WEST OF JUSTIN — Bob’s House of Hope, a safe house and program for male survivors of commercial sexual exploitation created by nonprofit Ranch Hands Rescue, recently opened a new housing unit. It will be the first on the property to provide a temporary place to live for unhoused minors.
The organization typically houses men over 18 who have survived human trafficking, but this new home will offer temporary housing to unhoused teens ages 14-17. The new home on the Bob’s House of Hope property near Justin includes four bedrooms.
“There’s a huge lack of support for youth that are kind of aging out of the child support system,” Bob’s House of Hope office manager Harrison Lacy said.
Teens do not have to be survivors of sex trafficking in order to live in this home, he said.
Lacy said that in about a week and a half, another home for minors will be complete. One home will house boys, and another will house girls.
“So, it’s expanding not just the age range, but also the gender range that we can cover and help,” Lacy said.
Operations manager Alyssa May said teens can stay in the home for up to 90 days. During this time, Bob’s House of Hope will handle case management and teach life skills as the teens transition into their next living arrangement.
Several government officials spoke at the home’s ribbon-cutting event Wednesday, including Gov. Greg Abbott. During his speech, he discussed the importance of hope.
“For the young men who will be cared for right here, many of them probably lost hope along the way,” Abbott said. “Here, they can regain that hope and rebuild a future for their lives.”
Other notable attendees included Texas first lady Cecilia Abbott; Bob’s House of Hope and Ranch Hands Rescue founder and CEO Bob Williams; U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Flower Mound; state Sen. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound; state Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville; Denton County Judge Andy Eads; Denton County Sheriff Tracy Murphree; Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn; Bob’s House of Hope Chief Operating Officer Landon Dickeson; Journey to Dream CEO Nesa Grider; and Jane Nelson, who recently stepped down as Texas secretary of state.
Lacy said Journey to Dream, a Lewisville-based nonprofit that offers transitional housing to unhoused teens, has leased 10 acres of the Bob’s House of Hope and Ranch Hands Rescue property to build additional youth housing.
This provides another option for teens after their 90 days are over.
“If they’re maybe not the right fit for our program that’s focused on specifically survivors of sex trafficking, we’re not just kind of kicking them to the curb or letting them go to another temporary shelter,” he said.
Williams founded Ranch Hands Rescue in 2008. It is a sanctuary for farm animals that have been abused or neglected or have special needs. Ranch Hands Rescue Counseling Program, which partners animals with people who haven’t responded to traditional therapy, was created in 2010.
Bob’s House of Hope opened in 2021. The safe house program is billed as one of the first of its kind in the country to provide housing, therapy and other services to male survivors of sex trafficking over 18 years old.
CAMILA GONZALEZ can be reached at 940-566-6830 and cgonzalez@dentonrc.com.
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