A proposed home for teenage victims of sexual trafficking is drawing opposition in the East Bay.
People who live near the proposed home are worried that the people who trafficked these victims will come into their neighborhood to look for these young girls they abused and with that bring in guns, drugs and crime.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Catholic Charities of the East Bay, which is affiliated with the Catholic Diocese in Oakland, wants to establish the home in the Sequoyah neighborhood located in the Foothills.
Named after District Attorney Nancy O’Malley’s late mother, the home would be called Claire’s House and would house up to 12 girls ages 12 to 17 and provide schooling and mental health services.
The house wouldn’t provide support for contraception or abortion which the Catholic Church is deeply against, The Chronicle reported, and advocates for victims of sex trafficking worry this could harm children who’ve become pregnant as a result of their abuse.
As for the concerns of the neighbors who live near Claire’s House, Catholic Charities of the East Bay told The Chronicle it screen victims to make sure they are far removed from their abusers and aren’t just coming off the streets.
The house won’t begin operations until it receives a care license from the state of California.
