Cake!

Karen* first became a client of the City Bar Justice Center’s Immigrant Women and Children Project (IWC) in 2010. She was a victim of severe labor trafficking and sexual abuse that started when she was brought to the United States at age 13 to help care for young children.

Karen’s family was poor back in her home country, and her stepmother made  arrangements  for her to come to the U.S. and work for a family she knew. She promised Karen that she would be able to go to school and work to earn some money. However, after Karen came to the U.S., she was never sent to school, nor was she paid for her work caring for children.

When Karen was about 20, and the children she cared for were older, she was able to escape her trafficker. The IWC helped Karen apply for a T Visa as a victim of trafficking, and when she was approved we subsequently helped her apply for permanent residence.  Since leaving her trafficker, she has obtained a GED and gotten vocational training.

Gaining status has been a stabilizing force in her life and the life of her young daughter, and she brought us this cake to thank us for our help!

(*Name changed to protect this trafficking victim.)