Rebekah King, owner of the Pinehurst Gazette and Tim Skibitsky, the owner of Family First Home Inspection Services, discuss the impact of the pandemic and how they are accommodating their businesses to the changing and challenging work environment in Moore County. Along the way Rebekah gives us a lot of insight into how connected she has become in the Moore County Community and Tim gives lots of first hand stories on some of the experiences both buyers and sellers go thru during the Home Inspection or Prelisting Inspection process.
Owner Rebekah Sykes King joins us to share the history of the Pinehurst Gazette which was established in 1973. Since her purchase of the Gazette in 2011 from Reid Page, the Gazette remains a fixture all over Moore County, celebrating its past and the changing demographic landscape of today. As a family run business, the Gazette is a quarterly publication that can be seen in over 70 drop off locations throughout Moore County.
Guests: Executive Director, Anne Friesen, Human Trafficking Community Educator – Jan Mullis
Human trafficking is a world-wide, organized crime that hides in communities and instills fear. It is the fastest growing crime in the U.S. and it is known to be in our area. It is a hidden crime in that traffickers systematically lure their targets with counterfeit love, pretending to be a boy or girl friend, or by offering them jobs that are fraudulent. They use force, fear and fraud to manipulate them into a life of drugs, prostitution, violence and abuse. Traffickers target youth between the ages of 11-25 years old, the most common age of entering into “the life” being 14. “Thousand Eyes Wide Open” combats this hidden crime by educating the citizens of Moore County to recognize and report the signs and symptoms of human trafficking.
“Thousand Eyes Wide Open” is a community watch campaign and includes training opportunities for the community at large; for adults who have direct contact with the targeted age group; for the targeted age group to learn how to protect themselves; and for parents of tots and young children. Each person who participates in one of these training opportunities receives a certification sticker to prominently display that warns traffickers that they are being watched.
Friend to Friend 2018 Statistics & Mission
To help survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault & human trafficking rebuild their lives.
All Friend to Friend’s services and programs are provided free-of-charge.
Friend to Friend is a non-profit 501c (3) organization, started in 1988, to serve victims of domestic violence, sexual assault I and human trafficking in Moore County, regardless of socioeconomic, religious, or immigration status. We serve all persons, primarily women and children. Friend to Friend is the only domestic violence ,sexual assault & human trafficking agency in Moore County. To achieve our mission, we offer, free of charge, a crisis line that operates 24/7, emergency housing at our undisclosed shelter, a court advocacy program, a sexual assault advocacy program, court accompaniment, community education, counseling services, hospital accompaniment for sexual assault, legal aid, and referrals to other community resources.
In 2018, Friend to Friend’s crisis calls increased 65% in comparison to 2017. We received 457 more calls in 2018 than we received in 2017. Our calls include referrals from all across Moore County and surrounding counties. We also receive calls from victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking seeking emotional support, as well as actively fleeing victims seeking shelter. Friend to Friend also assisted with 7,028 days of care and shelter meals. We provided 3,301 counseling/guidance advocacy sessions, and 981 court advocacy services. Toward the end of 2018, 71% of our clients moved in to a safe and supportive housing.
