I am in awe right now. There are SO many unsung heroes among us. One of them is a client, Natalie. I spoke with her at length this morning. She is helping with the training of a Service Dog for her grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s. Natalie is a truly amazing example of one of those people who has chosen as a profession something extremely challenging and SO needed. Natalie grew up in Singapore. She and her family moved to San Antonio some years ago, and Natalie got her law degree from the highly esteemed Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She became a lawyer to fight for humanitarian rights – including human trafficking, which, of course, is close to our hearts at SDE because we have had so many clients who have been victims of this right here in Texas. Natalie told me that it has been SO difficult to find a job as an attorney here in Texas to help fight human trafficking and other humanitarian issues. I am going to reach out to as many associations as I can to put her in touch with them – she is even willing to do volunteer work to help this extremely important cause. Clients – any of you who have been victims of human trafficking – if you know of programs that Natalie could become affiliated with, please send me an email at [email protected]. Natalie is discouraged at her inability to find resources that could use her legal expertise, and might have to consider moving back to Singapore where she would continue to fight for these injustices. She did say that the laws in the United States to protect individuals and their families who have experienced human trafficking are better than any in any other country she has known – for example, she said that in most Asian countries, people with disabilities are looked down upon and resources for them are extremely limited – including Singapore. She said that she has been amazed that in the U.S., victims can receive Service Dogs to help those who have been traumatized; in these other countries, the only Service Dogs recognized are for the blind.

I applaud Natalie and others like her who are doing such important work, have such passion for humanitarian causes, and refuse to give up! Thank you, Natalie.