Kendall Reed spends a majority of her day-to-day life on college campuses or churches, talking with students and congregants about sexual assault, abuse and how to reach out to her organization for help.
As the founder and executive director of Phoenix, she and the Fort Worth-based nonprofit aims to bridge the care gaps survivors of sexual abuse experience when seeking support and resources.
Through the nonprofit, survivors of abuse can receive guidance on how to navigate the legal system, find a counselor or join a support group. Reed told dozens of attendees during a March 6 panel that her organization can鈥檛 do it alone.
Collaboration between advocacy groups like Reed鈥檚 is crucial for survivors to rebuild their lives, she said.
鈥淚 know if Phoenix on our own tried to serve all our clients, we one, as an organization, would burn out, and two, our clients, I think would burn out because we would keep hitting roadblocks,鈥� Reed said. 鈥淲e really rely on the other resources in our community to help our clients move forward.鈥�
Reed was one of several speakers who joined prominent Tarrant County law enforcement officials to address the challenges facing human trafficking survivors during the Mapping a Way Forward: 5 Stones Summit at Doxology Bible Church in Fort Worth.
The event was organized by the 5 Stones Foundation, a nonprofit that exists 鈥渢o support anti-trafficking and victim advocacy efforts in Tarrant County.鈥� The foundation financially supports groups as part of the 5 Stones Taskforce, a network of 20 partner organizations working together on a shared goal to end sex trafficking in Tarrant County.
Over 250 human trafficking offenses occurred in Tarrant County from 2019 to 2023, according to a February 2025 Tarrant County Public Health .
5 Stones Foundation was founded in 2020, four years after the task force was sanctioned by the Fort Worth Police Department 鈥渢o be an arm鈥� of law enforcement and serve to connect officials with the rest of the community regarding domestic minor sex trafficking, according to its .
The foundation has invested $207,000 鈥渂ack into the community for anti-trafficking projects,鈥� according to a flyer distributed to attendees at the summit.
Fort Worth Mayor Pro Tem Gyna Bivens, Police Chief Neil Noakes and Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn kicked off the event by highlighting the faith community鈥檚 role in addressing human trafficking.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing more important than all of us coming together and bringing all of our resources to the table,鈥� Waybourn said, calling for attendees in other churches to get involved in the task force鈥檚 efforts. 鈥淲hat we need is more partners like Doxology that decide to get off the bench and get in the game. We can run (human trafficking) out of town. I believe that.鈥�
The collaboration between law enforcement and survivor organizations puts Tarrant County at 鈥渢he tip of the spear鈥� of addressing human trafficking and can set an example for others across the nation, Waybourn said.
鈥淟et鈥檚 show them how it鈥檚 done,鈥� Waybourn added.
At the table with Reed during the advocacy panel were organizations like A21, Unbound Now, Rescue Her and Traffick911.
It takes a village to help survivors of human trafficking, said Lindsey Speed, executive director and CEO of Traffick911, a North Texas nonprofit serving child sex trafficking victims ages 11 to 21.
In the child advocacy space, Speed said, organizations form 鈥渕ultidisciplinary teams鈥� to bring together different groups with skill sets so that a child can receive a variety of resources or services. The approach has given Speed and other organizations a protocol to follow on how to collectively respond to a minor who needs help in Fort Worth, she said.
The multidisciplinary team approach put in place for child abuse cases has evolved to 鈥渂e amped up for child sex trafficking cases,鈥� Speed added.
鈥淣one of us are trying to say, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to hit all of these boxes.鈥� We鈥檙e going to do our lane. We鈥檙e going to do it really well and we鈥檙e going to call each other,鈥� Speed said.
Reed has seen firsthand how collaborating with fellow survivor advocacy groups has helped her connect an attorney who works on child sexual abuse cases to a client at Phoenix.
鈥淵ou never know how God connects you with people in this work,鈥� Reed said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 truly amazing to see those connections that you might not expect.鈥�
Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org.
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