Nestled inside Central Mall is a store that brings attention to and helps generate revenue for victims of human trafficking in the area.
Restored is an enterprise venture through WeAre Free to help survivors of trafficking learn skills to take them into the workforce.
“We started this social enterprise to teach skills-soft skills, technical skills-and they can earn a stipend money,” said Angelyn McMurray, founder and executive director of We Are Free, a non profit organization that helps trafficking victims. “So if we’re going to start this social enterprise and start teaching some skills and making some products, we need to sell them somewhere.”
Restored began as an online store, but they soon had the opportunity to move their sales to a brick and mortar location.
The storefront opened in Central Mall on Black Friday 2024.
McMurray said having the storefront does more than just raise funds for their mission.
“What it also does is it helps to be the face of what We Are Free does and to raise awareness on this issue,” she said. “It’s not what we see in the movies. Trafficking is happening in our communities everyday and we are blind to it.”
That was the case for one local shopper.
Mandy Crawford said she was searching for a dress shop when she happened into the store and learned about their mission. Crawford said, before entering the store, she had no idea trafficking was an issue seen in this region.
“I teach at the middle school and it makes you realize, how do we help stop this? How do we open people’s eyes? I think of it being, ‘Oh, it’s in Dallas. But we’re in Dekalb. We’re in New Boston.’ No, there’s no boundaries. It’s going to happen anywhere,” McMurray said.
All the items sold in the store are made by the individuals they serve in the center.
“Everything in there comes from our campus of care. We’re not buying from outside places and reselling. It all comes directly through us. We personalize everything we create,” McMurray said. “In our entire store, the premise is, ‘You’re purchasing with a purpose.’ You’re going to get a quality product and then we’re going to be able to continue with this mission, this service and the programming that we provide to the victims of trafficking.”
McMurray said she started We Are Free to help these survivors seek justice and live a life free from exploitation.
“I was an attorney, licensed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. And my heart is for justice and I have such a strong belief in the justice system … and being a proponent, an advocate, for justice for all people … When I really started to understand what trafficking looked like here in this country, the reality is these individuals that were being victimized in this way were not really attaining justice,” McMurray said.
“I always thought to myself, ‘What happens on the next day to these young ladies? Where do they go then? Do they have a home to go back to? Do they have resources to get a job?’ And more often than not, the answer is no. So then what happens to these individuals? And the reality is, if an individual coming out of trafficking is not provided with the resources needed to transition toward independence or receive services for their needs, within 48 hours, they’ll be back in exploitative environments because that’s the norm.”
We Are Free provides faith-based restorative care services for victims at no cost. All funds raised through the store, donations and partnerships goes into the programs.
The campus opened in 2021 and serves victims centrally located in the Ark-La-Tex and beyond.
They hold events at area churches to speak on the reality of trafficking, McMurray said.
“A lot of the work of We Are Free has been just to bring the reality of what’s happening to what you would call Main Street America, or that everyday average citizen who doesn’t understand this and then say, as dark as this is, we have a forum to bring light to this,” she said.
More information about We Are Free and a link to the online Restored store can be found at WeAreFree.us.
