As a resident of the Woodforest community myself, I am grateful to have this opportunity to introduce you to Emerging Grace Ministries, Inc. (EGM), a residential program specifically designed to help teenage girls overcome the trauma experienced as sex trafficking victims. Funny thing is, Luv Coffee was where the EGM leadership team originally started meeting several days a week to design the program that we now use with our residents. It was a surprise to me to find out that Wes Lambard was the owner. I knew him as a teenager and remain good friends with his mom to this day. 

First, I think it's important to tell you why our program services are so greatly needed. Sex trafficking is all over the news. Our children are falling prey to traffickers on a daily basis right here in our local communities. Even more devastating is the rate of recidivism that occurs after these children are recovered because they need extremely specialized support post-recovery in order to move forward to lead a healthy lifestyle that is free from exploitation. 

It’s crucial to understand that because children’s brains are still developing, they can easily go into a survival mode regardless of where they come from or how they were raised prior to victimization. If you don’t properly deprogram these children to actually get them to recognize they were victims, to move through the difficult thoughts that can easily be triggered by ordinary day-to-day events, then invariably they will run from their thoughts–most often back to their traffickers.  

Using my 20-year experience in the residential childcare environment as a means to design the program, I founded EGM in 2020. Thanks to the support of my board and private donors, EGM was able to purchase a seven-acre property in Montgomery County in early 2023 that has been renovated as a residential treatment program to fill the gap in services that exists for children who have been exploited as sex trafficking victims. 

While living on the EGM campus, children receive traditional individual and group therapy along with many other experiences to help them make positive memories and accomplish many goals that target self-identity and felt safety first. This includes collaborating with a few other local non-profits for services. Some examples include:

Pet Therapy: Our bunny, Fiona Grace, takes the lead of our welcoming committee, ready to greet each new resident from the moment she walks through the door. Gracey Lu, our husky mix, visits campus regularly to play. Our house manager, Marisol Ortega, oversees all our pet therapy. So far, we have chickens, ducks, hummingbirds, and so much more to keep us busy. 

Equine Therapy: Ty Nordac of Cherokee Outlaw Ranch is a local organization that rescues horses from abandonment, abuse, and mistreatment and restores them to a purpose-filled life. These horses are incredibly intuitive and have a common bond with our residents. It’s an amazing healing experience to watch as they respond to each other. 

Recreational Therapy: Our licensed recreational therapist, Brighid Gibney, runs an activity schedule focused on building each child up to discover what she is capable of. 

Art Therapy: Set Free Healing Center’s Laura Climie-Wilkerson has several years’ experience working with child sex-trafficking. In addition to individual and group therapy, she works on various art projects that the residents enjoy. 

The girls eat breakfast together as a family before attending the campus charter school that is run by Jaime Kiely through Trinity Charter School, accredited by the state of Texas. Jaime’s creative, hands-on approach complements the academic requirements set forth by the state to encourage the residents to learn at their own pace. 

After-school activities include those mentioned above along with others sponsored by collaborator Hands of Justice, a program that is led by adult women who are survivors of sex trafficking themselves. 

It truly takes a village to help these children overcome their horrific experiences. While some children are supported by funding through the state, many children’s families come to us for help because they do not have the financial resources to pay for services that can range from $300-$400 a day. EGM relies on grants and private donations to support these families. 

Want to know more? Please call or email me at 936-206-0507 or tina@emerginggrace.org for more information. Check out our website at www.emerginggrace.org to take a brief tour of the campus and please consider becoming a community partner as a monthly donor and/or participating in one of our fundraising opportunities.