First safe house for sex-trafficked girls in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- (WZTV) -- Grace Oasis is not an Airbnb, not a dorm, and not even an apartment. It is the first safe house for sex-trafficked girls in the state of Tennessee.

“We wanted to create elegance,” said Co-founder Lacy Tolar. "Some of the girls' childhoods have been stolen. We decorated with the idea 'what can we do to give it back to them?'"

Daniel and Lacy Tolar are a Nashville couple who moved to Thailand with their children to be missionaries. Their goal was to teach poor Thai kids how to read.

When sex slavers tried to abduct their oldest daughter, it rocked their world. They discovered there were 19 kids abducted from their area and sold to brothels.

“That kind of blew our world up,” Lacy Tolar said.

The Tolars came back to Nashville and started working the streets trying to rescue trafficked girls. They quickly discovered the only real option was DCS and the foster care system. Not the best solution for healing.