The Net Fort WOrth
As so many stories begin, the Net was never meant to become a story at all. In 2010, the future foundation of what would become the Net was simply a handful of passionate college students who started building relationships with people experiencing homelessness in the Fort Worth, Texas area. It didn’t take long for them to learn that much poverty is rooted in broken relationships. The people they were meeting needed friendship and a network of support more than they needed material handouts.
It was this realization that providing reliable, lasting, relationships spoke deeper to the brokenness of the homeless far more than providing handouts ever could. The Net had found its true north – Relationships. They dedicated themselves to mentoring refugee youth, sharing meals, building relationships with folks experiencing homelessness, and through these efforts, formed friendships with vulnerable women and girls in Fort Worth.
In the midst of these intentional and lasting relationships they repeatedly saw the ways that violence, trauma, and poverty lead to situations of sexual exploitation and trafficking. By walking alongside these women, building friendships, and hearing their stories, they began to learn how sex trafficking is a complicated issue.
In order to “get out of the sex industry,” they needed more than just rehab and probation. More than anything, they needed a supportive community who would commit to coming alongside them, despite the trauma and hardships of their pasts, as they rebuilt their lives and walked forward in freedom.
The Net is clear, they do not consider themselves “first responders” for trafficking.
Instead, they aim to surround women with a community of support and empower them to rebuild their lives once they are not in crisis. And while their programs are not designed to rescue women from crisis of sex trafficking, they are designed to ensure these women are prepared and equipped for the new world awaiting them outside sex trafficking.