A COMMUNITY WHERE HOPE IS AWAKENED
80% of women in commercial sex want out — but have no other way to survive. 90% are mothers.
Central Texas has never had a program like this. Until now. The City of Waco just invested $630,000. Construction starts soon. We open in early 2027 — and we're 85% of the way there.
Project Updates: April
Demo is complete
Permitting in process
Bids are coming in
Fundraising continues to finish out Phase 1: $385K remaining
THE PROBLEM
An impossible choice no one should have to make.
Women escaping exploitation face an impossible choice: unsafe situations that pay, or safe shelter without economic stability. Most programs offer one or the other — and only for weeks, not the 18–24 months research shows real recovery requires.
"The gap isn't just in services. It's in time — the time women need to actually heal."
OUR MODEL
Three things survivors rarely get access to at the same time.
COMMUNITY
Safe housing for two years at no cost…for women and their children. Trauma-informed care and peer support create the foundation everything else is built on.
COMMERCE
Real jobs. Living wages. Through our Justice Enterprise, residents create boutique-quality products and build work history that opens doors long after they leave.
CREATIVITY
Using the arts and narrative story work help Neighbors rebuild identity, process trauma, and rediscover what they're capable of…skills that carry forward into their future.
THE EVIDENCE
This model works. The data says so.
77% of graduates from programs like ours maintain living wage employment AND stable housing five years later. (Source: Thistle Farms, Nashville)
This isn't just about individual women. 90% are mothers. When you stabilize a mother, you change the trajectory for her children. You break a cycle that would otherwise repeat — generation after generation.
Lovely Village creates the conditions where healing and independence can grow together. Not one at a time.
When Daphny entered our program, she was on probation and had lost custody of all four of her children…each placed in a different foster home.
Through Lovely Village, she maintained sobriety, built life and job skills, secured stable housing, and found employment. We stood with her in court and family mediation, advocating for reunification every step of the way.
Full custody of all four children restored.
Still sober. Oldest just started a four-year college.
Steady employment with promotions. Now serves as a parent liaison helping families navigate CPS.
"Somewhere in Central Texas, there's a woman who needs what Daphny found. And she's waiting."
YOUR IMPACT
Help us cross the finish line.
We're not asking you to take a chance on an unproven idea. Construction starts this month. We open in early 2027. Every dollar moves us closer to the women who are already waiting.
$500 — Stocks the kitchen and keeps the lights on for a week…the unglamorous stuff that makes everything else possible.
$1000 — Covers two weeks of trauma-informed care and peer support for a resident…the relational work that no job training program offers.
$5,000 — Covers one month of safe housing (utilities, case management, and community support) for a resident and her children.
$15,000 — A part-time development professional who will secure the remaining campaign funds and ensure long-term sustainability.
$25,000+ — 13% of our final need — directly ensuring we open on schedule and begin serving women and children who are ready now.
THANK YOU TO OUR VILLAGE INVESTORS
LEGACY CIRCLE ($100K+)
City of Waco
Magnolia Foundation
Koby & Casey Spears
Kevin & Leslie Rhea
Michael & Elle Boone
Mark & Aimee McClanahan
TRAILBLAZER ($25K+)
Grizzle Family Foundation
LaRue & Beverly Coleman Foundation
Dave & Dione Aranda
Scott & LeeAnn James
Brad & Linda Livingstone
Brent & Nicki Wilson
VILLAGE PARTNER ($1K+)
Corey & McKenzie McEntyre
Fred & Mabel Parks Foundation
Baylor University
Erin Wait
Loeen Irons
Brett and Julie Spivey
Frances Callan
Whyte Oak Homes LLC
Roy and Donna Sparkman
Carol J. Siebeneicher
Heart of Texas Goodwill
Genevieve Peel
Barry Williams
John McClanahan
Van and Jennie Wehmeyer
Chris Daughtery
David and Sharon Hoffman
Gary and Marie Morgan
Jeremy & Charissa Bush
Jason Smith
Bianca Sierra
Cody Beeler
Cameron & Elizabeth Simmons
Jeff Jones
Laurie Proctor
Joanne Cornell
Marcylle Combs
Justin & Brooke Rosolino
Deborah and James Peevey
Cody & Barbara Carlson
Leah Berry
Mark McCunniff
Casey Hooper
Robert and Lark Schott
Sarah Marcum
Kyle & Diane Deaver
Glenn & Rhonda Robinson
Joe and Lesa Barrow
Walton and Tatyana Strickland
Andrew Day
Barbara Armond
Dustin and Sthefanie Welch
Cinco Winston
Kathleen Herrin
Emily Guthrie
Brooke Steward
Donald Bush
David & Stacy Maness
Lindsay Warner
Kim and David Littlewood
Rick and Elizabeth Tullis
David Hamilton
JR & Chelsea Pershall
Greg and Michaele Bathurst
Kathryn Grizzle
Rodney Worrell
John Hall
Wes Bailey
Sarah Evalle
Jeremy & Karly Heffner
Chris and Joyce Brammer
Baylor Scott and White Hillcrest Medical Center
First National Bank of Central Texas
Ike and Katy Lee
Oso 3D Solutions, LLC
Waco Cardiology Associates
Brett & Emily Mills
Diane Russo
Angel Haynes
Heather Henderson
Bobbie Keyes
Sherry Early
Christopher Eberlein
Byron & Carla Weathersbee
Lauren Rosen
Highland Baptist Church
Steve & Sally Lee
Caleb Croft
Act II Enterprises LLC
Church Under the Bridge
Lori Benton
Kappa Chi Alpha
Thelma Cravens
Brooke Landry
Gloria Rhule
Laura Howard
Renew Church
Lorien Foote
Christy De Leon
Don & Louanna Arterburn
Matt & Dawn Wible
Cici Fritts
Lindsey Ramos
Jason Dumas
Jacob Lackey
Holly Splawn
Modene Mills
Meredith Lancaster
Stephanie Fishel
Michelle Williams
Misty James
Lacy McNamee
Parnell & Charlotte McNamara
Jessi Benton
Chris Sgobbo
Jennifer Raines
Blake Garvelli
Robby Parish
Rebecca Pederson-Dickman
Kathy Wise
Josh & Lindsey Carney
Bobb Swope
Holly Souder
Steve & Shannon Durand
Abi Miller
Chelsy Cork
Joe Miller
Bob and Debra Washmon
Andy and Chris McSwain
JM Clement and Susan Milam
Melinda Black
Ken Lomenzo
FAQs
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We have a tentative start date of March 2026.
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Depending on construction, we are anticipating a Q1 2027 open date.
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This 4 unit complex will have three one-bedroom studio apartments and one two-bedroom apartment. This will serve anywhere from 8-10 single women or 4 mothers with up to 10 children.
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Upon graduation, a Neighbor will depart Lovely Village trained and ready to move into the next phase of her journey. She will leave with a nest egg savings to assist with a housing or car down payment, job and leadership skills, and have secured her next living-wage job.