formed N.C. Human Trafficking Commission, a state group to focus more on how to provide more help for victims.
Seeking support
On Eagles Wings wants to have the Gaston County home open by summer. The other On Eagles Wings is near Asheville.
“Right now, we’re trying to raise money for operational costs,” Fitchpatrick said.
During March, every donation up to $25,000 will be doubled with a match.
McAdenville Wesleyan Church Rev. Brian Matherlee met Fitchpatrick at a church conference a few years ago and began supporting On Eagles Wings Ministries in 2010.
Helping the enslaved is part of the foundation of the Wesleyan Church, Matherlee said. Wesleyans were among the first religious denominations to oppose slavery of blacks in America.
On Eagles Wings has helped 24 girls since it started in 2008. It has made 2,000 phone calls to girls advertising services online, made 200 referrals to helping agencies and conducted 10 rescues.
Being in the program requires a long-term commitment. The group likes to see girls stay at least one year so they can learn about setting goals, life skills and learning to heal.
“It’s amazing to me how they’ve gone through so much but they’re so strong,” Fitchpatrick said.
You can reach reporter Amanda Memrick at 704-869-1839 or follow @AmandaMemrick on Twitter.
Want to help?
What: “Here’s Hope” event and concert, a partnership between On Eagles Wings Ministries and Bethlehem Church in Gastonia to promote awareness about domestic sex trafficking.
When: 6 p.m. Sunday
Where: Bethlehem Church, 3100 Bethlehem Church St.
Cost: The concert and event are free, and donations will be accepted for the Hope House in Gaston County.
On Eagles Wings Ministries plans to renovate a home to turn it into a haven for girls involved in the sex-trafficking trade.
The home on six acres sat empty for five years, said founder and president Emily Fitchpatrick. Several churches came together to raise enough money to buy the property.
The building will be transformed into Hope House, which will become home to four girls ages 12 to 17. Fitchpatrick hopes to build two more cottages on the site with room for four girls in each home.
Gaston County provides a location that’s close enough to Charlotte to help girls there, but far enough away to keep traffickers at bay, Fitchpatrick said.
North Carolina has become a hotspot for human trafficking, according to the N.C. Coalition Against Human Trafficking. The state’s major highways and interstates, transient populations and large rural areas make North Carolina an attractive place for traffickers.
On Eagles Wings Ministries doesn’t take government money. The faith-based nonprofit doesn’t charge for its services and relies on volunteers and donations.
Trafficking is here
People don’t think of human trafficking as something that happens in the U.S., let alone in North Carolina, Fitchpatrick said. Some picture prostitutes as older women feeding a drug habit, but the average age of a person entering prostitution is 13.
“You think of the 30-year-old meth addict,” Fitchpatrick said. “They don’t think of a 13-year-old kid.”
In the Charlotte area, Fitchpatrick’s group monitors websites for ads that sound like a pimp is trying to sell sex.
Many girls involved in sex trafficking are misidentified by authorities who don’t recognize the signs, Fitchpatrick said. Girls are often runaways who’ve had trouble at home. Many have been abused.
“The problem that we have is the identification piece,” Fitchpatrick said. “Many of these girls are being treated as delinquents, not victims.”
All of the girls who have been clients of On Eagles Wings Ministries have been sexually abused, Fitchpatrick said.
Some girls are also too naïve. One 16-year-old girl from Charlotte met a man in a mall who said he worked for a modeling agency.
“She ended up being locked in a house in Charlotte for three months before she was able to get out,” Fitchpatrick said.
Fitchpatrick was recently selected to serve a two-year term on the newly formed N.C. Human Trafficking Commission, a state group to focus more on how to provide more help for victims.
Seeking support
On Eagles Wings wants to have the Gaston County home open by summer. The other On Eagles Wings is near Asheville.
“Right now, we’re trying to raise money for operational costs,” Fitchpatrick said.
During March, every donation up to $25,000 will be doubled with a match.
McAdenville Wesleyan Church Rev. Brian Matherlee met Fitchpatrick at a church conference a few years ago and began supporting On Eagles Wings Ministries in 2010.
Helping the enslaved is part of the foundation of the Wesleyan Church, Matherlee said. Wesleyans were among the first religious denominations to oppose slavery of blacks in America.
On Eagles Wings has helped 24 girls since it started in 2008. It has made 2,000 phone calls to girls advertising services online, made 200 referrals to helping agencies and conducted 10 rescues.
Being in the program requires a long-term commitment. The group likes to see girls stay at least one year so they can learn about setting goals, life skills and learning to heal.
“It’s amazing to me how they’ve gone through so much but they’re so strong,” Fitchpatrick said.
You can reach reporter Amanda Memrick at 704-869-1839 or follow @AmandaMemrick on Twitter.
Want to help?
What: “Here’s Hope” event and concert, a partnership between On Eagles Wings Ministries and Bethlehem Church in Gastonia to promote awareness about domestic sex trafficking.
When: 6 p.m. Sunday
Where: Bethlehem Church, 3100 Bethlehem Church St.
Cost: The concert and event are free, and donations will be accepted for the Hope House in Gaston County.
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