“I Don’t Want You to Worry About Me”: A Letter No Mother Should Ever Have to Write

Ashley’s only “crime” was surviving. Years earlier, she had been trafficked. Then criminalized. Then released. And like so many others, when resources ran out and opportunities closed, she turned back to the only means of survival she knew. The system didn’t offer support. It offered a cell.

And when she asked for help—real help, in the form of a diversion program—they slammed the door in her face.

She was taken from court the next morning. Cuffed, processed, gone. Just like she knew she would be.