Mission Statement

New Friends New Life restores and empowers trafficked and sexually exploited teen girls, women and their children, and drives awareness of the issue and its prevalence. 

By providing access to education, job training, interim financial assistance, mental health and spiritual support, New Friends New Life helps women and their children overcome backgrounds of abuse, addiction, poverty and limited opportunities.

Core Values and Vision

History & Services

NFNL emerged in 1997 when an exotic dancer entered a local church seeking help.  The church’s women’s group helped her find employment and provided the ongoing support she needed to make a fresh start. Soon she began bringing friends to the church, and the group organized to help more women escape sexual exploitation. These initial efforts blossomed into what NFNL provides today – evidence-based programs to help survivors recover from complex trauma, rebuild lives, and thrive.

New Friends New Life offers comprehensive programming to nearly 400 women, teens, and children annually. Our direct services include:

  • Women’s Program providing individual/group counseling, case management, and economic empowerment tools to help adult survivors heal and become independent.

  • A drop-in Youth Resource Center helping high-risk, exploited, and trafficked girls ages 12 – 22 with trauma-informed care.

  • Adult Resource Center (ARC) provides technology access, computer and life-skills training, and vocational and job readiness preparation opportunities.

  • Employment Partnership Program helps survivors attain conventional employment, partnering with businesses in North Texas to provide entry-level, livable wage jobs and opportunities for more skill-building.

  • Childcare while mothers can attend educational classes, with capacity to facilitate therapy for young children who have PTSD from experiencing or witnessing abuse and exploitation.

  • NFNL has an on-site Legal Advocacy Clinic, providing our women and girls with legal aid by reviewing legal histories, creating legal action plans, leading cases on behalf of members and maintaining a Legal Advocacy Fund to help with court fees.

  • Liberty Street Garden which broke ground in Summer 2023, is an innovative partnership between The Meadows Foundation, NFNL, and Bonton Farms that provides survivors a means to earn a living wage as they build a new life, with the added benefit of providing affordable, organic food to them.

  • In March 2024 NFNL started the Learning Academy, which has a dedicated Education Specialist to provide trauma-informed assistance for members with specific educational goals including GED Pursuit and College Preparation.

Advocacy

Texas ranks 2nd in the country for trafficking prevalence, with more than 300,000 annual victims statewide, and in Dallas, an estimated 400 teens are sold for sex every night, as part of a $99 million illegal industry.

To address the full scope of this issue, New Friends New Life engages in community education and anti-trafficking advocacy through:

  • The Men’s Advocacy Group (MAG), led by Dallas’ distinguished business and community leaders, mobilizes local men to promote awareness and act against the sex trafficking and exploitation of women, girls, and children.

  • The manKINDness™ Project, an interactive workshop tailored for adolescent boys. By creating open dialogues on valuing and respecting girls and other relevant topics, manKINDness empowers boys with the tools to be leaders in healthier behaviors towards girls and each other.

  • Sex Trafficking Awareness Excursions, guided educational charter bus tours exposing the reality of sex trafficking in North Texas by visiting sites of real trafficking cases worked by Dallas Law enforcement.

 To learn more or to join the mission of helping teen girls and women restore from sex trafficking or exploitation and build new lives for themselves and their children, please contact us.