WHAT WE DO
Human trafficking doesn't just happen in a back alley in a distant city. It happens right here—in the quiet neighborhoods where we live, work, worship, shop, and raise our families. Predators count on communities looking the other way. We refuse to let them hide. Poiema Foundation fights human trafficking through three relentless pillars: Prevention Education, Community Engagement, and Survivor Empowerment.
EDUCATE
Exploitation thrives when communities don't know what vulnerability actually looks like. Education breaks that blind spot. Poiema goes on the offensive—equipping students, teachers, healthcare professionals, foster parents, law enforcement, and churches to recognize the early red flags before grooming turns into trafficking. To date, we have equipped over 40,000 people across North Texas to see the truth and intervene safely.
ENGAGE
Awareness isn't the finish line. Vigilance is. Every single Saturday, Poiema volunteers march into local businesses, convenience stores, and transportation hubs—hanging missing-person posters to ensure missing kids cannot be ignored. With 400 active volunteers across 18 campuses, we put the faces of missing youth right where a cashier or clerk might spot them. This relentless search works: Poiema has directly assisted in the recovery of over 600 missing children. Every poster breaks the chain of exploitation. Every set of eyes brings a child home.
EMPOWER
Rescue is only day one. True restoration goes far beyond basic safety—it means giving a survivor back the pen so she can write her own story. Since 2017, Poiema’s Safe House program has served 364 women through trauma-informed residential and non-residential care. Here, safety isn’t just a lock on a door; it’s a quiet morning with a warm mug, a comfortable bed, and the freedom to finally drop her guard. Through steady routines, clinical counseling, and unshakeable consistency, survivors reclaim their dignity, build their confidence, and take total control of their future.
WHY IT MATTERS
Exploitation tries to strip away identity and reduce human beings to a line item. We refuse to let trauma have the final word. Safe housing is more than a roof—it is the secure harbor where safety becomes predictable, trust can take root, and a woman moves from surviving to designing a life she owns entirely.
Your North Texas Giving Day gift directly fuels the prevention, powers the search, and builds the long-term restoration that sets women and children free. Whether you make a single gift today or stand with us as a monthly Restoration Partner, you become part of the force bringing missing youth out of the shadows.
Human trafficking is happening here. But so is the relentless fight against it. Stand with us today. Help them reclaim tomorrow.
The Poiema Foundation educates the public and raises awareness in order to prevent sexual abuse, sex trafficking, and other methods of sexual exploitation. Poiema also operates a safe house where survivors of human trafficking receive long-term, trauma informed care. We facilitate the restoration journey of women by providing for their physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual needs.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
It takes a little more than $75,000 each year to house and care for a full home of program participants.
That includes:
Housing Costs: security, utilities, maintenance, and other expenses that keep our Safe House safe and operational
Basic Needs: groceries, clothing, toiletries, transportation, medical appointments, prescriptions, and other everyday necessities
Therapeutic Care: trauma-informed counseling, specialized therapies, psychological care, and other resources that support each survivor's healing
And that $75,000 represents only the direct costs of caring for our residents. It does not include the staff who make that care possible, including their salaries, ongoing training, and the support necessary to equip them for the demanding work of walking alongside survivors every day.
Restoration requires more than a safe place to live. It requires consistent care, skilled people, and the resources to stay for the long road of healing.
Your support helps make all of it possible.
Poiema does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to: hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, and vendors.
Organization name
Poiema Foundation
Tax id (EIN)
46-4133090
Causes
Human Trafficking & Exploitation
Operating Budget
$500,000 - $999,999
Counties Served
Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, Rockwall, Tarrant
BIPOC Serving
Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx
Address
PO Box 757