Red Cord Initiative

The Coastal Bend Wellness Foundation’s (CBWF) Red Cord Initiative will provide three years of transitional housing, intensive case management, and a wide array of supportive services for at least fourteen adult victims of human trafficking including labor and sex trafficked survivors of any gender. The transitional housing will be scattered-site, tenant-based assistance for 6-24 months. Short-term housing assistance will help human trafficking victims and their dependents transition to permanent housing. Based on evidence-based best practices, the program pairs housing assistance with intensive case management, and a myriad of community based supportive services all designed to equip victims with the skills and resources to rebuild their lives and live independently. The housing and support services will be located in the 12 counties of Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Public Health Region 11, also referred to as Lower South Texas: Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Duval, Jim Wells, Kleberg, Kenedy, Live Oak, McMullen, Nueces, San Patricio, Refugio.  Working with key community partners including law enforcement and government agencies (Texas Attorney General, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, The Nueces County District Attorney’s Office, and the Corpus Christi Police Department), Common Thread (a program of BCFS Health and Human Services), and other human service providers, the CBWF will help to educate the community and ensure that human trafficking victims are properly identified, and referred for appropriate housing and other supportive services. All program activities will be specifically designed to improve the outcomes for HT victims. The CBWF will also collect all necessary data and evaluate activities and outcomes to determine program effectiveness.