Story of Mei

“This was the first time I can talk openly about my situation and felt listened to.”

Mei came to Garden of Hope through one of the human trafficking intervention courts we partner with. She was very quiet when she first came here; she was fearful of making eye contact with the counselor when she talked about herself. Mei was abandoned and abused by her family and husband in China. She came to the US after she divorced. An agent made all travel arrangement for Mei and offered to let her pay off his fee after she earned enough money in the US. When Mei arrived, she was taken to a remote hostel and was forced to provide sex service in the hostel for a week. The agent threatened to harm Mei’s family if Mei were to escape. It was not until an undercover police came and arrested Mei was she freed from the agent’s control.

During her counseling sessions, Mei was provided with information that may be helpful for new immigrants. Mei expressed that this is the first time she came to realize how she is protected by law as a new immigrant, and that there are actually social service agencies like Garden of Hope that are here to help.

GOH’s counselor accompanied her to the hospital to complete a rape kit and referred her for other medical needs. Her counselor also went with her to report her case to the police, to meet the district attorney, and to present her case to the jury. In addition, GOH referred her to an immigration attorney to file for a T-visa and wrote an affidavit to support her petition. Furthermore, the counselor placed Mei in a job skill training program and introduced Mei to work opportunities in the community.

At the end of her last session, Mei became more confident and was able to find work in a restaurant through the encouragement of her counselor. She also told the counselor that this was the first time she was given a safe space to talk openly about her situation and felt listened to. She was glad that she met Garden of Hope.

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