3 Key Takeaways from the 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report

This month, the US Department of State released its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, one of the most comprehensive and reliable resources on human trafficking. The TIP Report is a great place to look to understand labor and sex trafficking and how the United States is combating it globally.

This year’s report includes important topics such as trafficking amidst a pandemic, the complexities of familial trafficking, the negative impacts of trafficking misinformation, and much more. Read the full report and check out our 3 key takeaways below.

3 Key Takeaways from the 2021 TIP Report

1) Trafficking and the COVID-19 Pandemic

“Pandemic mitigation efforts forced many people to shift online, including human traffickers. Online recruitment and grooming increased as children spent more time online for virtual learning due to school closures… [I]t should be noted that a portion of the increase resulted from the recirculation of sensationalized trafficking-related stories and misinformation on social media platforms... With enough time for traffickers to establish effective methods to recruit and groom their victims and insufficient avenues to prosecute various forms of online sexual exploitation, the pandemic accelerated and accrued the challenges to combating online sex trafficking.”

2) Familial Trafficking

“[Familial trafficking] is difficult to identify because it takes place within family networks and victimizes children, many of whom are under 12 years of age, who may not realize they are victims… In these cases, the trafficker may begin grooming the victim at an early age, using their close proximity to take advantage of the child’s developmental stage and inability to verbally express concerns or safety issues. One study estimates that the trafficker is a family member in about 31 percent of child sex trafficking cases. In these cases, the child’s inherent loyalty to and reliance on the family structure make familial trafficking difficult to identify and challenging to prosecute.”

3) Trafficking Misinformation

“For many people, human trafficking evokes images of women and children being forcibly taken and sold into sexual slavery by strangers, or of people locked in rooms or vehicles far from home. These images, however, do not capture the reality of most cases of sex and labor trafficking. Human trafficking is typically not so simple or salacious. Most victims are not kidnapped by strangers or secretive syndicates. Instead, it is often their neighbors, relatives, romantic partners, or other acquaintances who exploit them. Traffickers often use fraudulent, psychologically manipulative, or coercive recruitment methods so they need not kidnap or even physically restrain their victims… Individuals who wish to learn more about what human trafficking looks like in their own communities should seek out resources from established organizations and government agencies that use evidence-based solutions to address the crime.”

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Human trafficking is an under-reported, underground crime. Information on the subject is ever-changing, hard to obtain and often just a snapshot in time, or particular to a specific region. Always check your sources before sharing information. For some of the best currently available statistics on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, see our DMST Statistics page.

Emerging from COVID-19

Thank you for supporting The Refuge for DMST™ through the COVID-19 pandemic. Still in our early years, we knew that this season of economic hardship, a full-stop in events and volunteering, and the heaviness that gripped our nation would either make or break us. It is through your sustaining support that we continue to offer the very best care to child survivors of sex trafficking.

Emerging from COVID-19

After more than a year of refining fire, our organization now emerges from the flames of the pandemic stronger than before. As the world begins to open, we step into the summer with great clarity and joy for what is to come.

Our staff and the girls in our care have been fully vaccinated, which allows for greater peace in our daily interactions and gives us opportunities to safely go off-site for field trips and activities. Summer school is in session and our summer programming, CAMP LIVE, is in full swing, including water days, art and music classes, karaoke and dance contests, driver’s ed, volleyball, mountain biking and more.

Over the last couple of months, we have joyfully reunited in person with many supporters. We have been invited to share our mission during various events hosted by community partners; volunteers are beginning to return to campus to teach enrichment classes and serve meals to our staff; and key partners have come onsite for tours, including local law enforcement, representatives from district attorneys’ offices and national foundations interested in replicating our model of care.

Fundraising events are on the horizon, beginning in October with Petals for a Purpose, a luncheon and floral design competition hosted at The Four Seasons Hotel in Austin. You can join us at this event by purchasing a table.

Innovation & Excellence

Caring for the most traumatized children in our community is a great challenge and a great joy, and we will always have room for growth and improvement. To that end, we are constantly evaluating our program and protocols, so we can continually offer the very best care to child survivors of sex trafficking.

Over the last several months, we made some key hires, including President & COO Danielle Owens and Chief Financial Officer Tracie Stookesberry, who served for 6 years as the CFO at YMCA of Austin. The expertise of these important organizational leaders allows us to continue innovating and carrying out our mission of hope and healing with excellence.

In May, we rolled out a new staff schedule that gives our around-the-clock, direct care staff more support, including three consecutive days off to maintain a healthy work/life balance, as well as overlapping schedules during shift changes for increased communication between staff. Through this new schedule, we have improved retention and promoted a greater sense of unity among our staff.

We also revamped our existing model of care to look more directly at each individual girl’s motivations and needs. By making our approach even more girl-centered, we better meet each girl where she is to build an environment that feels safe and secure to her, which increases her autonomy and drive to achieve the goals set out in her therapeutic plan.

Thank you for sustaining us on this journey! We have triumphantly emerged out of a grey season and into a bright and beautiful summer, and we invite you to look ahead with us as we offer care to many more survivors.

Support the S.M.A.R.T. Act

We need your help in calling for support of the SMART Act during the current session of the Texas State Legislature.

What is the SMART Act?

The SMART Act (Standardizing Minimum Age Requirements in Texas) aims to raise the minimum age of employment in sexually oriented businesses (SOBs) from 18 to 21 and increase the criminal penalty for establishments that do not comply.

Strip clubs are often an entry point into “the life” for victims of trafficking and SOBs are often even complicit in sex trafficking. By raising the minimum age and creating harsher penalties for those who break the law, we can reduce the commercial sexual exploitation of minors in our state.

Watch KVUE’s coverage of advocates' efforts to support The SMART Act.

The SMART Act has seen early success during the current legislative session. So far, all versions of the bill that have been heard have been passed unanimously. This is much improved from the 2017 and 2019 legislative sessions, when this bill was first filed.

Status of bills that include The SMART Act language:

• HB 1655 – passed out of the House Committee on Licensing & Administrative Procedures (LAP) unanimously and is waiting in Calendars Committee to be scheduled for a floor debate/vote. This is the only version that calls for "everyone on premises" to be 21, including customers.

• HB 3520 – passed unanimously out of LAP and waiting in Calendars Committee.

• SB 766 – passed unanimously out of the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence and was referred to the local and uncontested calendar. Should receive a vote on the Senate floor this week.

• SB 315 – same status as SB 766.

• SB 1036 – waiting to be heard in the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence. This is the Senate anti-trafficking omnibus bill, which will add The SMART Act language.

How to Help Now

Contact Speaker Phelan’s office and express support for HB 1655 and HB 3520 to make it to the floor for a vote. Emphasize how important the SMART Act is for protecting young women from sexual assault.

Phone: (512) 463-1000
Email: dade.phelan@house.texas.gov

“We are here to fight the scourge of human trafficking and this is one more tool in the toolkit to protect our vulnerable youth.”

— Rep. Shawn Thierry, primary author

How to Help Going Forward

To follow along for more updates on the SMART Act, request to join the Texas SMART Act Army Facebook page.

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Want to receive email updates on how you can advocate for child survivors of sex trafficking and support The Refuge? Join our Advocacy Team for resources on raising awareness and sharing The Refuge mission. We’ll send you news articles, statistics, book recommendations, and social media graphics once per month.

End Prostitution Arrests For Child Survivors

Did you know 19 states can still arrest and charge child survivors of sex trafficking with the crime of prostitution?

Child sex trafficking is the only form of abuse where the victim can go to jail for the very crime committed against them. And tragically, Texas is one of those states that still charge children with prostitution.

“Children are not prostitutes—point blank, period. Any child who is being sexually exploited by an adult (for a fee or otherwise) should be protected from the adult perpetrator.”

— Rep. Shawn Thierry

Support HB 162

If passed, Representative Thierry’s House Bill 162 will put an end to prostitution arrests for children in the state of Texas and will ensure that law enforcement must return the child to their parent, a local service provider, or place them in the care of the Department of Family and Protective Services.

The Refuge joined advocates and survivors to testify in support of HB 162.

How to Help

You can help advocate for HB 162 by contacting the State Representatives on the Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee and let them know of your support. Utilize the sample email and contact list below!

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Dear Representative,

I'm writing today to respectfully request that you vote in support of CSHB 162 and for the protection of child sexual assault victims. I believe that it is the moral responsibility of the Texas Legislature to support these vulnerable children and to protect them from conviction of a crime that they cannot consent to. Children are not prostitutes. Trafficked children are victims, not perpetrators and to treat them as such is an egregious miscarriage of justice—it places the blame on the victim instead of the trafficker. We must protect our children from exploitation and CSHB 162 does just that. It rescues child sexual abuse victims and provides essential intervention and support.

I thank you for your work, and again ask that you stand in support of protecting our vulnerable children. Please vote CSHB 162 favorably out of committee!

Thank you,
[your name]

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Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee Members:

1. Chairwoman Victoria Neave Victoria.Neave@house.texas.gov
   Office Phone: (512) 463-0244

2. Vice Chair Valoree Swanson Valoree.Swanson@house.texas.gov
   Office Phone: (512) 463-0572

3. Representative David Cook David.Cook@house.texas.gov
   Office Phone: (512) 463-0374

4. Representative James Frank James.Frank@house.texas.gov
   Office Phone: (512) 463-0534

5. Representative Jeff Leach Jeff.Leach@house.texas.gov
   Office Phone: (512) 463-0544

6. Representative Ana-Maria Ramos Ana-Maria.Ramos@house.texas.gov
   Office Phone: (512) 463-0454

7. Representative James Talarico James.Talarico@house.texas.gov
   Office Phone: (512) 463-0670

8. Representative Cody Vasut Cody.Vasut@house.texas.gov
   Office Phone: (512) 463-0564

9. Representative Gene Wu Gene.Wu@house.texas.gov
   Office Phone: (512) 463-0492

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Want to receive email updates on how you can advocate for child survivors of sex trafficking and support The Refuge? Join our Advocacy Team for resources on raising awareness and sharing The Refuge mission. We’ll send you news articles, statistics, book recommendations, and social media graphics once per month.

Forging Ahead

Thanks to your ardent support, we are able to provide the best care in the nation for child survivors of sex trafficking. Now in our third year of operation, we are eager to share with you our lessons and successes over the past year, as well as an exciting organizational change that will further advance our mission of hope and healing for child survivors of sex trafficking.

Our New President & COO

As we seek to simultaneously strengthen our model at The Refuge Ranch and expand our mission beyond Texas, it became clear that we needed an experienced, forthright and compassionate leader to inspire continued innovation and excellence among our staff.

Amazingly, after a six-month, nationwide search and consideration of over 150 candidates, we discovered that the best candidate to join our team as President & Chief Operating Officer already lived in Austin.

Danielle Owens joined our team on February 1st and is already making a profound impact on our staff. She comes to The Refuge for DMST™ from her most recent position as Chief Program Officer of LifeWorks, where she optimized programs and community partnerships to help youth experiencing homelessness achieve self-sufficiency. Her experience and expertise will be a tremendous asset to our organization as we forge ahead.

Brooke Crowder will remain serving as the CEO of The Refuge for DMST, working closely with Danielle over the next few months, then transitioning to focus on opportunities to expand our mission beyond Texas.

As our model at The Refuge proves strong, other states, nonprofit organizations and foundations want to emulate our success. This expansion of our mission and the creation of more healing communities for trafficked children around our country is made possible thanks to your unwavering support.

2020 Impact Report

“For me, 2020 became the fire that refined our organization and proved our model was strong.”

— Brooke Crowder, Founder & CEO

There is no doubt that 2020 has been a challenging year for all of us. At The Refuge for DMST™, it is not part of our DNA to get comfortable or to think we have all the answers.

We continually strive to grow, improve our processes, and find new ways to bring our community together to care for our most vulnerable children.

In this, our second annual Impact Report, we want to show you our mission in action, how our work endured and adapted during the pandemic, plus a glimpse of our bright future ahead.

We hope you will take the time to read our report and pass it along to your community.

Take Action During National Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month

This January is the eleventh annual National Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month. At The Refuge, we believe there is no rescue without restoration. We hope to see real change in the lives of individual survivors, and we want your help advocating for restoration to be a priority this January and beyond. Whether you’ve known about sex trafficking for years or are just beginning to understand this hidden crime, here are three ways you can take action today:

1) Learn about sex trafficking

A first step in understanding what each child needs to recover is learning how the commercial sexual exploitation of children occurs. While no two children have the same story, these resources provide helpful narratives for understanding this crime.

Child sex trafficking is an under-reported, underground crime. It is important to remember that the data on the subject is ever-changing, hard to obtain, and often just a snapshot in time, or particular to a specific region. But the children it affects are real, and they need people like you to be their advocates.

“Selling Girls”

This five-part video series was produced by KHOU-TV for Tegna stations in 2017 and gives an informative overview of what child sex trafficking is and how it happens in the United States.

“Children are vulnerable just by virtue of being children... In the heady mix of hormones, wanting to belong, confusing messages about love and sex, and a desire to be independent, it’s easy to lure an otherwise well-adjusted fourteen-year-old girl into a meeting, into a car, into a bed. Pimps understand child psychology and adolescent development well enough to know the dynamics at play and can skillfully manipulate most children, regardless of socioeconomic background, prior abuse, or parenting, into a situation where they can be forced or coerced into being sold for sex.”

– Rachel Lloyd, Girls Like Us

“Sold Out”

This eight-part article series from the Texas Tribune chronicles how the crusade against sex trafficking in Texas has left child victims behind. Read about The Refuge in the final segment regarding solutions.

Girls Like Us by Rachel Lloyd

In her memoir, survivor-leader Rachel Lloyd, founder of NYC-based organization GEMS, breaks down the system of commercial sexual exploitation as she shares personal stories and stories of girls she has mentored.

2) Watch Circle of Hope: A Special Tour of The Refuge RAnch

Circle of Hope is our first-time-ever open-house tour of The Refuge Ranch. Learn about our programs and our commitment to providing the very best care to child survivors of sex trafficking while we tour you through our beautiful 50-acre property. During the 30-minute film, you will learn about The Refuge Circle of Care™, our seven-component treatment plan that is uniquely tailored to fit the needs of each girl. Help make restoration a national priority by learning about our program!

3) Share what you’ve learned

The most effective advocacy is sharing what you’ve learned with someone you know! Keep the momentum going by telling those in your community about sex trafficking and about The Refuge mission of hope and healing for survivors.

Here are some ways you can share:

• Call a family member to tell them what you learned.

• Send the link to the resource you found most helpful to a friend.

• Host a Zoom watch-party for Circle of Hope: A Special Tour of The Refuge Ranch.

• Post on social media. Resources are available in our Social Media Kit!

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Thank you for being an advocate in your community! The best way you can support our work of rest and restoration for child survivors of sex trafficking is by committing to a monthly gift.

Would you like to hear about regular opportunities to support The Refuge? Join a team to receive email updates on our most urgent needs and how you can get involved!

A Christmas Miracle at The Refuge Ranch!

We all love a good Christmas miracle story. This time last year, a team of thirty-five angels moved Heaven and literal Earth and accomplished a miracle the day before Christmas. Please watch our Christmas Special and share it with your friends!

On behalf of the girls in our care, our staff and our Board of Directors, we hope that the most wonderful time of the year, is truly the most wonderful Christmas ever for you and your family.

Thanks to your support, we will be celebrating our third Christmas at The Refuge Ranch, the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation facility for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States.

We are so grateful for your continued support, especially since this has been a challenging year for everyone.

Thanks to the many kind souls who remember us in their year-end giving, The Refuge Ranch, a place of rest and restoration, a place of hope and healing, will continue to celebrate many more Christmases.

We’re looking forward to seeing what happens next during the most wonderful time of the year.

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Read our blog post on Eight Days of Hope and the power of community here.

$50,000 Match in Support of Circle of Hope Tour

Tonight, Thursday the 15th, at 7PM CDT, we will be rebroadcasting Circle of Hope, our special, online tour of The Refuge Ranch. If you missed the chance to see our mission in action during the first showing, we hope you’ll be able to join for the rebroadcast.

The Refuge for DMST Board of Directors is matching all donations made in support of Circle of Hope, up to $50,000. If you can’t make it to the online event, we hope you will still donate now to help us meet our $50,000 match.

Encore: Circle of Hope Rebroadcast on Oct 15!

an evening showing of our online tour

The overwhelmingly warm responses we received for our Circle of Hope online tour of The Refuge Ranch has encouraged us to rebroadcast the event. Many who watched the first showing wrote that they wanted to share our mission with their family and friends. Others emailed to ask for an evening showing. Thank you to everyone who made the first online event a success, and for those who inspired this rebroadcast!
 

Join us for rebroadcast of Circle of Hope, an online tour of The Refuge Ranch on October 15th at 7:00PM CDT.

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Help Spread the Word

If you’ve just recently joined our community, you may not be aware that The Refuge Ranch opened in August of 2018 to meet a crucial gap in care for victims of the fastest growing crime in the world. With 48 beds, The Refuge Ranch is the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation community for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States. Though the ranch is based in Bastrop County, TX, we receive referrals from all over the country.

Besides the many requests for a rebroadcast of the Circle of Hope, we heard several variants of this response:  “Wow, I’ve been following The Refuge from the beginning and I had no idea that your therapeutic programs were so a.) awesome; b.) comprehensive; c.) carefully designed to meet the unique needs of the girls!”

If you missed the first showing, we hope you will join us for the rebroadcast, where you can see our mission in action. During the video tour you won’t see any actual residents, but you can see the everyday hope and healing of The Refuge Ranch.

If you watched the first broadcast and it inspired you, please invite your friends to the second broadcast on Oct 15th!

Click and the email will auto-fill in all the details. Just add your friends' email addresses!

Big News! $150,000 Match in Support of Circle of Hope Tour

The J Campbell Murrell Fund will match all donations made in support of our Circle of Hope tour, up to $150,000.

The Refuge for DMST™ (Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking) invites the public to Circle of Hope, a first-time-ever, online tour of The Refuge Ranch, Wednesday, September 23rd at 12:30PM Central. Opened in 2018 with 48 beds, The Refuge Ranch is the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation community for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States.

If you can’t make it to the online event today, you can still make a donation today to help us meet our $150,000 match!

Start Making an Impact Today!

We shared a preview of our online tour with advocates. Here's what they had to say.

“The Refuge Ranch is a place like none other. It is a place of healing and sisterhood. It is a place for growth and reflection.  It is a place for girls that have come from incredibly hard places. The Refuge Ranch – a jewel of Texas.”

— The Honorable Darlene Byrne, Judge, 126th Judicial District Court

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“I was lucky to get to visit The Refuge Ranch just as it opened two years ago. I was impressed back then and am grateful to the team at The Refuge for their tireless efforts to serve. I hope everyone watches your new video tour! I loved seeing how The Refuge model has grown and evolved since I walked the property.”

— Katie Olse, Chief Executive Officer, Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services (TACFS)

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“This tour is an outstanding view of the restoration The Refuge Ranch is offering survivors. I better understand their experience here and I am excited to continue to support that!”

— Lillian Bocquin, Volunteer

Get tickets here! Your donation will be matched up to $150,000!

THE REFUGE FOR DMST PRESENTS “CIRCLE OF HOPE: A SPECIAL TOUR OF THE REFUGE RANCH”

Online fundraiser gives public never-seen-before tour of the nation’s largest long-term rehabilitation community for child sex trafficking survivors

AUSTIN, TX, September 22, 2020 – The Refuge for DMST™ (Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking) invites the public to Circle of Hope, a first-time-ever, online tour of The Refuge Ranch, Wednesday, September 23rd at 12:30PM Central. Opened in 2018 with 48 beds, The Refuge Ranch is the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation community for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States.

To help viewers understand the complex trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and depression issues that are unique to each child survivor of child sex trafficking, the Circle of Hope online tour of The Refuge Ranch will be seen through the eyes of Kiara, a representative child survivor– from her first day, to her transition back out into the world. (All the young women seen throughout the tour are adult volunteers or actors. No actual residents will be shown.)

Since The Refuge Ranch opened two years ago, very few people have seen the everyday hope and healing taking place at the ranch, outside of the residents and those directly involved in their care. To minimize the disruption in care and to protect the safety and confidentiality of the girls living at The Refuge Ranch, tours of this rehabilitative community have always been limited.

According to the US Justice Department, there are still less than 600 beds available nationwide for child sex trafficking survivors’ long term recovery from trauma. This critical gap in care for victims is caused in large part because federal and state governments mostly concentrate their anti-trafficking efforts on prevention and prosecution.

To fill this gap, Austin, TX-based The Refuge for DMST built the 50-acre, 23-building Refuge Ranch and created The Refuge Circle of Care™, a comprehensive, holistic, trauma-informed treatment program that sensitively surrounds each girl with the services she needs for her individualized healing plan. On-site services include: psychiatric services from Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Psychiatry and the Institute for Early Life Adversity Research; education through the University of Texas-University Charter School (UT-UCS); medical services by community partners; and various therapeutic programs uniquely designed for the development of a child survivor.

“The Refuge is in the hope business and we currently live in a world where there’s a high demand for hope,” said Brooke Crowder, Founder and CEO of The Refuge for DMST. “Our goal is to provide the best care available for survivors of child sex trafficking. To that end, we aspire to be known in near future as the Mayo Clinic of domestic minor sex trafficking treatment. The Refuge model depends upon public support for direct care organizations that provide comprehensive services for child survivors. Come see our mission in action. Purchase a ticket for our online tour and we will keep supplying the hope!”

To purchase tickets for the September 23rd showing of Circle of Hope, click here.

For a press preview of the online tour, please send an email to: press@therefugedmst.org.

About The Refuge for DMST

The Refuge for DMST™ (Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has developed The Refuge Ranch, a long-term, residential, therapeutic community for 48 girls, minors through age 19, who have been recovered from sex traffickers. Built from the ground up on 50 acres in a beautiful and restorative setting outside of Austin, TX, The Refuge Ranch provides trauma-informed, holistic care for the girls on site, including: psychiatric services from Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Psychiatry and the Institute for Early Life Adversity Research; education through the University of Texas-University Charter School (UT-UCS); medical services by community partners; and various therapeutic programs uniquely designed for the development of a child survivor. The Refuge Ranch is the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation facility for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States. For more information, go to www.therefugedmst.org.

Circle of Hope: A Special Tour of The Refuge Ranch

Come witness our mission in action

We invite you to join us on September 23rd for an open house tour of The Refuge Ranch, the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation community for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States. 

Circle of Hope: A Special Tour of The Refuge Ranch

Nestled among the Bastrop County pine trees, a 23-building labor of love has risen up from the clay and the sand to meet a dire need. The 50-acre Refuge Ranch opened in August of 2018.

Since then, many girls have come to the ranch for hope and healing. Outside of the residents, staff members and advocates directly involved in the survivors' care, very few people have been inside our gates since we opened. During Circle of Hope, you will witness our mission in action. You won’t see any actual residents, but you will get to see the everyday hope and healing of The Refuge Ranch, as seen through the eyes of a representative child survivor of sex trafficking.

Why a Tour Now?

Because COVID-19 precautions remain in place, we had to cancel our two upcoming fundraisers, the Not On Our Watch luncheon and the Hope Appétit 2021 gala. 

Furthermore, the pandemic has created an elevated need for safe places where a child can heal from her trafficking experience. Our primary goal is to find new ways we can serve more girls in the months to come.  

This is where you come in.

Join us for our first-ever online tour of The Refuge Ranch. Your participation will help support our mission and you will get to see first hand what we do every day to help girls find hope and healing.

Get Your Tickets Today!

Tickets are now available for Circle of Hope: A Special Tour of The Refuge Ranch. 

• Click here now to reserve your front row seats.

• Become a sponsor of this special event. Find out more.

• When: Wednesday, September 23, 2020 at 12:30 PM Central Time

• Where: On your computer or phone (but you'll want to use your computer for best viewing)

• Cost: $25 General Admission; $75 for VIP, which includes a Hope Hat of your choice

A Special Tour of The Refuge Ranch - September 23rd at 12:30PM CDT. Purchase tickets here.

Love in the Time of Coronavirus

Love in the Time of Coronavirus

Love + Action: How we've adapted and how you can help

By Brooke Crowder, Founder and CEO, The Refuge for DMST™

“You are loved!”

This photograph and the one above were both shot by one of the residents. After taking a photography class, several of the girls have grown to be ardent shutterbugs. This particular Dove Tile, from a cottage kitchen back splash, seems to be a favorite subject.

Though the coronavirus pandemic still impacts our daily lives, The Refuge remains firm in our commitment to continue to provide 24/7 comprehensive care and services to young trafficking survivors.

Back in March, we moved swiftly to put new guidelines in place to protect the health and well-being of our staff and girls. For a brief period, we halted new placements of girls while we created innovative intake protocols, utilizing The Haven cottage on our campus to assure the safety of the girls and staff already at The Refuge Ranch. Thankfully, we are happy to share that starting in early May we resumed taking in new placements of girls in need of our care.

We are acutely aware that we cannot stop providing services or layoff staff during this challenging time. Since this pandemic is creating an elevated need in our community and state-wide for safe places where a child can heal from her trafficking experience, we need to figure out how we can serve more girls in the months to come.

To ensure we maintain our high standards of care, retain staff and continue welcoming new girls to The Refuge Ranch, we have taken the following measures to ensure financial sustainability:

1. We quickly filed and received funding in the first round of the Federal Cares Act- PPP Loan/Grant Program.

2. We developed an even more stringent 2020 budget that still allows us to maintain a high level of care and current child-to-staff ratio.

3. We put new policies in place to help cut down on expenditures which can be delayed during these challenging times.

4. We revamped our food and supplies purchase process with a new vendor. To date, we’ve seen a 30% decrease in our monthly costs in these areas.

 
Our highest priority has always been and continues to be to provide the very best care possible for the girls living at The Refuge Ranch. We have examined new ways of operating in this season of COVID-19, while maintaining excellence in every area of our organization. I do believe that this unforeseen challenge has made us a stronger organization. With that said, I am concerned. While we always forecast for lower donations in the late spring and summer months, this summer will be our most daunting to date.

This pandemic has caused havoc on the financial markets and pocketbooks of everyone, and there is a lot of fear and uncertainty, no matter the size of the pocketbook. Please know that we understand, and we cherish our relationship with you regardless of your ability to give during these uncertain times. If you have been impacted financially and need to adjust or pause your current pledge to us, please respond to this email.

We are often asked, “What can I do to help The Refuge?” In response, here are three ways you can help us:

• PRAY: The staff at The Refuge cannot do the challenging work we do without being lifted up in prayer. To join hundreds around the world praying for trafficked children, please visit Lions Roar 24/7.

• PLEDGE: Our primary need is to have monthly donors to help with our cashflow. Any amount will have a tremendous impact. Please click here to see an array of pocketbook-friendly options.

• PROMOTE: As mentioned earlier, the need to provide comprehensive services to trafficked children continues to grow. To help spread the word about The Refuge, click here for some creative ways to share our mission with your family and friends.

I am grateful to you for loving and caring for the girls who need The Refuge. I am also grateful to you for your partnership with us. Together, we built The Refuge and together we will tenaciously work to sustain The Refuge.

About The Refuge for DMST

The Refuge for DMST™ (Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has developed The Refuge Ranch, a long-term, residential, therapeutic community for 48 girls, minors through age 19, who have been rescued out of sex trafficking. Built from the ground up on 50 acres in a beautiful and restorative setting outside of Austin, TX, The Refuge Ranch provides trauma-informed, holistic care for the girls on site, including: psychiatric services from Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Psychiatry and the Institute for Early Life Adversity Research; education through the University of Texas-University Charter School (UT-UCS); medical services by community partners; and various therapeutic programs uniquely designed for the development of a child survivor. The Refuge Ranch is the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation facility for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States.