Client Stories

Marina & Joya

They were freed from trafficking but still not safe. Thank you for giving Marina and Joya safe shelter and a path forward free of violence!

When the sex trafficker brought Marina to a local hotel, she took the chance to ask the staff for help. Though finally free after two years of  captivity, Marina and her young daughter, Joya, still feared for their lives and felt utterly alone.

Marina’s trafficker was accidentally released from jail, and she was terrified of what he would do when he found them. They were in an unfamiliar city without family or friends to help. Thanks to you, Marina and Joya found safety and community at our confidential shelter for survivors of violence.

Your support also provided Marina with help obtaining a restraining order against her trafficker, access to social services benefits and victim witness services, and therapy for herself and Joya.

You even enabled them to move from the shelter into transitional housing. Marina is now taking English classes and plans to attend a CNA course to work in healthcare. She continues with therapy, saying it has really helped her to feel good about herself again. Joya began kindergarten this year and enjoys going to school.

“People gave me an opportunity to reach my goals and encouraged me to set my own goals, such as furthering my education, continuing to work, and most importantly to be able to spend time with my child,” says Marina.

Thanks to you, Marina and Joya are together, safe, happy, and starting a new life free of violence. What a gift!

 

Names and images have been changed to protect client confidentiality

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