DENTON, Texas (AP) – A surreal feeling washed over Lynnie Anderson as she and the Refuge for Women North Texas board members prayed in a house that would offer women shelter from the storm of their life.
The Denton Record-Chronicle (http://bit.ly/2ga9JVs ) reports a year ago to the minute, the same group of people met at Zera’s Coffee Co. and the Back Porch in Denton to take on a lofty mission: run a safehouse that would provide long-term aftercare for women who escape the sex trafficking industry.
“I thought getting a house in two years was a good goal, but this has been incredible,” said Anderson, who serves as the city director of Refuge for Women North Texas. “The community really came together for this. These women now have a safe place to spend Christmas.”
After months of fundraising and with the help of anonymous donors, the group secured a four-bedroom, four-bathroom house in Denton County. Surrounded by a sense of serenity, residents will sleep in wooden bunk beds draped with hand-made quilts, cook meals in a fully outfitted kitchen and curl up on leather sofas for daily devotionals.
The home’s location is kept confidential for security reasons.