Lucia, a survivor of human traf- ficking, found hope through the Lutheran Social Services Human Trafficking Legal Assistance Center in Massachusetts.
Out
Lucia thought about suicide. Then the man who had arranged her pas- sage disappeared. She heard reports that he was picked up by U.S. Immi- gration and Customs Enforcement on suspicion of human trafficking. Those authorities referred Lucia to Lutheran Social Services of New England. It’s the only program within Lutheran Services in America, a national network of social service organizations, that offers legal and social services for noncitizen survi- vors of human trafficking. Although Lucia felt the ache of loneliness that cold winter evening, she was beginning to feel hope too.
of the
What is it like for survivors of human trafficking?
Road to legalization
shadows L
By Martha Lindberg Mann JOHN MOTTERN
ucia (name changed to protect confidentiality) burrowed deeper into her donated coat. In her native country of Somalia, this time of day would be warm, with the sun’s last rays slanting softly against the sidewalk. Now, trudging the last few blocks to her one-room apartment in Massachu- setts, she felt something besides the cold: the ache of old wounds.
Her ear still hurts where her husband struck her, shattering her eardrum. Even more, her heart aches for the 3-year-old son she left behind with relatives in her flight to the U.S. and a better life. At first, what Lucia found was worse. She worked as a housekeeper and nanny for more than a year in Worcester, Mass. Her employers didn’t allow her to leave the house, threatening her with deportation. They abused her physi- cally, emotionally, sexually. She was denied medical treatment.
Mann is vice president of marketing and communications for Lutheran Social Services of New England. 34 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
Over the past two years, LSS of New England has helped more than 30 sur- vivors, mostly women and children, gain legal status in the U.S. In many cases, survivors can receive social services while they cooperate with law enforcement to investigate and prosecute their traffickers. For Lucia, it meant long inter- views about her background, a six- month stay in a domestic violence shelter, English classes three times a week through LSS, and hours of counseling.
Three months ago she received employment authorization in the U.S. and began interviewing with the help of LSS counselors. Active job-seeking allowed her to apply for public housing, for which she pays 30 percent of her income. On that raw December day, Lucia had begun a temporary, seasonal job. She hoped to prove herself a valuable employee—too valuable to let go after the holidays.
“It takes tremendous courage for
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