Our Executive Director, Jim Duncan, spoke to the Nazareth Children’s Home youth on Monday. He started the presentation with ragged clothes and spoke about judging others without knowing them. The focus was on awareness and precautions for human trafficking. The audience was engaged in the conversation and very attentive. It was an honor for Project Light  Rowan to spend time with these super kids. Assisting Jim was Linda Duncan and Susan Baker. Jim

Dr. Jim Duncan made a presentation to about 70 employees at our local Department of Social Services (DSS) on March 29th. This important gathering included Erin Blondel and Rob Pereira from Raleigh. They provided a real-life case study of a sex trafficking case. Project Light Rowan mainly shared awareness, prevention, reporting, warning signs, and vulnerabilities of trafficking. In addition, it included recommendations for counseling with potential and actual victims and survivors. The keyword of the day was TRUST. "We must gain the trust of the clients." The DSS employees were very attentive and participated in the presentations. We are fortunate to have our local DSS actively involved in fighting the battle against human trafficking. Jim

Rotary District 7680 - Member Spotlight: Meet Dr. Jim Duncan - Rotary Club of Rowan County. Dr. Duncan has the passion for serving the youth and his community. He is working alongside Rowan County school district and with social workers to combat Human Trafficking. Imagine the IMPACT you can make as a Rotary member.

Good day, friends. We are settled in our new 101 W Main St., Rockwell, NC office. Project Light Rowan (PLR) has been very busy, and I want to highlight a few areas. Several volunteers have come forward to keep office hours at our 101 W Main Street office in Rockwell. Thank you. We have ramped up our social media presence with the expertise of Livingstone Mz Good Newz at FM  107.3 and Garette Hunter. Check us out on Facebook and Instagram. ​ PLR has partnered with DSS and Nazareth Child and Family Connection, and we have some great plans as we collectively combat human trafficking. PLR has eleven teams dedicated to combating human trafficking in Rowan  County and our neighboring counties. We do have openings on several teams. Call our office at 704-223-6143 for more information. The law enforcement team is active, and we expect great results from their efforts. This is just a sample of what PLR is doing to combat human trafficking. Stay tuned. Jim

Our Project Light Rowan Executive Director has accepted a position as a Team Leader with the North Carolina Demand Reduction Team. This will in no way take away our work in Rowan County and neighboring counties. It will provide additional resources to us as we continue our battle against Human Trafficking. We are also working diligently as we prepare for the Project Light Rowan Grand Opening. Please save the date and come and join us on January 11, 2023, at 10 am for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Our office is at: 101 West Main Street, Rockwell, NC, 28138. We are also seeking sponsors for this event. A separate web posting will explain how you can help in this area. We must stop human trafficking before it even starts and we need your help. Jim

Project Light Rowan is planning on attending the session of the upcoming NC Commission. Below is the agenda. Thank you for following the work of the NC commission. We are coming to our last General Commission Meeting of 2022 from 10 AM- 1 PM. December the 7th. The draft agenda for December 7th includes the following presentations or updates: Click Here to Download Agenda 1.Sneak peek into the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Data Report on Human Trafficking of Minors, which is an initiative of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Human Trafficking Task Force 2.Update on the Mandatory Reporting Tool being created by Sara DePasquale, UNC School of Government 3.Overview of a proposal for a statewide strategic planning by The Woolf Group 4.Announcement for tools on NC Laws and Case President from Lindsey Lane, HTI 5.Announcement for a Human Trafficking Investigator Training by Rick Hoffman 6.NC SBI Update and Introduction by ASAC Casey Fillinger Jim

A huge thank you to Vulcan Materials Company for their generous donation to Project Light Rowan (PLR). It is so important for PLR to receive financial support so we can continue to spread awareness, prevention, and reporting to young and old alike. Let’s ban together and STOP this terrible sex trafficking in Rowan County. We can do it! Check the donation box and give any amount to help us fight the battle. Jim

Project Light Rowan has been busy getting the word out pertaining to Human Trafficking. We are making folks aware, talking to them about the prevention of being trafficked and reporting. Well, what can you do? I am glad you asked. We have ten teams in Project Light Rowan and are seeking volunteers for the teams. The teams are: Schools Colleges Churches NAACP Latino Business Municipalities Law Enforcement First Responders Hospital If you want to volunteer in any of these areas please respond to this website or call and leave a callback message at 704-223-6143. Don’t wait!  We CAN stop future sex trafficking in Rowan County with your help. Jim

The staff of Project Light Rowan has been very busy the last two weeks. We were invited to speak to five classes of JROTC students at South Rowan High School. The cadets were very attentive and joined in on the Human Trafficking topics. Project Light Rowan was also invited to speak to all of the Guidance Counselors of the Rowan Salisbury Schools at the District office. What a great team of counselors. Their dedication to their job and to the youth was so evident during our day together. We are working on the possibility of starting a chapter (club) for students in one of our high schools. Very exciting. Check with me if you want to be active in Project Light Rowan. Let’s stop Human Trafficking in Rowan County. Jim

Our new sign is up!

Project Light Rowan is blessed to have a new office. We are located at 101 West Main Street in Rockwell. Signage has been requested and hopefully will be completed this week. Thousands of cars pass by our office daily and the signage will definitely increase awareness of Human Trafficking. We still need more volunteers in the following areas: Municipalities Businesses First Responders Medical NAACP IF YOU CAN ASSIST IN ANY OF THE AREAS ABOVE CONTACT US. ALSO, WE NEED MORE MEN TO GET INVOLVED. IT IS OUR PROBLEM TO SOLVE. LET’S MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Jim

The NC Human Trafficking Commission Conference was in Raleigh and was for two days. There were many very qualified and knowledgeable speakers. Project Light Rowan will be able to utilize a lot of information that we gained during the conference. There was a common thread to most of the sessions. One was that we need to focus on the buyers, the John’s. I agree wholeheartedly. We need to let buyers and prospective buyers know that the victims DO NOT enjoy sex and this is really rape. If they don’t act like they enjoy the experience they will be violently punished. Another main topic had to do with how to care for the victims and their trauma. More on that later. I noticed a huge void in the number of men at this conference. This is a common problem in combating human trafficking. Hey guys this is not a girl thing. We need to step up and take a role in this battle. Where are you? Call me and I will find something for you to do. 704-202-8143 Jim