Who We Are
Street GRACE is an alliance of Christian churches, community partners and volunteers that supports and collaborates with individuals and organizations dedicated to eradicating the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). Street GRACE mobilizes community resources — financial, human and material — to help individuals and organizations effectively fighting CSEC through advocacy, prevention and restoration.
Street GRACE mobilizes community resources — financial, human and material — to help individuals and organizations effectively fighting CSEC through advocacy, prevention and restoration. Street GRACE is working to end CSEC in Atlanta, with a vision of ending it throughout the United States.
HISTORY & FACTS
In 2000, Fulton County Chief Juvenile Court Judge Nina Hickson was appalled as she presided over the 1,000th case of child prostitution that had come before her. She considered this an epidemic of tragic proportions.
And she was right. The issue was brought to the attention of then-Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin, who became a key champion in the fight against child exploitation. In 2005, she commissioned a report known as “Hidden in Plain View,” which revealed the pervasiveness of the CSEC in Atlanta. The report mentioned several areas that at the time were hotspots for this kind of activity. One of these hot spots was the corner of Peachtree Street and North Avenue, the very intersection where North Avenue Presbyterian Church (NAPC) sits.
Dr. Scott Weimer, NAPC’s senior pastor, was shocked. Together with Rev. Dr. James Milner, senior pastor of Chapel of Christian Love Baptist Church and chairperson of the Mayor’s Faith-Based Roundtable, Dr. Weimer co-hosted two Atlanta “faith summits” in March 2007 January 2008. With support from the Regional Council of Churches, these summits were organized in response to Mayor Franklin’s appeal to the faith community to join her in the fight to end CSEC.
While the faith summits were taking place, other local groups also began talking about CSEC. One of these groups was Unite!, a non-denominational network of churches in and around Atlanta whose community efforts included a focus on issues of social justice. Through discussions at the faith summits and conversations at Unite!, it became clear that if the CSEC situation in Atlanta was going to change, it would take the collective efforts of faith-based groups working with community organizations and elected officials.
A group of eight churches hired a consultant (Triaxia) to develop a strategic plan for churches to work together with the public, private and non-profit sectors to bring an end to CSEC in Atlanta. The result was Street GRACE, which received independent 501(c) 3 status in 2009.