A Safe Place to Land

A young woman leaves her job and heads home, confident of the safe space, warm meal, and loving support she will find there. A common occurrence for many Americans, but not for the thousands of women and girls who have been trafficked or coerced into prostitution in this country.

Refuge For Women is the nation’s largest recovery program for victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation,
and its headquarters are right here in North Texas. 

Refuge for Women’s President Abby Germer leads a team that operate 10 homes in six metropolitan areas across the country. Sex trafficking is a $10 billion industry in the United States, and 16 states currently have no recovery housing at all. 

“We have two houses in North Texas, with plans to open a new Emergency House here in January of 2025 that will offer immediate placement and stabilization for up to 90 days for women leaving a trafficking situation who need to find a place to stay immediately,” she said. “This allows a woman to make a clear-headed decision to enter our long-term program.”

A long-term and a transitional home have been operating since 2015. The first offers women a chance to heal and regain dignity. “We offer women a place to live for a year at no cost, and our 24-hour onsite staff provides them with counseling, healing, and safety,” Germer said. 

“Halfway through the program we introduce them to job skills and prepare them to find jobs or go back to school. We help them get a driver’s license or Social Security card because they usually don’t have one. That’s part of the trafficker’s manipulation and control.”

Once women are ready to move to the transition house, they live with up to five other women at a time and must spend at least 30 hours per week in school or a job. 

“Women can stay in the transitional living home for 12-18 months, or longer if needed,” Germer said. “They are still under our covering but are experiencing independent living. We value community, and the residents need community. They eat meals and cook together, divide up chores, and use all their different skills to help each other.”

Refuge For Women has helped nearly 300 women escape a life in the sex trafficking trade since its inception in 2010, but much work is still to be done. Because it is an under-reported crime, it is hard to know exactly how many women and girls are currently in crisis. 

“The average age of entry for someone being trafficked is 12-14, and a majority enter prostitution through someone they know,” Germer said. “Traffickers can make $150,000-$200,000 annually per girl, and the average trafficker handles four to six girls. All the money is kept by the trafficker.”

Refuge For Women receives an average of four applications per week from women requesting to join the program. 

“Our intake coordinator screens each applicant through a series of questions,” Germer said. “From there, she knows which location has open beds, and we take into consideration what is best for the potential resident coming into the program. Safety is our number one priority.”

Safety includes keeping the location of program homes confidential, placing residents in homes far from the state where they are from, and fully vetting the jobs and school programs they transition into after completing the first phases of the program. 

Refuge For Women is a faith-based organization, but you don’t have to be a believer to come to the program. In fact, it is a redemptive story of healing that brought Germer to the program in the first place. 

“I have a before-and-after-Jesus testimony, and through my own recovery, I wanted to give back,” she said. “It was on a mission trip to India in 2009 that my eyes were opened to human trafficking for the first time. I served overseas for four years, and through that, realized that we have those problems in our own backyard. I met the founder of Refuge For Women and he was looking to create a multi-location organization.”

It was then that Germer began working as the Executive Director of the North Texas locations before moving to her current role as President. “It has been a journey of just continuing to say ‘yes’,” she said. 

Christine Mann is the current North Texas Executive Director, and she stresses how important it is that members of our local community get involved in some way to help end this crisis. 

“We have many volunteer opportunities, and a lot of them depend on the gifts and talents volunteers bring to the table, like legal work, physical therapy, tutoring, or cooking classes,” she said. 

“We try to place volunteers in an area that works best for them. We also frequently need volunteers to drive our residents to appointments, facilitate group classes, and assist with property upkeep and organization. Outside of the homes, we often need volunteers to help with events, mailouts, and other administrative tasks.”

The organization holds quarterly volunteer trainings, which are required, as are background checks. They also rely heavily on donations for supplies and necessities.

Refuge For Women strives for safety and healing for all women in sex trafficking and exploitation. 

“When we can help residents regain lost job skills or learn new ones, it is amazing,” Germer said. “When you see women reconnecting and reconciling with their children, it is so rewarding. It’s amazing what a hot meal, a warm bed, and a loving community can do for someone.”

To learn more about the organization, visit refugeforwomen.org. The next volunteer training will be in October. Register at refugeforwomen.org/serve. You can also visit their Amazon Wish List to donate supplies.