The Arcadia Story

Upon returning from India, Christi poured over books, reports, studies, and other materials to begin to fully understand the problem of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST). She was aware that human trafficking was a $150 billion global enterprise involving over 45 million slaves. It’s easy to look at that number and say, “at least it’s not happening here, where I live,” but as Christi discovered, that could not be more wrong.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, where Arcadia calls home, is particularly vulnerable as it sits at the intersection of two major areas in the world of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). “The Texas Triangle,” which has DFW, Houston, and San Antonio as its corners, and the I-20 Corridor which stretches East from the Metroplex, makes DFW a hub for trafficking.
 
In short, this is not  an isolated issue in developing countries. These aren’t stories of girls who were abducted on vacation in a faraway place. This problem is occurring in our community, hidden in plain sight.
 
An essential aspect of nurturing survivors in our community is understanding the means by which traffickers use to groom and entrap vulnerable girls. In the United States, survivors' bondage is within the mind, and they often do not identify as victims due to the weeks, months, and potentially years of grooming, training, and manipulation they endure.

Arcadia was founded to walk alongside child sex trafficking survivors, create a healthy community, and cultivate healthy relationships to ultimately restore what was stolen from them.  

Despite child sex trafficking being a problem of this magnitude, there are less than 60 specialized beds in Texas for survivors to turn to. We are working tirelessly to increase that number. We urge you to read more about the problem, our philosophy, our community, and to get involved in any way you can.