Insights on the Immeasurable Impact of the Nonprofit Industry

Written by Bianca Davis, CEO

One of the many things I’ve come to admire about Dallas is the philanthropic spirit of this community. Local nonprofit organizations like New Friends New Life are able to affect change around significant social issues because of the incredible generosity and support of the individuals, civic leaders, and corporations who are bold enough to fight against sex trafficking, domestic violence, homelessness, hunger, and a host of other social ills. In recognition of National Nonprofit Day on August 17th, let’s look at the impact of this industry.

There are more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in the U.S. These NPOs account for $2.62 trillion in revenue, and represent the third largest workforce in the country, behind only retail and manufacturing!  As you may know, what sets NPOs apart from for-profit companies is what happens at the bottom line at the end of the fiscal year. NPOs raise money to provide services to the community - most nonprofits provide these services (counseling, housing, training, etc.) at no cost to the clients (like at NFNL), or at a nominal cost. There is no distribution of earnings to stakeholders or individuals at the end of the year. 

For the past 25 years, New Friends New Life has thrived and grown as a nonprofit organization committed to restoring and empowering survivors of trafficking and exploitation. This weighty mission is only attainable through donor support, and every gift makes a difference. I recognize that celebrating a Silver Jubilee year is no small feat, given the sober statistic that only 50% of nonprofits are successful. In fact, 30% of nonprofits don’t make it to 10 years before having to close their doors. The fact that NFNL is still in the fight 25 years later is a testament to YOU, for whatever action you have taken to show your support – donating your time, your dollars, or amplifying our message in your workplace and social circles.

Speaking of donated dollars, in 2021, 56% of people in the U.S. donated an average of $574 to charity. In addition, 45% of donors worldwide participate in a recurring gifts program. (Click here to join NFNL’s Power of 10 Club). This commitment to giving is significant particularly because of the lingering economic impact of the pandemic which wreaked havoc on the nonprofit sector at that time – many NPOs are still trying to recover.

It is not lost on me that NFNL has been able to maintain and grow its services, staff, and programs despite the troubled waters of the past three years. This shows very clearly that our strategic and passionate Board of Directors, our brilliant and compassionate staff, and YOU are making a difference – the most giving and collaborative group of donors and supporters anyone could ask for. Each day brings new challenges and new opportunities, with the only certainty being that of our commitment to creating a community where women and girls can soar above the limits of their pasts to achieve their dreams.

I invite you to read our newly released 2022 Annual Report to see how your investment in New Friends New Life is impacting the women and girls we serve, and the larger community.

Minority Mental Health Month: Representation, Economics, Allyship

Written By: Diann Tigner, Economic Empowerment Specialist

July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. I would like to take the time to focus on representation, economics and what we can all do to create safer spaces around us for People of Color (POC) specifically. Growing up, I had the unique privilege of being raised in an area that was infested with drugs, people battling addiction, economic crisis and wrestling with mental illnesses… some being family members. “Privilege?”, you may ask “Why would someone say living in that environment is a privilege?” 

During my childhood, my mother and I experienced homelessness, mental health challenges, and economic crises. I use the word privilege because being around those elements is what shaped me into the woman I am today. I get to serve women like my mom daily and they get to see hope through someone that looks like them. Every morning, I get the opportunity to serve women that did not have the privilege to easily walk away from their struggles, yet still fight for a better future.

94% of sex trafficking victims are women,  62% of them are women of color (WOC), but in 2021 only 27% of therapist were POC. While not everyone who walks in our doors have been diagnosed with a mental illness, the majority have. This includes depression, anxiety, and PTSD among others. The number of POC representation in the mental health field is severely lacking which in turn can cause a lack of trauma-informed cultural care. This is why representation matters. This is also why non-POC must do work to address their biases and work to become culturally competent. If 72 % of therapist are White, there must be a gateway to discuss mental blocks, unconscious biases and most importantly, white supremacy/racism in the systems.

As an Economic Empowerment (EE) specialist, who has worked in the community mental health field for seven years, providing case management services including housing, finances, education, and career guidance, I see firsthand the difficulties of economic crisis. Majority of the women walking through our doors state in their EE consultation that they are overwhelmed and uncomfortable with their current financial stability. NFNL Members report making less than the lowest 25th percentile of income, barely surviving paycheck-to-paycheck.  Our women also come from backgrounds that can make it difficult to find legitimate work while trying to maintain their mental health and trauma triggers at work, for example 60% of our members have criminal records from acts they were forced to commit while being trafficked. While NFNL has helped many women in these areas, we can’t do it alone. There is more we all can do as a society to assist in these barriers.

How can mental health workers, companies, or allies support women in this demographic? Here is six ways to start:

1.      Training and Education - Ask yourself, “What have I done lately to learn about Women of Color (WOC)?” Have I read a book, researched a topic, facilitated groups as Allies in safe spaces for WOC? NFNL hosts a book club twice monthly, where we facilitate conversations on the POC experience and how, while our experiences may be different, we have commonalities to keep us grounded and connected. We also allow space for our allies to question their own unconscious biases.

2.      Team Building- Team building can consist of games, company workshops, or even conversing about uncomfortable conversations. Start thinking of what biases you see popping up in your companies, family outings, or friend groups. How can you challenge that conversation?

3.      Checkups - Simple! Do you prioritize the mental health of your staff/team as much as you do the people you love? Consider what you would do if a person of color in your immediate circle told you someone said something offensive. Find resources to learn more about what you can do in those situations.  

4.      Don’t be afraid of the elephant in the room- Mental health mixed with discussions on race is difficult. There is no easy way to mesh the two topics. But that does not mean they should not be had. This is a list of topics to start the conversation.

5.      Hire and pay POC – We are worthy of the job titles, but many studies show we are less sought after and less paid. Let’s close the wealth gap and give POC what is deserved. 

6.      VOTE in favor of equality.

If we work together there is so much more that we can do. Progress and change do not happen overnight, but we must take every opportunity we can for growth. So, let’s grow together. What will you do to make the change?

A Salute to Fathers and Father Figures Who #StandForHer

Written By - Matt Osborne, Liaison to the Men’s Advocacy Group at NFNL

As I write this article on Father’s Day, I reflect on how blessed I feel to be the father of two amazing college-aged daughters. Despite my very less than perfect parenting, I am thrilled to see my daughters slowly but surely growing into strong and confident women. They are two of the main reasons I have focused my career on combatting commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking since I first became aware of these issues while working for the US Government (CIA and State Department) almost 20 years ago. During the past two decades I have seen unfortunately how fatherlessness—or at least the absence of a committed and loving father or father figure in the home—has contributed to several problematic social issues, not the least of which is human trafficking.

I read a study recently that claimed in the US there are an estimated 20 million children living in a home without the physical presence of a father. The study noted that “fatherlessness is associated with almost every societal ill facing our country’s children and creates vulnerabilities that are easily exploited.” At New Friends New Life, we have seen firsthand how a host of social problems feed the pipeline of child and adult sex trafficking, such as poverty, teen runaways, the lack of good education and job opportunities, the rise in child sexual abuse material online, and much more. But perhaps primary among these factors, the epidemic of absent fathers has created voids that are readily filled by human traffickers who seek out and prey upon those whose basic needs go unmet.

The US Department of Justice has reported that many sex trafficking victims come from fatherless and unstable homes, and sex traffickers exploit these vulnerabilities by creating a warped “father-child” relationship with victims and manipulating their need for love and acceptance. Without this love at home, many victims find in sex trafficking organizations the “love” and sense of belonging that they crave.

Our Men’s Advocacy Group brings together men who are willing to take a #StandForHer by celebrating and promoting engaged and committed fatherhood. For fathers of daughters, we note that human traffickers take advantage of women and girls who may be craving love, connection, and support at home. For fathers of sons, we encourage them to raise their boys to be Men with More: more intolerant of bad “locker room talk,” more respectful of women and girls, and more respectful of themselves.

 Our free curriculum known as The manKINDness Project combats the demand that is primarily driving the commercial sex trade. We do this by promoting an understanding of healthy masculinity, which our boys today are certainly not seeing on social media, television or in movies. We teach these young men that if they speak disparagingly of, or objectify, the opposite sex, those attitudes could easily translate into toxic relationships with women and girls later in their life. One of our standard lines to these boys is that no man just wakes up one day at the age of 35, 45, 55, etc., and says… “Today I am going to purchase sex for the first time,” but rather it is a journey of a thousand steps that brings a man to the point where he believes it is appropriate to buy another human being. The manKINDness Project would nip that prospect in the bud by challenging these boys to treat every female with the same respect he would give the most important women in his life.

As another Father’s Day comes and goes, may each of us who have been given the blessing of being a father, or father figure, recommit ourselves to being active, engaged, loving, and committed in the lives of our sons and daughters. Together we can raise the standard of fatherhood that our society so desperately needs, and in so doing can combat the negative effects that fatherlessness has had on human trafficking victims in the US and around the world.

Celebrate HER

Written by: Hannah D. Counter, M.A., LPC, EMDR-Trained, Youth Program Clinical Director, NFNL

In 2022, 48% of the women and youth that we served at New Friends New Life (NFNL) were African American and 21% of the women and youth that we served were members of the LGBTQIA community. As we move through the month of June, it is important to remember that the celebrations of Pride Month (celebrating the LGBTQIA community) and Juneteenth (celebrating the African American Community) both have representatives right here at NFNL.

According to the National Museum of African American History & Culture, “Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control… Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as "Juneteenth," by the newly freed people in Texas.”

As stated in the Library of Congress, “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is currently celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan…The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally.”

Part of the way we define “trauma informed care” here at NFNL is seeing our members as individuals and honoring each part of their identities. Our women and girls have many different identities and roles in their life. Each one of those roles have value and worth. These individuals are more than just survivors of sex trafficking. They are African American, Latino, mother, employee, Muslim, student, daughter, heterosexual, Christian, friend, lesbian, aunt, American Indian, bisexual, mentor, survivor.

So, throughout this month, when you see the celebrations of Pride and Juneteenth, think of our women and girls. Remember that people are diverse and fluid and are representative of so many different communities that have value and are worth celebrating. And, when we stand for HER, we don’t only stand for the trafficked part of her, we stand for ALL of her.

Want to learn more about how you can take a stand for her? Get involved in our Circle of Friends, join the Men’s Advocacy Group, volunteer with us, partner with us through in-kind donations or offer financial support.

Celebrating All Mothers on Mother’s Day

Written By: Monica Flores, NFNL Youth Program Manager

On Sunday, May 14, mothers across the country were celebrated and honored for the influence and role they have played in their children's life. Typically, when we hear the term “mother” we associate it to an individual who has birthed a child, raised them in a safe and nurturing environment, and has made a positive impact in their life. And although for many, this definition holds true, but for most of the women we serve at NFNL this definition does not.

Many, if not majority, of the members at NFNL have experienced verbal, emotional, physical, and [even] sexual abuse by their mothers. Instead of being raised in a safe and healthy home environment, our women have had to live through experiences that are unjustifiable. The person who as a young girl you look up to, go to for support and love, became the villain in a story they had yet to write.

That is why every Mother’s Day at New Friends New Life, we celebrate those women who show up for the little girl they once were. We honor the resilience and strength they demonstrate daily to overcome the trauma they’ve experienced, and we recognize the effort and commitment they’ve made to become a better woman and mother. Not only do we celebrate the hard work they do at this agency, but also the hard work they do to raise their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or any other individual they consider their own. We host an evening dinner, coordinate a floral arrangement class, and fill the adult resource center with love, appreciation, and community.

Each of our women have had their own unique experience in the journey of motherhood, and although no two are the same, they are equally as important and valid. So, on a day like Mother’s Day, it’s important we celebrate the women who are adoptive mothers, stepmothers, those who have lost children, have strained child relationships, [have lost mothers,] are yearning to be mothers and those who have chosen not to be mothers.

As a mother myself, it’s beautiful to witness celebrations like these. To see the smiles of our members and feel the warmth and love within a room is truly a blessing. Mother’s Day at NFNL is more than just a day to celebrate mothers, it’s a day to commemorate the women who continue their journey of life and the women on the journey of becoming the mother (they never had). 

The Value in Volunteering

Written By: Vanessa Garnica-Barker, NFNL Community & Engagement Manager

When working with volunteers, I typically hear about how they find fulfillment through service and being able to make a difference when volunteering at New Friends New Life (NFNL). According to HelpGuide.org, volunteering helps bring a healthier and happier life. Four different benefits they highlighted were,

“Volunteering connects you to others.
Volunteering is good for your mind and body.
Volunteering can advance your career.
Volunteering brings fun and fulfillment to your life.”

As someone who has actively volunteered throughout my life, I can confidently say that volunteering has brought these four components into my life and ignited a passion for service.

Working in the volunteer program has allowed me to gain an entirely new perspective. While volunteers experience this immense joy, I want them to know there is a much deeper impact and value that they are leaving on the opposite end. The value of their volunteerism is priceless in the way they’ve impacted the members at New Friends New Life.

There’s nothing more beautiful than seeing genuine connections and rapport built among members and volunteers. So often the women and girls served at NFNL only knew transactional relationships and now they are experiencing a sincerity through the agency of unconditional love and kindness that is so freely given to them with nothing expected in return.

As a bystander in these interactions, I’ve witnessed hundreds of little moments that leave major impacts in the lives of those served. Whether it’s a volunteer bringing laughter to a baby in childcare, building a member’s confidence during Fashion Friday, empowering members in our GED classes, serving them a warm, homecooked meal, or just being a listening ear. These moments can leave a lasting impact and restore faith in humanity.

As some of our members have stated, “I find much encouragement in coming here. I feel cared for as well as a renewed hope.”

“Thank you for making life more fun. I appreciate all of the time, laughs and smiles you bring.”

Specifically, one of our youth member’s interactions with a male volunteer after receiving roses at our Valentine’s Day Celebration, “This is the first time I’ve ever received flowers from anyone” with the biggest smile on her face and a sense of safety.

These moments bring significant value into so many lives served at NFNL. Thank you volunteers for playing such an essential role in bringing love, kindness, and joy into the lives of those served.

In addition to the impact made on members, volunteers significantly benefitted NFNL through the gift of their time. Last year alone, NFNL Volunteers logged 2,723 hours of service equaling more than $81,000 in payroll savings. Volunteers also donated more than $185,000 in in-kind items, our most essential needs. So often traffickers lure in the most vulnerable through these very real, basic human needs. Every hygiene kit, pantry item, snack, and feminine product serves a purpose far deeper than you can imagine.

Each minute served and every person served is deeply cherished. Thank you for each little moment that fills their hearts. To learn how you can volunteer at NFNL, visit www.newfriendsnewlife.org/volunteer.