This spring semester was extremely successful for the four law students and two social work students enrolled in the Human Trafficking Clinic and Human Trafficking Practicum at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
Successes for our clients included:
- Numerous record sealings in multiple jurisdictions. For one client, the charges had hindered her forward job progress, but they will no longer hold her back!
- Removal of a human trafficking survivor’s name from an online newspaper article that used her name and discussed her victimization.
- Addressing open warrants for a client forced to live out of town for safety purposes.
- Obtaining a Civil Protection Order for a human trafficking survivor.
- Obtaining a human trafficking survivor’s Compassionate Allowance for Social Security benefits.
- Students in the Human Trafficking Clinic and Practicum engaged in weekly in-person outreach at the Rape Crisis Center’s Human Trafficking Drop-In Shelter, B. Riley Sober Living and the Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center; held virtual weekly referral and case management touch-ins with clients at the Empowered Network (FKA Empower Her Network); conducted bi-weekly outreach (both in-person and virtually) with Judge Marilyn B. Cassidy’s Fly Court; and more.
In addition, the clinic held its annual Name and Gender Marker Change Clinic in February 2024. An interdisciplinary collaboration of over 20 law, medical and social work student volunteers served 21 clients. And a new collaboration between the Human Trafficking Project, Inn of Courts and Empowered Network resulted in a trauma-responsive human trafficking training for attorneys and the successful referral and intake of four human trafficking survivors to volunteer attorneys.