Unbound Now

Unbound Now is Leading the Fight Against Human Trafficking in East Texas

Since our founding, more than 5,500 survivors and clients have found freedom, healing, and hope through Unbound Now. We have stood beside survivors as they testified in court against traffickers. We have walked with them as they rebuilt their lives. And we remain committed for the long road ahead.

Our After Care team uses evidence-based, trauma-informed, and survivor-centered practices to support lasting restoration. Our advocates meet survivors where they are, at a hospital at 3 a.m., a local coffee shop, a doctor’s office, or sitting beside them in a courtroom. From the first crisis call forward, we help survivors feel seen, heard, and supported.

Because of this consistent, relational support, survivors reach milestones that once felt impossible: stable housing, employment, education, family reunification, and long-term safety.

Unbound Now is proudly endorsed by the Office of Texas Governor’s Child Sex Trafficking Team, a recognition of the integrity and effectiveness of our work.

Expanding Hope in East Texas

Unbound Now launched in East Texas in August 2023, opening offices in Tyler and Lufkin with strong community support. In 2025 alone, we served 162 individuals, and that number continues to grow.

We partner closely with law enforcement during victim outreach operations and host Hope in the Pines, an annual two-day conference bringing national experts to East Texas to address trafficking, missing and exploited children, and best practices in response and prevention.

The need is real. And it is here.

Why This Work Matters

Traffickers use force, fraud, and coercion to exploit vulnerable youth and adults for sex or labor. They build trust, create dependency, isolate victims, and manipulate them with promises of love, protection, or opportunity. Sometimes traffickers are strangers. Sometimes they are family members. Sometimes they are employers exploiting immigration status or withholding wages.

Many survivors do not immediately recognize they are being trafficked. And even after escape, healing is long and complex. Some return to traffickers because trauma bonds are powerful and recovery is difficult.

That is why Unbound Now’s advocates stay. We build trust over months and often years. We answer the late-night calls. We show up, again and again, until survivors no longer walk alone.

Your Gift Changes a Life

Because of you:

• A survivor has someone sitting beside them in court.
• A crisis call at 3 a.m. is answered.
• Healing begins.

On East Texas Giving Day, your generosity directly fuels advocacy, crisis response, and long-term restoration in our own communities.

Freedom is possible.
Hope is real.
And your support makes it happen.