Day in, day out for nearly a decade, volunteer drivers with Families to Freedom have shown up at hospitals, police stations and carefully arranged meeting spots to transport people escaping abuse.

Sometimes the passenger is a woman carrying little more than a purse and a few belongings. Other times, it’s a father traveling with children. Some rides last only a few miles; others stretch across state lines.

The circumstances are always different, but the mission never changes.

Discreetly and often urgently, Families to Freedom staff and volunteers help survivors put distance between themselves and the people hurting them — one ride, one flight, one bus ticket and one tank of gas at a time.

For founder and CEO Sarah Nejdl, the organization grew from understanding a difficult truth: leaving abuse is rarely as simple as walking out the door — and no single charity offered flights for domestic violence victims.

“We started as an all-volunteer organization focused on helping sheltered survivors get to family by road trip or by private flight,” said Nejdl, a private pilot.

Within a year, Families to Freedom expanded beyond private flights, adding transportation to rural shelters, bus and commercial travel, and fuel assistance. During the pandemic, the organization broadened its mission again, helping survivors reach any available shelter regardless of distance.

Today, the nonprofit operates offices in Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston and is expanding into East Texas, helping connect rural victims with resources in larger cities while also guiding metro-area survivors to available shelters in smaller communities.

Funding support has also transformed the nonprofit’s reach.

“Those funds help us afford frontline personnel so donations go directly toward victim travel,” Nejdl said.

Since 2015, Families to Freedom has coordinated more than 1.7 million transportation miles through local and regional rides, cross-state travel, bus transportation, fuel assistance and commercial flights.

For Nejdl, a few stories still stand out.

“There are many survival stories that remind us that sometimes our services are literally saving lives,” she said.

One involved a mother and her children fleeing an ex-partner who pursued them from state to state.

“She got a ride from us to a secure facility in another state where she could completely change her identity to disappear from him,” Nejdl said.

Another call came through a sheriff’s office requesting transportation to an emergency shelter in another county. One of Families to Freedom’s volunteer drivers transported the woman to safety only minutes before her abuser returned.

“The sheriff later shared that the abuser came home within 10 minutes of our driver leaving with her, and he had shotguns in the truck,” Nejdl said.

Roberta “Robbie” Chandler has seen the mission from behind the wheel.

After volunteering for 12 years with a McKinney nonprofit, Chandler attended a meeting where Nejdl spoke about Families to Freedom’s need for volunteers.

“I just automatically put my hand up,” Chandler said. “It just seemed like there was a desperate need.”

Four years later, Chandler dedicates 20 to 25 hours each week to the organization, handling North Dallas outreach and public speaking while reminding audiences that abuse can affect anyone.

When people ask why victims don’t simply leave, Chandler said those questions usually come from people who have never experienced abuse firsthand.

“Before they come to us, they have probably exhausted what friends and family they have,” she said.

Families to Freedom staff handle intake calls, develop individualized safety plans and assign one staff member to remain with each client throughout the process, coordinating transportation and working directly with volunteers.

Volunteers never pick people up at front doors and are never placed in unnecessary danger. Drivers are tracked from pickup through drop-off, receive descriptions of suspected abusers and remain in constant contact with staff.

“We know at all times, if we’re driving, that we’re being watched,” Chandler said.

Volunteers also provide small comforts. Survivors receive purses stocked with essentials, gift cards and toiletries, while children receive backpacks, books, toys and snacks.

“Anything that would make them feel like they have something to call their own,” Chandler said.

Staff continue checking on survivors for up to a month after they reach safety and will arrange additional transportation if another shelter becomes necessary.

The work, Chandler admitted, can be emotionally draining.

“You never cry in front of the client when you hear their story,” she said. “You wait until you get them safely delivered.”

Afterward, volunteers check in with office staff to talk through the trip.

“They’ve got nothing but our best interest at heart,” Chandler said.

The past decade has brought tremendous growth for Families to Freedom, though Nejdl said she wishes there were no need for the organization at all.

“Sadly, we won’t run out of work to do,” she said.

Still, she remains hopeful.

“I dream of a future when all Texas victims have access to arrive to safety … no matter how far away,” she said. “With more volunteers, grant funding and donations, we’ll see that become a reality soon enough.”

To volunteer, donate or learn more about Families to Freedom, visit familiestofreedom.org or call 833-903-SAFE (7233).

Stay informed, and support your local community newspaper, subscribe to The Princeton Herald