A Decade of Meeting Survivors Where They Are
When someone trapped in trafficking is ready to seek help, they need a low-barrier, no-judgement place to start. Since 2016, The Landing has been that place for thousands of survivors in the Houston area.
Now, to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, we’re asking you to join us for 10 For The Next 10: a time to celebrate how far we’ve come and build momentum for the next 10 years of saying “yes” to those who need us.
Be part of our 10-Year Anniversary Celebration by joining The Well for $10/mo, giving a one-time gift, or inviting 10 friends to support The Landing!
With your support, we can look forward to the next ten years of helping survivors of human trafficking find safety and freedom.
Ten Years.
2,740 Survivors.
One Family.
The past 10 years have shown us that transformation multiplies. When one survivor finds safety, dignity, and belonging, the change doesn’t stop with them. It ripples through our community for generations.
It extends to their children, their families, their communities. From 60 survivors in year one to more than 700 annually today, we’ve witnessed how small acts of love, repeated faithfully, compound into lasting change.
Survivors served annually
Empowerment graduates equipped with skills and scholarships
Survivors served since 2016
Partner Since 2022
Celebrate 10 years of impact.
Be part of the next 10!
Donate
Become a monthly partner through The Well or make a one-time anniversary gift
Partner
Help us grow our network of Houston-based partners in housing, churches, employment, mental health services, and more.
Volunteer
Share your skills, your time, and your presence with our family of survivors.
Connect
Be the first to hear about our 10-Year Anniversary Gala on September 18th and other upcoming community events.
These are just a few of the incredible stories being lived every day at The Landing.
2036: Our Vision For The Next 10 Years
1. Access Across Houston
Survivors across Houston can easily access The Landing’s services, regardless of location or language.
2. Measurable Outcomes
3. Strategic Partnerships
Strategic partnerships with churches, nonprofits, and businesses multiply our impact beyond what we could accomplish alone.
What Makes These 10 Years Possible
Jesus is at
the center.
We have Christ at the center of everything we do.
It changes how we show up and do the work we do because we are doing so not by our own doing but the authority of Christ.
We are trauma-informed.
Our staff understands the complex needs trafficking survivors face. From the moment someone walks through our doors to long-term case management, trauma-informed care permeates everything we do.
We accept survivors without judgment.
We accept people as they are, knowing they are loved by Christ and He sees them as a masterpiece. Survivors can walk in exactly as they are.
We are a family.
In the words of one of our clients: “The Landing is a family I choose on purpose. They have brought me up and so far from where I started from. The blessings that The Landing has offered, from stable housing to mental health support with therapy to the little things like gifts and meals, truly warms my heart.”
10 Milestones to Celebrate 10 Years of The Landing
On January 11th, 2026, we officially celebrated The Landing’s 10-year anniversary!
To honor this occasion, we are walking back through the past decade of service and reflecting on key milestones from each year.
Every one of these accomplishments represents real lives impacted—and each one was made possible only through your faithful support. We are deeply grateful for every supporter who has stood with us by giving, praying, and serving. Your commitment sustains this life-changing work:
On January 11, 2016, we opened the doors of the very first Drop-In Center in Houston for survivors of human trafficking. Our founders, James and Deborah Gates and Natasha Paradeshi, created this center in response to the real needs they witnessed from survivors in our community.
They started The Landing with the mission of serving survivors of sexual exploitation with a trauma-informed approach fueled by the love of Christ.
Our center meets people where they are, offering a safe, nonjudgmental space where they can receive respite care, food to eat, a place to sleep, relational support, and the practical resources they need to rewrite their futures.
Since we intentionally based our Drop-In Center on Bissonnet, a nationally known hotspot for commercial sexual exploitation, we also started proactive street outreach efforts— offering essential resources and informing survivors that the Drop-In Center was open and available to them.
We also began seeking out resources that could empower survivors on their journeys toward emotional healing. We discovered Ending The Game© (ETG) , a psychoeducational curriculum that helps survivors understand and uproot harmful psychological coercion.
This program was an essential part of our early work at The Landing, and ten years later, this framework is still helping clients rewrite their futures.
With the support of a new partnership with the Office of the Texas Governor, we were able to expand our care by hiring additional case managers and launching new programs, including a community group, a women’s health class, and a Celebrate Recovery group.
Over the years, our group and class offerings have continued to grow and evolve, creating meaningful spaces for survivors to learn, heal, and connect.
Past and current offerings have included:
- Classes led by public health students to help survivors better understand their own bodies
- Fitness and art classes taught by volunteers
- Bible studies for those interested in spiritual growth
We launched our Empowerment Program, an initiative that we are still proud to offer today.
This program supports survivors through education, job-readiness training, financial literacy, life skills development, case management, volunteer opportunities, and personal growth. We also use the Ending The Game© (ETG) as a core element of this program to help survivors find community, foster sisterhood, and bond over shared lived experiences.
Graduates of our Empowerment Program are offered a $1,500 scholarship, which can be used for goals such as:
- Pursuing further education
- Enrolling in technical or trade school
- Achieving certifications for their chosen career path
“I know by coming here I have so many people in my corner and it makes me not want to go back out there. I know I can make it!”
-The Landing Client
In 2019, The Landing stepped onto a national stage for the first time, presenting at the JuST Conference alongside the Child Sex Trafficking Team from the Texas Governor’s Office. This milestone reflected how God was expanding our reach, allowing survivor-centered voices from our community to help shape conversations beyond our city.
That same year, we piloted a Survivor Internship Program rooted in dignity, healing, and growth. Participants received hands-on training in trauma-informed care, crisis response, harm reduction, and mental health support, while also building practical skills for the workplace through ongoing mentorship and support.
Two graduates went on to pursue long-term careers in the nonprofit sector, one now serving in a management role and another helping provide housing solutions for those experiencing homelessness. Though the program is not currently active, it remains a meaningful example of how faith-filled, survivor-centered investment can open doors to hope and purpose.
Our most notable achievement in 2020 was launching our Youth Advocacy program—an initiative that remains one of our core services today.
Our Advocates respond 24/7 when a child or teen is removed from a harmful situation. From that first moment and throughout the recovery process, they walk alongside each survivor—offering emotional support, helping them navigate community programs and services, and ensuring their voice is heard every step of the way. This is a field-based program, meaning Advocates meet youth where they are—both physically and emotionally—removing as many barriers as possible so children and teens can access the support they need.
The Landing continues to partner with the Office of the Governor (OOG) to support our Youth Advocacy Program.
In 2020, we also pivoted our service model through adaptive measures like delivering food directly to survivors’ houses and offering case management over the phone so we could stay in service despite the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At our five-year milestone, we celebrated with gratitude all that God had done through The Landing. In just five years, we had the honor of walking alongside over 1,000 clients, each with a story of resilience and hope. What mattered most was the trust survivors placed in us and the sense of belonging they found here:
“I consider The Landing as family. They are not there to judge me.” -The Landing Client
This milestone wasn’t just about numbers—it was about lives met with compassion, dignity, and care.
Through a new partnership with United Way of Greater Houston, we were able to expand our Empowerment Program and Drop-In Center services, creating more opportunities for survivors to build confidence, skills, and independence. Graduates of the Empowerment Program who were interested in entrepreneurship were able to pursue additional training and develop business plans, equipping them to move toward sustainable, purpose-filled futures.
In 2022, we also increased our outreach efforts specifically within the Youth Advocacy Program by creating a Youth Advocacy Outreach Specialist position. This role was established in recognition that providing Human Trafficking 101 and Internet Safety presentations to youth in schools would significantly increase the likelihood that young people could recognize the warning signs of trafficking, identify unsafe situations, and seek support earlier.
That same year, we reached another significant milestone, serving our 1,500th client!
We fostered a meaningful partnership with Harris County Youth Village to host a program for young people, centered around education and awareness.
At the same time, our Empowerment Program continued to grow, and we were proud to celebrate 43 graduates in 2023.
We served our 2,020th client.
“The Landing totally flipped my situation into an Empowerment experience. I love them sincerely! They offered so many resources and supported my boys and I till the end! Thank you all for believing in me… now I believe in me!” -The Landing Client
Our Youth Advocates piloted a “Grown-ish” program for older youth clients, which addressed life skills and financial management to support their transition into adulthood.
In 2024, we also made an intentional decision to emphasize the importance of mental health: we incorporated mental health counseling sessions as a requirement to graduate from our Empowerment Program. This instigated a powerful change. As our clients witnessed other survivors going to counseling and saw how instrumental it was in their journeys, more and more of our clients were encouraged and motivated to take advantage of counseling.
During this year, our partnership with Path of Progression contributed to a 130% increase in individual counseling and support group participation.
The Drop-In Center also hit a major milestone in 2024—having delivered 100,756 total services in its 9 years of service.
In 2025, The Landing served 477 Drop-In Center clients and 94 youth through our Youth Advocacy Program, while celebrating five Empowerment Program graduates. Clients achieved 1,517 goals, supported through 3,041 case management sessions, 6,119 meals, and mental health counseling for 180 survivors.
READ: Your Impact in Action: 9 Ways The Landing Supported Survivors in 2025
In response to rising needs, we expanded access to trauma-informed mental health care and welcomed a new CEO, Lisa Bourgoyne, a Licensed Professional Counselor and seasoned servant leader with more than 27 years of experience serving vulnerable populations in Harris County.
In 2026, we anticipate serving more than 700 survivors. We’re expanding into adjacent suites to create more space for healing. We’re deepening partnerships across Houston to serve survivors regardless of location or language. We’re measuring outcomes in housing stability, mental health, food security, and economic independence.
God has been so faithful for 10 years, and we believe He’s calling us to scale and deepen our services to human trafficking survivors. We want you to be part of the next decade of transformation.
2016
On January 11, 2016, we opened the doors of the first drop-in center in Houston specifically for survivors of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Firstly, we started street outreach. Secondly, we began "Ending the Game" classes. Thirdly, and most importantly, we served over 50 survivors that year.
2017
In 2017, we received our first government grant and as a result we launched the following three classes and groups at The Landing drop-in center; "Community Group", "Women’s Health" Class, and lastly, "Celebrate Recovery".
2018
In 2018 we launched the "Empowerment Program". In this year we also developed new partnerships and as a result they launch two more workshops for survivors at The Landing. First, Workforce Solutions began "Job Readiness Workshops". And second, Family Houston started "Financial Stability Classes". We expanded into side offices as a result of increased programs. Because of this, our space got doubled!
2019
By mid 2019, we had served over 500 clients. In the fall, we spoke at our first National Conference – the JuST Conference, alongside the Texas Governor’s Office – Child Sex Trafficking Team. This year, we started Business Outreach and the Council on Recovery started Seeking Safety Groups at The Landing. We also celebrated two clients for graduating from Brazen Table– A 2nd Cup’s Culinary Program.
2020
At the beginning of the COVID-19 global pandemic, we launched our 24/7 Youth Advocacy Program, in response to a need for advocates to walk alongside recovered youth who are in crisis. This year, we went through a second expansion to accommodate for the 6 new hired staff and at the end of the year, we held our first ever Virtual Gala.
2021
In 2021, The Landing celebrated 5 years of walking alongside survivors of human trafficking! In addition, we passed a huge milestone of having served over 1,000 clients at The Landing since our doors have opened in 2016.
2022
In 2022, we served our 1,500th client and became a United Way funded partner, enabling the expansion of our Empowerment Program and Drop-In Center services.
Empowerment graduates interested in entrepreneurship take additional classes and develop a business plans.
2023
In 2023, we served our 2,020th client! The Outreach team fostered a meaningful partnership with Harris County Youth Village to host a youth program centered around education and awareness. The Empowerment Program continued to grow — we celebrated 43 graduates in 2023!
2024
In 2024, our youth advocates piloted the 'Grown-ish' program, designed for older youth clients, which addresses life skills and financial management to support their transition into adulthood.
Our partnership with Path of Progression contributed to a 130% increase in individual counseling and support group participation.
2025
In 2025, we served 477 drop-in center clients and 94 youth through our Youth Advocacy program as we approached our 10-year anniversary. We hired our first on-staff Licensed Professional Counselor and celebrated five graduates from the Empowerment Program.
Our clients set and achieved 1,517 goals while we provided 3,041 case management sessions, 6,119 meals, and counseling for 180 survivors. As we prepared to enter our second decade, we anticipated serving over 700 survivors annually in 2026!
2026
The next chapter is being written right now. We're expanding into adjacent suites to create more space for healing. We're deepening partnerships across Houston to serve survivors regardless of location or language. We're measuring outcomes in housing stability, mental health, food security, and economic independence.
God has been faithful for 10 years, and we believe He's calling us to scale and deepen our services to human trafficking survivors.
We want you to be part of the next decade of transformation.
Join Us: 10 For The Next 10
As we celebrate 10 years of serving survivors, we’re inviting you to help us build the next decade of impact. We’re calling this campaign “10 for the Next 10” because small, consistent commitments compound into extraordinary change. Here are 3 simple ways to be part of the next chapter:
- Join The Well for $10, $100, $1,000, or $10,000 a month. When you commit monthly, you become part of the steady, reliable support system survivors need as they rebuild their lives. Your recurring gift means we can plan ahead, expand programs, and welcome every survivor who walks through our doors.
- Make a one-time anniversary gift for $10, $100, $1,000, $10,000, or $100,000 which will help us expand our staff and space so we can keep saying “yes” to more survivors requesting support and “yes” to each survivor’s needs.
- Invite 10 friends to support The Landing. You know the power of what happens here. Share our story with 10 people in your network. Forward this page to them. Post about our 10-year anniversary on social media. Introduce us to a business leader, a church pastor, or a foundation officer who might want to partner with us.
Transformation compounds. Your gift today multiplies into housing stability, economic independence, and families restored. Over the next 10 years, your consistent partnership will be part of thousands of stories we haven’t even imagined yet. Will you join us?
