Ranch Hands Rescue -GIVING TUESDAY!

Mission

Ranch Hands Rescue's is a human and animal sanctuary founded on hope and healing for the long term recovery of trauma victims, special needs animals, and male survivors of sex trafficking. Bob’s House of Hope provides a home built on safety and community to meet the unique needs of male survivors of sex trafficking.

We find ourselves at a crossroads as a service organization. For the last 16 years, we have taken on challenges that others said could not be overcome. On the animal care side, we put a horse in a prosthetic without an amputation, performed successful open-heart surgery on a sheep, healed a tendon in a racehorse using nanofiber technology, and put a one-legged dog in three prosthetics. We established an animal sanctuary for those abused and neglected farm animals who we partnered with highly trained therapists to produce industry leading mental health outcomes for victims of trauma, primarily children, who were unsuccessful in traditional therapies. Our COO, Landon, and I designed and built the first safe house in the country for young men who have been sex trafficked, then expanded that program to double our on-site capacity and establish case management services for victims across the country. Landon and I have also gained national recognition as subject matter experts on human trafficking of boys and young men, launched an historic billboard campaign with Clear Channel that generated over 900M impressions across 70 cities in Texas, Atlanta, GA, NYC Times Square, and Los Angeles, CA, and improved prevention education for law enforcement, elected officials, first responders, various service providers, spiritual leaders, and international groups fighting human trafficking abroad. Despite these monumental accomplishments, we have had to temporarily downsize community counseling and consolidate operations to save on costs. In our county alone over the last three years, we have seen five non-profits close their doors forever. This trend is also playing out across Texas and the US.

Our friends at the National Alliance on Mental Illness informed us that funding for mental health focused non-profits is down 30% across the country. These are tough times for everyone, and non-profits are being hit especially hard.

In addition to a strenuous economic climate, human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children and youth has grown exponentially over the last five years. Youth homelessness and online exploitation are at an all-time high. In fact, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released, for the first time in their 40-year history, mid-year statistics on youth exploitation to educate the public on the severity of the issue and the dire need. They report that child sex trafficking reports have increased from ~6,000 in 2024 to ~63,000 already in 2025, and that online enticement of children has increased from ~293,000 to ~519,000. Meanwhile, the State of Texas has identified the lack of emergency housing for homeless youth as one of the greatest and most imminent needs across the state, a trend consistent across the US. This is a crisis of epidemic proportions, and boys are impacted far more often than people recognize. We have identified that they are disproportionately ending up either on the streets addicted to all kinds of potent drugs, in the jails for petty crimes often forced upon them by their trafficker, or in the morgue from overdose, suicide, or murder.

Please bear with me for a moment as I pull the veil back on the reality that we are facing every day. American citizens are BUYING American children. Buying a human and using them is slavery, and this is the enslavement of children. These people are paying money to rape boys. They are paying money to torture and humiliate boys. When I say torture, I mean poking with needles, setting on fire, breaking bones, pulling out fingernails, and other horrors that no rational person can even imagine doing to another human being. I do not state these things lightly or for shock value. I am informing you of what is actually happening to thousands of children in Texas and across the United States. We see and deal with this firsthand, every day. Me and my team have also seen the evidence collected by police and the medical reports from the treatment of wounds. This is not a foreign issue, or the actions of some rogue group. This is happening in every city, in every county, and in every state across the country. The United States is collectively the number one buyer of children in the world. The last sex trafficking sting operation the FBI conducted in Dallas arrested 200 American citizens from all walks of life. Every week, I read another news report about a teacher who was arrested for sexual misconduct with a student or for possession of child sexual abuse material (i.e., child pornography). I am beyond disgusted and disturbed every time I read another of these reports.

JACOB'S STORY -To give you an idea of the reality faced by these youths, we would like to share Jacob’s story with you. When Jacob was just thirteen, he received his first message request from a gamer friend on the internet. Unbeknownst to him, this "friend" was not a peer. It was a middle-aged man who would groom Jacob over the course of a year, all the while posing as a peer who enjoyed the same games as Jacob. One day, Jacob did something he never thought he would do. He sent a private photo of himself to his "friend." To Jacob's utter dismay, the man then used this photo to blackmail Jacob into doing increasingly inappropriate acts on camera. Jacob felt there was no way out.

At 15, seeing no way out of his predicament, Jacob began hurting himself and drinking alcohol. His family did not understand what was going on with him. They also did not know how to help him. All the while, Jacob sunk deeper into his dilemma; until, one day, the man told Jacob it could all stop if he would just do this one thing he had so far refused to do. Tragically, it was not just one thing... Jacob was lured into the dark, horrific world of sex trafficking.

Over the next 2 years, Jacob endured unspeakable harm from repeated sexual assaults, torture, deprivation, forced drug abuse, and many, many sleepless nights on the streets. Despite numerous encounters with law enforcement, emergency services, and mental health providers, no one ever explored what was happening to him. They just assumed he was a bad kid, or an addict, or a lost cause.

Most days Jacob was so angry and exhausted that he could not see past his most immediate survival needs. It was not until after he turned eighteen that he finally encountered a service provider who screened him for human trafficking. That professional took the time to explain trafficking to Jacob and to help him understand that there are resources available for young men like him. Jacob struggled to trust the idea that there could be people out there who genuinely care, and who would not want something from him. Despite his fears, he decided to give Bob's House of Hope a try.

Today, Jacob is nineteen. He is one year sober, healthy, and preparing to take his GED test. By having a safe place to live, receiving daily trauma therapy and proper medications, as well as engaging in life skills development, exercise, and spiritual growth, Jacob steadily regained the pieces of himself he had thought long gone. He has hope for the future. He has opportunities before him. He has plans for the future, and he is excited to pursue them. He has his life back. Your donations make recoveries like Jacob’s possible.

Now, we collaborate closely with the brave men and women in blue who face these realities from the front lines every day. These incredible people work tirelessly to bring justice and put a stop to these atrocities. It is an honor to work alongside them, and to support their efforts. Do you know what the one thing is that they say they wish they had more than anything else? It’s not body armor or software or gear. It’s not even better pay! It is more services for victims. I think that is quite profound. These extraordinary people risk their lives for children they do not even know, and all they want is more care for those children. That is what it means to be selfless, and that is why we are honored to back the blue. And to honor their greatest wish is where we need you.

This year, I ask you to support our greatest undertaking to date. In 2026, we will expand available housing for missing and exploited minors, and by March 31st establish an emergency shelter for stabilization of rescued minors, all on our 40-acre property in Justin, TX. By working closely with law enforcement, like-minded service providers, and key government officials, we will fill a massive gap in services for vulnerable boys and girls. We will create a pathway for children, who have been victims of heinous crimes, to live in safety, recover from those horrors, find God, learn the life skills needed for adulthood, and ultimately to live a happy, healthy, and productive life. This is the work I ask you to support as we wind down 2025 and move into 2026. With your support, this is not too big or too heavy. With your support, these goals are absolutely achievable.

To open the youth shelter, we estimate that it will cost approximately $500,000 and take about six months to complete the physical structure and security measures, increase staff numbers and finish training, and assemble the necessary supplies while maintaining existing services. If you feel led to donate, you will find with this letter information on our greatest needs and ways to support our missions. You have made it possible for us to achieve great things over the past 16 years, and we are prepared to achieve even more over the next 16 years and beyond!

In closing, I humbly ask for your continued support. Your donation is tax deductible to the full extent of the law, and you can direct your dollars to be spent however you wish. We are deeply honored that you choose to support our missions with your hard-earned money. As we celebrate our 16th anniversary, memorialize the sudden loss of our friend, Charlavan Cranford, and fight for victims of human trafficking, I know God has us. And I know God has us because He sent me you. Thank you for standing with us, and may God bless you and yours.

Sincerely,

Robert ‘Bob’ Williams

Founder and CEO

bob@ranchhandsrescue.org

940-240-0500, ext. 3