Sorry for the hiatus in posting. The holidays, work commitments and family time took me away from this blog.
Recently, a reader sent me a message to warn me to be careful because Breaking Free can be a vindictive organization. Don't I, and so many others who have been involved with Breaking Free know it. At this time it's not wise for me to keep this blog under my real name. As you will see, there is very little that Vednita Carter and some Breaking Free staff won't do to keep word from getting out about the organization's unethical and damaging practices.
In the spring of 2015 a group of former Breaking Free staff, board members, volunteers and organizational partners wrote a letter to some of Breaking Free's funders and other partners. The letter accused Breaking Free of numerous forms of wrongdoing. I will post the entire letter at some point in the future but at this point I only want to excerpt the section of the letter that discusses the retaliation against those who speak out against Breaking Free face.
I was not involved in the writing of the 2015 letter at any point but I received a copy of it from a trusted source within Breaking Free shortly after it was released. I have redacted the names of those who were not accused of any major wrongdoing in the letter.
Monday, January 16, 2017
Thursday, December 22, 2016
What Happened to $102,373 Raised for a Breaking Free New Building?
On July 7, 2014, Breaking Free announced a campaign to raise $80,000 from individuals for the down payment on a new building for office and meeting space.
I will not dispute that Breaking Free needed the space. Even though at the time Breaking Free owned two office buildings at 770 and 778 University Avenue West in St. Paul, staff members were working 2 or 3 to a tiny office and weekly Sisters of Survival and Alumni groups were dangerously overcrowded.
For the record, this is is the building that Breaking Free had hoped to buy, at 962 University Avenue West in St. Paul. I have been informed that at the time there was some discussion of moving the administrative staff from 778 University to the new building and turning 778 into a second transitional housing program.
Donations poured in over the next month. An anonymous donor pledged a $25,000 match, which spurred on more donations.
In August 2014, Vednita Carter was able to announce the following:
Breaking Free had exceeded its fundraising goal by $22,373, which is a testament to the power of Breaking Free's message and the organization's reach at that time, and also to the good will of donors in the community.
Now this uplifting story gets a little sticky. Reliable sources tell me that Breaking Free never bought the building, due to financing problems with the bank. Instead of letting the many generous people who donated to the building fund know what had happened, Breaking Free maintained radio silence on the subject for months. Those same sources report that Breaking Free has never publicly commented on what happened with the building and to the $102,373 raised by donors.
My sources did add that an email was sent directly to those who donated to the campaign after Breaking Free reportedly received a number of concerned emails from donors, but that was several months later in the winter of 2015. The email from Breaking Free to donors allegedly stated the reasons why the 962 University Avenue building was not purchased and that the organization was still looking for a new building to buy for new office space.
The building campaign was conducted more than two years ago. Breaking Free never did purchase a new building. In fact it lost the 778 University Avenue building reportedly due to zoning issues and the organization's lack of due diligence when purchasing the building. (I plan to write about that at a later date.) There have been no public updates about the status of the funds raised in the summer of 2014. So I ask Breaking Free:
What happened to the $102,373 Breaking Free raised to purchase a new building?
Where's the accountability to the good people who donated that money?
Will Breaking Free publicly account for those funds after all this time?
I will not dispute that Breaking Free needed the space. Even though at the time Breaking Free owned two office buildings at 770 and 778 University Avenue West in St. Paul, staff members were working 2 or 3 to a tiny office and weekly Sisters of Survival and Alumni groups were dangerously overcrowded.
For the record, this is is the building that Breaking Free had hoped to buy, at 962 University Avenue West in St. Paul. I have been informed that at the time there was some discussion of moving the administrative staff from 778 University to the new building and turning 778 into a second transitional housing program.
Donations poured in over the next month. An anonymous donor pledged a $25,000 match, which spurred on more donations.
In August 2014, Vednita Carter was able to announce the following:
Breaking Free had exceeded its fundraising goal by $22,373, which is a testament to the power of Breaking Free's message and the organization's reach at that time, and also to the good will of donors in the community.
Now this uplifting story gets a little sticky. Reliable sources tell me that Breaking Free never bought the building, due to financing problems with the bank. Instead of letting the many generous people who donated to the building fund know what had happened, Breaking Free maintained radio silence on the subject for months. Those same sources report that Breaking Free has never publicly commented on what happened with the building and to the $102,373 raised by donors.
My sources did add that an email was sent directly to those who donated to the campaign after Breaking Free reportedly received a number of concerned emails from donors, but that was several months later in the winter of 2015. The email from Breaking Free to donors allegedly stated the reasons why the 962 University Avenue building was not purchased and that the organization was still looking for a new building to buy for new office space.
The building campaign was conducted more than two years ago. Breaking Free never did purchase a new building. In fact it lost the 778 University Avenue building reportedly due to zoning issues and the organization's lack of due diligence when purchasing the building. (I plan to write about that at a later date.) There have been no public updates about the status of the funds raised in the summer of 2014. So I ask Breaking Free:
What happened to the $102,373 Breaking Free raised to purchase a new building?
Where's the accountability to the good people who donated that money?
Will Breaking Free publicly account for those funds after all this time?
MIA: Breaking Free Board of Directors
Visit any nonprofit's website and you'll find a list of the organization's board of directors. But not Breaking Free's site. Breaking Free has never listed its board members publicly. What are they trying to hide? A former staff member recently told me that the staffer in charge of the web site was specifically instructed not to add the list of board members to the web site. When that staff member asked why, no reason was given.
According to Breaking Free's 2015 990 tax form, the following people served on its board of directors between July 2014-June 2015:
:
There is no information about who served on the board from July 2015-June 2016 because Breaking Free's 2016 990 is not publicly available, while the 990's of most nonprofits agencies are. Again, what are they hiding? Did Breaking Free not file its 990 on time?
A current staff member has reported to me that the current board is composed of Kathleen Mitchell, Jeff Kuhlman, Tom Child, Grace Child and Vednita Carter. I have no way of verifying if that's true but if it is, it means that the Breaking Free board of directors has bled members at an incredible rate. It's not surprising that board members would flee Breaking Free in the wake of controversy.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported in August 2015 that the Minnesota Women's Foundation had de-funded Breaking Free amid concerns that included the small size of the board of directors. "If Breaking Free wants to be considered for future funding, the Women’s Foundation has asked that, among other things, it expand how many people serve on the board and ensure they have training to improve management, Roper-Batker said. Breaking Free has responded that it’s working on those things."
Breaking Free is not working hard enough if only five people are currently serving on the board, including the outgoing executive director/president.
If my information is incorrect as to who is currently serving on the board, I encourage Breaking Free to publicly release a list of its board of directors members.
According to Breaking Free's 2015 990 tax form, the following people served on its board of directors between July 2014-June 2015:
There is no information about who served on the board from July 2015-June 2016 because Breaking Free's 2016 990 is not publicly available, while the 990's of most nonprofits agencies are. Again, what are they hiding? Did Breaking Free not file its 990 on time?
A current staff member has reported to me that the current board is composed of Kathleen Mitchell, Jeff Kuhlman, Tom Child, Grace Child and Vednita Carter. I have no way of verifying if that's true but if it is, it means that the Breaking Free board of directors has bled members at an incredible rate. It's not surprising that board members would flee Breaking Free in the wake of controversy.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported in August 2015 that the Minnesota Women's Foundation had de-funded Breaking Free amid concerns that included the small size of the board of directors. "If Breaking Free wants to be considered for future funding, the Women’s Foundation has asked that, among other things, it expand how many people serve on the board and ensure they have training to improve management, Roper-Batker said. Breaking Free has responded that it’s working on those things."
Breaking Free is not working hard enough if only five people are currently serving on the board, including the outgoing executive director/president.
If my information is incorrect as to who is currently serving on the board, I encourage Breaking Free to publicly release a list of its board of directors members.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Doctor Vednita Carter?
Vednita Carter, Breaking Free's founder/former executive director/former president/current board member, has been calling herself "Dr. Vednita Carter" and "Minister Vednita Carter" recently, especially on her new Vednita Carter Ministries website. But has she really earned a doctorate degree or any kind of legitimate degree in divinity?
As you can see from the above screen capture from the Breaking Free Facebook page, in August 2015, Vednita was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in divinity from CICA-International University and Seminary. Quite an honor, yes?
The short answer is no.
Not so fast.
Vednita does not have the right to call herself "Dr. Carter" if she's been awarded an honorary doctorate degree:
The degree is often conferred as a way of honoring a distinguished visitor's contributions to a specific field or to society in general. It is often given to graduation speakers at a university or college, and the university may derive benefits by association with the person in question. The degree is not recognized by employers as having the same stature as a corresponding earned doctorate degree and should not be represented as such.
It is sometimes recommended that such degrees be listed in one's CV as an award, and not in the education section. With regard to the use of this honorific, the policies of institutions of higher education generally ask that recipients "refrain from adopting the misleading title" and that a recipient of an honorary doctorate should restrict the use of the title "Dr" before their name to any engagement with the institution of higher education in question and not within the broader community. (source)
Now that we've cleared that up, let's discuss the "university" that awarded Vednita her honorary degree, CICA-International University and Seminary. After an examination of CICA-International's website, the school appears to be little more than a diploma mill. There is no actual campus (and its mailing address is a UPS post box in Jamaica, New York), there is little information about the faculty, degrees and courses offered, the application process seems sketchy at best and there is no information on the website about tuition or financial aid.
The CICA-International website states: "CICA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY & SEMINARY is accredited by the Evangelical Order of Certified Pastoral Counselors of America (EOCPCA). The EOCPCA is a Federal Chartered organization with the Canadian Government and operating under Letters Patent". It's strange that an American university would claim to be accredited by a Canadian body.
Further exploration revealed that EOCPCA is "a chartered organization holding Federal Letters of Patent mandated by the Government of Canada. It is dedicated to promoting and certifying professional standards for psychotherapists and counsellors practicing from a faith-based, biblical, Judeo-Christian perspective". There is no mention on the EOCPCA's site of accrediting universities or of CICA-International University.
I finally visited the United States Department of Education's Database of Postsecondary Institutions and Programs. CICA-International is not listed as being accredited by any legitimate accrediting organization in the United States.
In other words, Vednita Carter's honorary doctorate degree likely isn't worth the paper it's printed on.
Vednita Carter does not hold a college degree in divinity or any other subject. She attended the University of Minnesota from 1986-1990 but does not list a degree on her Linkedin account.
So, the long answer is the same as the short answer:
No, Vednita Carter does not hold a legitimate doctoral degree.
No, she does not have the right to refer to herself as "Dr. Carter".
No, she is not a minister, except a self-styled one.
Now you know the truth.
Monday, December 19, 2016
What Happened to Breaking Free?
That's a very good question.
Breaking Free appeared to be at the top of the world as 2014 came to an end. The anti-sex trafficking organization, founded in 1996, had at least 32 full and part-time employees. It operated three buildings of permanent housing for survivors and one transitional housing building. In October of that year, Breaking Free opened Jerry's Place, housing for sexually exploited teenage girls funded through the State of Minnesota Safe Harbor Program.
In that same year, Vednita Carter, the founder and executive director of Breaking Free, was lauded nationally and internationally for her work with trafficked and exploited women and girls. She was Congressman Erik Paulsen's guest at the State of the Union address in January.
In March 2014, Vednita was named as a CNN Hero for her groundbreaking work. Donations, both in-kind and monetary, flowed in. The organization was overwhelmed with requests for speakers, to volunteer, for help in starting up anti-sex trafficking organizations similar to Breaking Fee. Vednita flew around the country and the world, lecturing about helping sex trafficking victims "the Breaking Free way." She testified at United States House of Representatives. Vednita proudly posed for a selfie with President Jimmy Carter at an event in May 2015.
Flash forward two years to December 2016. Breaking Free reportedly reduced its staff from approximately 32 to 8 full and part-time positions through layoffs, terminations, and staff attrition. Vednita Carter stepped down as executive director amid scandal that broke out in the spring and summer of 2015, involving allegations of financial misconduct, a hostile work environment, and a culture of nepotism that benefited Ms. Carter's extended family.
Breaking Free lost its federal funding to operate the transitional housing program and the house closed. Breaking Free closed Jerry's Place after being in operation a mere 5 months. Weekly support groups, which two years before had been crowded with up clients, are reportedly ghost towns with few participants. St. Paul Police allegedly no longer refers women arrested on prostitution charges to the program.
Breaking Free's reputation has become so bad that one source in the nonprofit field stated: "No one will work with them. It's as if they don't exist anymore,"
What happened to this once-strong organization? Over the next few weeks, I hope to help answer that question from the perspective of a Breaking Free insider. Stay tuned.
Breaking Free appeared to be at the top of the world as 2014 came to an end. The anti-sex trafficking organization, founded in 1996, had at least 32 full and part-time employees. It operated three buildings of permanent housing for survivors and one transitional housing building. In October of that year, Breaking Free opened Jerry's Place, housing for sexually exploited teenage girls funded through the State of Minnesota Safe Harbor Program.
In that same year, Vednita Carter, the founder and executive director of Breaking Free, was lauded nationally and internationally for her work with trafficked and exploited women and girls. She was Congressman Erik Paulsen's guest at the State of the Union address in January.
 |
| Congressman Erik Paulsen and Vednita Carter, January 2014 |
 |
| Vednita Carter and President Jimmy Carter, May 2015 |
Breaking Free lost its federal funding to operate the transitional housing program and the house closed. Breaking Free closed Jerry's Place after being in operation a mere 5 months. Weekly support groups, which two years before had been crowded with up clients, are reportedly ghost towns with few participants. St. Paul Police allegedly no longer refers women arrested on prostitution charges to the program.
Breaking Free's reputation has become so bad that one source in the nonprofit field stated: "No one will work with them. It's as if they don't exist anymore,"
What happened to this once-strong organization? Over the next few weeks, I hope to help answer that question from the perspective of a Breaking Free insider. Stay tuned.
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Why I'm Speaking Out
I am not speaking out about Breaking Free for petty revenge. I don't believe in revenge. I believe in positive change.
I am not speaking out about Breaking Free because I'm bitter or disgruntled. Breaking Free treated me decently when I was involved with them but I witnessed things that concerned me deeply.
I am not speaking out about Breaking Free because I hate Vednita Carter and think she's a straight up villain. To the contrary, Vednita has accomplished many great things, especially her contributions to the national dialogue about prostitution and sex trafficking. In this discussion of Breaking Free we cannot forget the positive things she and Breaking Free have done.
I am speaking out about Breaking Free because the organization is harming victims of prostitution and sexual exploitation.
I am speaking out about Breaking Free because many survivors and staff members are not able to do so due to fear of retaliation, of losing their jobs, and/or of losing their housing.
I am speaking out about Breaking Free for the individuals and funders who have given their hard-earned money and time to the organization.
I am speaking out about Breaking Free because victims in Minnesota deserve better.
I am speaking out about Breaking Free because the organization needs to make lasting change to help victims or close its doors so another agency can do so.
I am speaking out about Breaking Free because silence equals consent.
I am not speaking out about Breaking Free because I'm bitter or disgruntled. Breaking Free treated me decently when I was involved with them but I witnessed things that concerned me deeply.
I am not speaking out about Breaking Free because I hate Vednita Carter and think she's a straight up villain. To the contrary, Vednita has accomplished many great things, especially her contributions to the national dialogue about prostitution and sex trafficking. In this discussion of Breaking Free we cannot forget the positive things she and Breaking Free have done.
I am speaking out about Breaking Free because the organization is harming victims of prostitution and sexual exploitation.
I am speaking out about Breaking Free because many survivors and staff members are not able to do so due to fear of retaliation, of losing their jobs, and/or of losing their housing.
I am speaking out about Breaking Free for the individuals and funders who have given their hard-earned money and time to the organization.
I am speaking out about Breaking Free because victims in Minnesota deserve better.
I am speaking out about Breaking Free because the organization needs to make lasting change to help victims or close its doors so another agency can do so.
I am speaking out about Breaking Free because silence equals consent.
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