Unlikely Heroes

Since 2011, we have rescued over 350 children out of slavery, educated more than 40,000 people worldwide on the issue of human trafficking and how to respond, and now have more than 100 children living in our 6 restoration homes. We are in 5 countries with 6 homes located in the Philippines, Thailand, and Mexico, including the first licensed boys' home in Mexico, and our 8 bed USA home right here in the Dallas area. We are involved in rescues and prosecution and have seen over 20 traffickers just in Mexico alone put behind bars, with another 60+ open cases working towards the same result. And with the launch of the Dallas Initiative, we have expanded our preventative reach in the DFW Metroplex and provide awareness, training and services for various schools, groups, first responders and victims. You can learn more about our organization at unlikelyheroes.com.

Our Needs

We are currently expanding our Unlikely Heroes School Prevention and Empowerment program and our needs include: a new web portal for online engagement, printed follow up resources, technology for school assemblies, additional training materials, and staffing which will help us reach the goals identified below. Our goal is to impact over 20,000 local students in 2020.

Unlikely Heroes is committed to making Dallas/Fort Worth a "Traffick-Free City."
With our focus on local prevention and education efforts to expand our presence in Dallas/Fort Worth area schools, our goals are to:
1. Equip youth with the awareness and tools to identify predatory behavior both in their schools/community and online
2. Provide follow up services and resources to help them or a friend escape a trafficking situation, alert the authorities in a safe manner, and empower them with the tools to use their voice to avoid becoming a victim to exploitation and slavery
3. Train teachers and school administrators on how to identify trafficking victims and how to respond

Each school participating in the program will receive:
Human Trafficking and Exploitation training for school staff, adminitrators, counselors and teachers on how to identify human trafficking victims and situations and how to respond from a victim-centered approach prior to the date of the school assembly to prepare staff to identify and assist victims.
School assembly focused on sexual assault, exploitation, trafficking and empowerment - with separate presentations for each gender for middle and high schools. We will be training volunteers and searching for community partners to assist with the assemblies.
Students who may self-identify as having been victimized will be encouraged to talk to a trained volunteer or staff member who can follow up with reporting and connecting to the Unlikely Heroes and community resources.
Unlikely Heroes will create a website/web portal that students who are not ready to come forward will have available to them after the assembly and can post, share or ask questions anonymously, as well as connect to the available resources including chatting with a moderator. We already have a partner that is willing to build the website at a deeply discounted price.
Follow up support for school staff and counselors as more students may come forward in the future. It would be a disservice to uncover a need without the resources to care for this complex need/issue once it is identified.