A new advocate for survivors, made possible by you

Dear friend,

As we enter the holiday season, our hearts are overflowing in gratitude and celebration for a dream fulfilled.

This year we expanded our services for survivors of human trafficking, welcoming Sharon to the team! As Client Resource Specialist, Sharon is dedicated to providing wraparound care — holistic support and expert advocacy to help survivors meet their needs and achieve their goals.

Survivors often share nonlegal needs with our staff, seeking help to secure safe housing, medical care, employment, and other necessities. Many survivors face obstacles due to language barriers, systemic injustice, and trauma. Before we welcomed Sharon, our legal team provided referrals but lacked capacity to provide the expert, targeted advocacy needed to unlock access.

Now, Sharon bridges that gap —
  • conducting safety planning with clients based on threat of harm,
  • identifying resources and services for clients,
  • advocating for clients at appointments and on calls,
  • connecting clients with trusted partner organizations,
  • helping clients maintain momentum in their legal cases during difficult times

Recently, our legal team helped a trafficking survivor, Anna,* reunite with her children after years apart. While overjoyed to be with her children, Anna also felt overwhelmed by the prospect of finding clothing, food, and school supplies. Moreover, she was unaware of key benefits available for her children, such as Medicaid. Sharon connected Anna with resources and partner organizations, ensuring she and her family can secure the support they need to rebuild their lives together.

The dream team! (L-R) Cheryl (Managing Attorney), Sharon, and Ineavelle (Senior Case Specialist) collaborate to holistically support Anna and her children.

Through your generosity, survivors of human trafficking are achieving freedom and flourishing. Thank you for your partnership—we rise together!

Gratefully,

Libby Magee Coles, Esq.
Founder & Executive Director

 

*Pseudonym utilized to protect client identity

 

Steadfast & Grateful. Thank you for standing with us.

Dear friend,

As we start our new fiscal year, we’re looking ahead with renewed resolve.

Our staff recently took time to reflect together, contemplating questions that helped us take stock of the past year. We’d love to share a glimpse of that conversation with you.

What are we celebrating?
Our team embodied unwavering commitment in a challenging year. We worked tirelessly to file humanitarian immigration petitions before critical policy shifts, ensuring our clients have the best chance at securing safety and healing. We represented parents and caregivers through complex transitions, ensuring children are protected from future exploitation.

And, we’re celebrating you. Through your generosity, we not only met our summer match — we surpassed it! Together, we turned a season marked by funding cuts into a season marked by generosity and solidarity with survivors and the vulnerable in our community.

The JusticeMatters team — looking back with gratitude, looking ahead with hope.

What has kept us going?
We find joy in witnessing our clients achieve long-awaited, hard-won goals: a survivor reunited with her children, a citizenship ceremony completed, an adoption finalized. We find strength in partnership with our clients, community partners, and supporters as we seek justice together.

Thank you for your friendship, prayers, and encouragement. We love connecting with you and receiving your texts, calls, and emails.

What words will guide us this year?
Resilience. Peace. Focus. Despite funding cuts and policy changes, we remain focused on our mission to address the roots and repercussions of human trafficking — for the freedom and flourishing of all. As one team member said:

“We’re still here, and we know that God is still here. We do our work prayerfully, knowing that God sees us and our clients.”

Thank you for helping us keep faith, hope, and love at the center of our work. We’re so grateful to be in this with you!

For freedom and flourishing,

Libby Magee Coles, Esq.
Founder & Executive Director

 

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