San Antonio, Texas
CAST is a Christ-centered ministry walking alongside women leaving trafficking, prostitution, and incarceration in Texas, with mentoring, a family-like community, and help with the things survival actually requires.
Why we exist
Human Trafficking is modern-day slavery
Traffickers brand their victims with their names or symbols of their gang, etc. in the same way a cattle owner brands his cows because the trafficker sees their victims as property. Trafficking victims are sometimes traded from one person to another to pay off debts, the same way as in the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
27.6M
people are being trafficked worldwide.
-International Labour Organization
Texas
is often cited as having the 2nd highest number of human trafficking incidents in the country.
41%
of trafficking is facilitated by family members or caregiver.
– International Organization for Migration
Our mission
What we do
Every one of them is a relationship before it is a program.
It usually starts with a letter. Our volunteers build real mentoring relationships with women writing from jail and prison: letters, phone calls, visits. We go into the neighborhoods where homelessness, addiction, and trafficking overlap, and we help with the basics.
The work doesn't end at release. We are a healthy, family-like community for the women we serve. We help them transition back into their neighborhoods after incarceration, connect them to counseling and recovery, and walk with them through it.
Most people don't recognize trafficking when it's in front of them. We teach churches, schools, and organizations what it looks like in their own community, and what to do about it.
Sponsor a need
Nearly all of what we spend goes to women who are still in prison. Help after release is handled case by case, but incarceration is the longest, hardest, and most expensive stretch, and it is where a gift goes furthest.
Did You Know?
Human Trafficking Victims are Being Charged as Sex Offenders for Life!!!
You may ask how could that happen, or did I read that wrong?
It is true that many victims of trafficking are being charged as sex offenders and having to register as a sex offender for life. As you can imagine, this is basically a death sentence for any hope of a normal life for someone who has already been through the living hell of trafficking.
Stories
Trigger alert. These accounts describe trafficking, addiction, and the abuse of children. They are shared so the reality is not hidden. Please read with care.
* Names have been changed to protect survivors.
Get involved
Share our site and videos. Sign our petition. Invite us to speak to your church or coworkers. Pray for victims. Give today.
Occasional updates on the women we serve, what's needed, and where we'll be speaking.