The Refuge For DMST Presents "Circle of Hope: A Special Tour of The Refuge Ranch"

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Refuge for DMSTtm (Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking) invites the public to Circle of Hope, a?first-time-ever, online tour of The Refuge Ranch, Wednesday, September 23rd at 12:30PM Central. Opened in 2018 with 48 beds, The Refuge Ranch is the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation community for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States.

To help viewers understand the complex trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and depression issues that are unique to each child survivor of child sex trafficking, the Circle of Hope online tour of The Refuge Ranch will be seen through the eyes of Kiara, a representative child survivor? from her first day, to her transition back out into the world. (All the young women seen throughout the tour are adult volunteers or actors. No actual residents will be shown.)

Since The Refuge Ranch opened two years ago, very few people have seen the everyday hope and healing taking place at the ranch, outside of the residents and those directly involved in their care. To minimize the disruption in care and to protect the safety and confidentiality of the girls living at The Refuge Ranch, tours of this rehabilitative community have always been limited.

According to the US Justice Department, there are still less than 600 beds available nationwide for child sex trafficking survivors' long term recovery from trauma. This critical gap in care for victims is caused in large part because federal and state governments mostly concentrate their anti-trafficking efforts on prevention and prosecution.  

To fill this gap, Austin, TX-based The Refuge for DMST built the 50-acre, 23-building Refuge Ranch and created The Refuge Circle of Caretm, a comprehensive, holistic, trauma-informed treatment program that sensitively surrounds each girl with the services she needs for her individualized healing plan. On-site services include: psychiatric services from Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin's Department of Psychiatry and the Institute for Early Life Adversity Research; education through the University of Texas-University Charter School (UT-UCS); medical services by community partners; and various therapeutic programs uniquely designed for the development of a child survivor.

"The Refuge is in the hope business and we currently live in a world where there's a high demand for hope," said Brooke Crowder, Founder and CEO of The Refuge for DMST. "Our goal is to provide the best care available for survivors of child sex trafficking. To that end, we aspire to be known in near future as the Mayo Clinic of domestic minor sex trafficking treatment. The Refuge model depends upon public support for direct care organizations that provide comprehensive services for child survivors. Come see our mission in action. Purchase a ticket for our online tour and we will keep supplying the hope!"

To purchase tickets for the September 23rd showing of Circle of Hope, go to: 
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/circle-of-hope-a-special-tour-of-the-refuge-ranch-tickets-111883472478?aff=pr2

For a press preview of the online tour, please send an email to: [email protected].

About The Refuge for DMST
The Refuge for DMSTtm (Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has developed The Refuge Ranch, a long-term, residential, therapeutic community for 48 girls, minors through age 19, who have been recovered from sex traffickers. Built from the ground up on 50 acres in a beautiful and restorative setting outside of Austin, TX, The Refuge Ranch provides trauma-informed, holistic care for the girls on site, including: psychiatric services from Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin's Department of Psychiatry and the Institute for Early Life Adversity Research; education through the University of Texas-University Charter School (UT-UCS); medical services by community partners; and various therapeutic programs uniquely designed for the development of a child survivor. The Refuge Ranch is the largest long-term, live-in rehabilitation facility for child survivors of sex trafficking in the United States. For more information, go to www.therefugedmst.org.

SOURCE The Refuge For DMST