Fort Worth approves plan to build shelter for human trafficking survivors

After hours of public comment, the Fort Worth City Council on Tuesday night voted 6-4 to support Mercy Culture Church’s plan to build a shelter for victims of human trafficking. The Justice Reform, an organization led by Mercy Culture Church’s lead pastor, Heather Schott, is planning to construct the 42,000-square-foot facility on the church’s property in Fort Worth’s Oakhurst neighborhood. The organization fought for two years to gain approval for the shelter after residents of the neighborhood raised concerns about the facility’s location and impact on the surrounding area. Mayor Mattie Parker and five other council members voted to approve the site plan, while four council members including Jeanette Martinez, whose district includes the future site of the shelter, opposed the project.

What will the shelter include? The Justice Residences will house up to 100 women at a time for one- to three-year periods. Residents will receive Bible-based care to help women heal, spiritual discipleship, and training in skills women can use after their time at the shelter, according to The Justice Reform. After discussions with neighbors, the organization also agreed to add more than 20 parking spaces to the site, include on-site security, build a fence around the property, and partner with local law enforcement to ensure the safety of the neighborhood. The facility will provide safety to its residents and equip women to reenter the community, Schott said.

Why are neighbors concerned? Residents of the surrounding Oakhurst neighborhood said the property could exacerbate existing parking and traffic issues and that the increased noise and proposed security lighting would be a nuisance. Much of the area is made up of single-family homes and small businesses. The Oakhurst Neighborhood Association also said the shelter could cause an increase in crime. Former association president Libby Willis on Tuesday told the council that the shelter’s location next to an interstate could make it easy for traffickers to find their former victims. Willis and other neighbors said they agree that a shelter is a worthy project and is needed, but they take issue with its location. More than one-third of all prosecuted federal human trafficking cases in Texas since the year 2000 were in the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court of North Texas. That court’s jurisdiction includes Fort Worth, according to the Human Trafficking Institute.

What happens next? The organization plans to break ground on the shelter in the next few months, Schott told NBC 5. Meanwhile, the Oakhurst Neighborhood Association said it is considering options to oppose the plan, including legal action. Neighbors are expected to meet later this month to discuss their options.

Dig deeper: Listen to a report by Anna Johansen Brown and Mary Jackson about an investigator in Northern California who rescues girls trapped in the sex trade.