Project NO REST Pilot Sites

Five communities, representing seventeen counties and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, have been selected to serve as pilot sites for Project NO REST for implementing anti-human trafficking efforts through community collaborations. These communities were selected among eleven that submitted applications.

A panel of individuals composed of members of the NO REST project team, members of the project’s Steering Committee, as well as individuals who have broad experience in anti-human trafficking efforts in North Carolina carefully reviewed the eleven applications. The reviewers evaluated the applications against the criteria in the Request for Applications, and their assessments were part of the basis for the final decision on each application.

The five sites selected, from west to east, are:

1. 30^th Judicial District, comprised of Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties along with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee
2. Our Voice, comprised of Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, and Yancey counties
3. Pat’s Place in Mecklenburg County
4. Friend 2 Friend, comprised of Montgomery, Moore, and Randolph counties
5. Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office

What is Project NO REST?

Project NO REST (North Carolina Organizing and Responding to the Exploitation and Sexual Trafficking of Children) is a five-year effort funded by the U.S. Children’s Bureau designed to increase awareness of human trafficking affecting children and youth, especially those involved in the child welfare system in North Carolina; to reduce the number of these youth who are trafficked; and to improve outcomes for those who are trafficked. This is being accomplished through bringing together government agencies, organizations, and stakeholders to develop a comprehensive and coordinated plan to address human trafficking among youth age 25 and younger, especially child welfare-involved youth. Existing data sources will be mined and explored to develop valid and reliable estimates of the size of the human trafficking problem in the state. Additional sources of information will be developed to inform prevention and intervention efforts. The project is housed at the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

For more information, see the Project overview and Comprehensive Plan.