Our Mission
Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting, and Serving Sexually Exploited Youth (MISSSEY) advocates and facilitates the empowerment and inner transformation of sexually exploited youth by holistically addressing their specific needs. MISSSEY collaborates to bring about systemic and community change to prevent the sexual exploitation of children and youth through raising awareness, education and policy development.
Vision Statement:
We envision a world where children are protected and free from sexual exploitation.
Click here to download our brochure.
6-Point Platform
- We want Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC) and sexually exploited youth to be recognized as victims instead of criminals. CSEC are victims of child sexual abuse in the form of sexual exploitation, not child prostitutes.
- We want education and awareness to be brought to the issues surrounding CSEC. The commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth occurs in many forms including child prostitution.
- We want a comprehensive service model and crisis center to be established for CSEC. CSEC need and deserve specialized treatment, as well as non-judgmental, maternal, and innovative services provided by a youthful staff with relevant life experience.
- We want CSEC to be provided with services focusing on their healing and recovery. Creating a permanent record of a childs sexual exploitation through media or any other means further exploits the child.
- We want a national movement initiated that recognizes the issue of CSEC, which will require law enforcement, the juvenile justice system, and social services to respond to CSEC as victims instead of criminals. CSEC are victims of physical, mental, and psychological abuse as well as sexual abuse, and need protection regardless of their ability to cooperate.
- We believe that the sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth are serious criminal offenses against a highly vulnerable population. We want serious consequences imposed on anyone who sexually abuses or commercially sexually exploits children, especially involving child or teen prostitution.
Strategic Plan for State and National Audiences
In January 2008, MISSSEY was generously funded by the East Bay Community Foundation through the Hancock-Catron Fund to develop a strategic plan to bring issues facing CSEC to a state and national audience. The result is a 20-page document outlining the processes and tools needed to raise awareness on both the micro and macro levels. MISSSEY is dedicated to bringing this plan to fruition and creating the change we wish to see in the world.
We post this plan in hopes that it can be used as a model for others engaging in this work or at least a tool to be used in development of future strategies. Please feel free to contact us to get more information or discuss opportunities for moving these strategies forward.
Click to Download:
MISSSEY Staff & Board of Directors
MISSSEY Staff:
- Nola Brantley
Executive Director and Co-Founder
- Emily Hamman
Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder
- Mindy Phillips
Direct Service Manager
- Tashina Manyak
Program Coordinator
- Joy Massey
Case Manager
- Monica Anderson
Resource Specialist
- Kailey Norris
Youth Advocate
- Elizabeth Smith
SPA Peer Educator
- Jazmyn Brown
SPA Peer Educator
- Laznique Titus
Youth Advocate
MISSSEY Board of Directors:
- Amba Johnson, President of the Board
Amba was a licensed social worker for Alameda County for 8 years and currently is employed as a real estate agent.
- Caritas Foster
Sister Caritas is a member of the Sisters of the Holy Family and has served in a leadership capacity within her religious community and in ministerial settings. She served on the Board of Directors of St. Elizabeth Day Home in San Jose, CA. Currently she coordinates anti-human trafficking efforts for her religious community, belongs to a coalition of religious communities standing against human trafficking, volunteers at the Tri-Cities Homeless Shelter and is an advocate for affordable housing.
- Cynthia Lee
Cynthia's bio to be added soon.
- Michael A Huff PhD
Michael Huff's bio to be added soon.
- Yolanda Smith
Yolanda is a practicing attorney who has served as an advisory board member to the Lend A Hand Foundation. She has also served as a member of the Child Support Directors Association Legislative Committee as well as a board member for the Charles Houston Bar Association and Black Women Lawyers of Northern California.
- Sarai Theolinda Smith
Sarai has been helping high –risk youth in various capacities for over ten years and has achieved groundbreaking strides in her field. She has worked with survivors of domestic violence, group homes and with foster care and probation youth, and the last 6 years supporting CSEC-specific services. Sarai is a member of the Alameda County Teen Violence Task Force Steering Committee, Alameda County Sexually Exploited Minors Network. Sarai is also one of the four Co-Founders of MISSSEY. She is presently the Support Center and CSEC Coordinator for Runaway/Homeless a Youth Services Division with a local non-profit where she manages a support center and provides a variety of support services to high risk youth. She is also intimately involved in the development and establishment of the first Alameda County CSEC Emergency Shelter. Sarai’s commitment to the youth she works with has proven her to be a prevailing force in the area of CSEC-specific services. The level of commitment and the amount of actual work that Sarai puts forth is rarely seen in any field of work. She hopes to show all youth that if they want something positive and different in life all they have to do is have faith, reach wide and they can achieve it!
Stay connected with MISSSEY by participating in our events.
Here is what we've got on the calendar:
Upcoming Events
- December 8th, 2011: 10:00am-12:00pm
Bi-monthly CSEC Awareness Training for Field Professionals at the Alameda County Family Justice Center in Oakland, CA
(Open to the public)
- December 16th, 2011 4:40pm-6:00pm
Monthly CSEC Awareness Training for Volunteers and Community Members at the Alameda County Family Justice Center in Oakland, CA
(Open to the public)
- December 21st, 2011 3:00pm-5:00pm
Bi-monthly CSEC Awareness Training for Field Professionals at the Alameda County Family Justice Center in Oakland, CA
(Open to the public)
Ongoing Events
- 3rd Friday of Every Month: 4:30-6:00pm
Training at the MISSSEY Office for Current MCC Volunteers
- 3rd Friday Every Other Month Beginning in April: 6:00-7:30pm
Orientation at the MISSSEY Office for New MCC Volunteers
Media and Press
Press Requests
To request an interview or for more specific information about the organization or issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children for media purposes, please contact admin@misssey.org.
MISSSEY in the Media
The following links have been collected over the years, and represent MISSSEY in the Media. Much love and thanks to all of the wonderful journalists, bloggers, and writers for helping raise much-needed awareness by spreading the word and hopefully motivating and inspiring spirits into action. We will continue to fight for the true and correct representations of youth, especially CSEC, in our language and throughout all forms of media. We hope that one day the term “teenage prostitute” ceases to exist.
MISSSEY has been featured in the following:
- Groves' Foundation Supports MISSSEY
Raiders - December 23, 2010 - KCBS In-Depth: Sexually Exploited Children
KCBS - December 12, 2010 - MISSSEY (Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting, & Serving Sexually Exploited Youth)
African American Reports- December 6, 2010 - Trafficked Teen Girls Describe Life In 'The Game'
Youth Radio and National Public Radio - December 6, 2010 - Trafficked: A Youth Radio Investigation, Part I
Youth Radio and NPR's All Things Considered - December 6, 2010 - Trafficked: A Youth Radio Investigation, Part II
Youth Radio and NPR's All Things Considered- December 7, 2010 - Youth Sex Trafficking Survivors Celebrate MISSSEY's First Fundraiser Success
Oakland Local- November 24, 2010 - As More Oakland Youth Join the Sex Trade, Law Enforcement Explores Alternatives to Incarceration
Oakland North - March 13, 2010 - Advocacy in Motion: Interview with Nola Brantley, Co-Founder of MISSSEY, Inc
BlogTalkRadio – February 28, 2010 - "Issues" with Jane Velez-Mitchell
CNN – January 2010 - SACEY/SPA Video
Melody Miller – January 2010 - "Issues" with Jane Velez-Mitchell Transcript
CNN – January 2010 - Minors in prostitution
Crosscurrents: KALW News - January 5, 2010 - Helping Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (PDF)
ACT NOW NEWS - May 2009 - Oakland Battles Wave of Teenage Prostitution
KTVU.com – May 6, 2009 - Mission to Serve Children (PDF)
Family of Friends - May 2009 - Dealers Turning to Sex Business
Inside Bay Area: The Oakland Tribune - April 22, 2009 - MISSSEY Speaker at April Chapter Meeting (PDF)
ACT NOW NEWS - April 2009 - Students Share Human Rights Experiences
Wheaton College News and Events - March 17, 2009 - WestCoast Children`s Clinic Partners with Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting and Serving Sexually Exploited Youth (M.I.S.S.S.E.Y)
West Coast Children's Clinic - 2009 - Sexually Exploited Minors Conference Brings New Light to Old Problem
Youth Outlook – November 26, 2008 - MISSSEY voted Best Friend to Girls
East Bay Express – Best of the East Bay 2008 Issue - Oakland Pimps Prey on Youth
Oakland Tribune - Sexually Exploited Minors in Alameda County - (PDF)
Calico Center - Spring - Getting Off the Streets – Samantha’s Story
Measure Y - Innovative Aftercare
(Not For Sale's Content Partner: MISSSEY)
Not For Sale Academy - Domestic violence reports up, but leaders see progress
Oakland North - October 28, 2008 - Fruitvale Residents Get a Lesson in Fighting Gang Violence, Prostitution
East Bay West Online - September 21, 2008 - Oakland, California News Series on Teen Prostitution
Rethink Resources - May 8, 2008 - Nonprofit Caters to Needs of Sexually Exploited Youth
Inside Bay Area: The Oakland Tribune – April 26, 2008 - No Longer Invisible - Live Radio Broadcast
Hard Knock Radio - April 24, 2008 - Lost Girls Seek Shelter from Abuse
Inside Bay Area: The Oakland Tribune – April 22, 2008 - City Comes to Grips with Teen Prostitution
Inside Bay Area: The Oakland Tribune – April 21, 2008 - Stop Human Trafficking
Harper Mee's and Associates - April 4, 2008 - Fighting Traffik
The Oakbook - January 4, 2008 - Prostitution Sting Aims to Help Exploited Minors
Inside Bay Area: The Oakland Tribune – July 17, 2007
MISSSEY Partners
MISSSEY partners with the following organizations to provides services through our SACEY Program:
- Alameda County's Interagency Childrens Policy Council
- Bay Area Women Against Rape (BAWAR)
- Covenant House
- Westcoast Children's Clinic
We also partner with the following organizations:
- Adopt An Angel Foundation
- Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services
- Alameda County Family Justice Center
- Alameda County Probation Department
- Alameda County Social Services Department
- Alameda County Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker
- Argosy University
- Be a Mentor, Inc.
- City of Oakland Measure Y
- Contra Costa County Probation, Volunteers in Probation Program
- Contra Costa County’s Zero Tolerance Program
- Dream catcher Youth Shelter
- First Covenant Church: New Day For Children
- Global Exchange Reality Tours
- Michael Tachet
- Not for Sale
- Pacific Graduate School of Psychology
- Pacific Psychological Services
- Red Rock Coffee
- SAGE
- SEMRISE
- Sisters of the Holy Family
- Soroptomists International
- Youth Radio
- Members of the MISSSEY Community Collective (MCC)
Careers
We currently have positions available for a part-time training coordinator and a part-time administrative assistant. To apply for a position, please send your cover letter and resume to opportunities@misssey.org with the position title in the subject line. Thank you for your interest!
For other ways to get involved, consider volunteering through the MISSSEY Community Collective (MCC).
FAQ
1. Where does MISSSEY get its funding?
MISSSEY is supported entirely by the contributions of individuals, foundations, corporations, non-governmental organizations and governments. MISSSEY is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (c) (3) entity, and all donations are tax deductible.
2. What does MISSSEY stand for?
MISSSEY stands for Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting, and Serving Sexually Exploited Youth.
3. What is CSEC?
CSEC stands for the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, which constitutes a form of violence and coercion against children that amounts to forced labor and a contemporary form of slavery. CSEC includes the prostitution of children, child pornography, child sex tourism. For more information, see the following study:
4. What does MISSSEY do?
MISSSEY provides comprehensive holistic services in a safe environment to support and serve sexually exploited youth. This includes our SPA drop-in recovery center, case management, resource services, and client advocacy. For more information, see Direct Services
We also work to provide information to the community and government about the commercial sexual exploitation of children, including trainings, workshops, and data services. For more information, see Training & Workshops and Data Services.
5. What can I do to help raise awareness about this issue?
Join the MISSSEY Community Collective Outreach Committee, whose purpose is to raise awareness about the commercial sexual exploitation of children and prostitution as well as to gain support for MISSSEY’s on-going efforts. See our Support Page for more information
6. How can I get involved with MISSSEY?
Visit our Support Page for more information about how to join the MISSSEY Community Collective (MCC), which is our volunteer group.
7. How do I make a referral?
If you are a family member, survivor, victim or concerned for a girl or young women in your life and live in Alameda County, please fill out the Referral Form on our website.
8. How do I make a donation?
Please see our Donation Page for information about making donations. We take items from our wish list from 9am-5pm every day at the Alameda County Family Justice Center, as well as monetary donations online.
9. How can I start a program like MISSSEY in my area?
Please refer to the GEMS list of service providers by state to find out if there are any agencies already doing similar work in your community. We encourage you to reach out to these agencies and see if they are willing to accept donations of services, goods or financial support.
10. How do I request training from MISSSEY?
MISSSEY provides a variety of training, technical assistance, and workshops to our community. Please see Training & Workshops for more information, or contact us at training@misssey.org
11. Can I do interviews at MISSSEY with survivors or staff?
Due to the nature of our work, we cannot compromise the identities of the girls and young women we serve. If you would like to speak to a staff member, please contact Nola Brantley at nola@misssey.org
12. Can I visit MISSSEY?
Due to the nature of our work, we cannot compromise the identities of the girls and young women we serve. If you would like to visit MISSSEY, please contact Nola Brantley at nola@misssey.org
13. How do I request a speaker?
MISSSEY provides a variety of training, technical assistance, and workshops to our community. Please see Training & Workshops for more information, or contact us at training@misssey.org.
