February 24, 2016

Carmen M. Chavez, Esq – Executive Director of Casa Cornelia Law Center

In 2015, Casa Cornelia Law Center (Casa Cornelia) provided quality legal services to 558 individuals fleeing violence in their home countries, 501 survivors of domestic violence and other serious crimes, 61 human trafficking survivors, and 866 children. The Children’s Program almost doubled in two years. Volunteer attorneys assisted 285 of the 1,991 people served by Casa Cornelia in 2015.

Casa Cornelia recently received a beautiful letter and photo from Auguste,* one of our clients. Auguste yearned to live out his dream of getting an education in his native country of Democratic Republic of Congo. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case as Auguste belonged to a targeted ethnic group. He was forced to flee, to find safety and freedom from torture.

Through the assistance of Casa Cornelia Auguste found a safe haven and now has fulfilled his dream. Today, he is a contributing member of our society. He has graduated from college with a BA in Public Accounting and is currently pursuing an MA. He has a family, and he is proud to note his US citizenship!

In his letter Auguste said, “I don’t even have the words to thank you for all the hard work put into my case. You and all the Casa Cornelia staff are so amazing…you are my angels. I love you all.”

Casa Cornelia remains incredibly grateful to the Society of the Holy Child Jesus for sponsoring our mission to ensure that Auguste and others like him can build lives free of fear in the U.S.

*Auguste is a pseudonym to protect the client’s privacy.