Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services (ALWAYS)

Two weeks ago, Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services (ALWAYS) hosted its 11th Heart of Justice event, bringing together community members advocating to ensure justice for trafficking survivors and young people in Arizona. We were honored to have the opportunity to recognize Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council, with Co-CEOs Mary Mitchell and Christina Spicer accepting the award on behalf of the organization, as well as Judge Pamela Dunne, the co-founder of STRENGTH Court, for their immeasurable contributions to the wellbeing of young people in the state. ALWAYS was touched to receive a commendation from Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, which was presented by Blanca Cornejo, a longtime partner. The commendation means even more considering the Governor's background in social work and the many years she dedicated to ensuring the wellbeing of women and survivors in Arizona. Thank you to all of our sponsors. We are grateful to those who have been with us since the very beginning, and those that have recently joined forces with ALWAYS. Thank you to The Hickey Family Foundation, Osborn Maledon, P.A., Community Bridges, Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council, Southwest Airlines, Desert Diamond Casinos & Entertainment, Dignity Health, Your Part-Time Controller, LLC, Cerulean, The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, Arizona Bar Foundation (Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education), and National Bank of Arizona -- and in particular to the individuals who made those sponsorships possible. Thank you especially to our client speaker. We are all better for having heard your story and you exemplify what it is ALWAYS aims to achieve through its advocacy. Shout out to Marissa Anderson, the client's longtime attorney, who rejoined just in time to help with the final phase of his immigration journey. Exciting things are happening at ALWAYS. Stay tuned for announcements next week, including new team members, new Board members, and a new chapter, though our mission remains the same... because the doors to justice should always be open. However you celebrate, have a lovely weekend, and know we are thankful for you. ??

Posting to share the first of a few very exciting developments at ALWAYS this month... ALWAYS' longtime Bilingual Social Worker, Graciela Gomez Cruz, is now a Department of Justice Accredited Representative. This accreditation will allow Graciela to represent clients in their immigration applications before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. All of us at the organization are so proud of Gracie and grateful to her for all of the unbelievable work she has done on behalf of clients as a Social Worker, and majorly look forward to seeing what she'll accomplish with this new accreditation. What Gracie has to say: "It is surreal to get to grow professionally into a DOJ Accredited Representative at ALWAYS. Becoming the organization's first Bilingual Social Worker and now being able to assist clients with their immigration law matters has been such an incredible ride. I am?extremely?grateful for all the support I’ve received throughout my journey here. Thank you to my lovely family, to my ALWAYS team, and to all our community members that I have the honor of working alongside with as we tackle these issues within our systems. Cheers to what has been, and what is to come! Let’s continue making this world a better place and continue opening the doors to justice." Congratulations, Gracie, and thank you to everyone who made this possible. Fear not! ALWAYS is not going to be without a Bilingual Social Worker for long. Stay tuned for new-hire announcements over the next couple of weeks... and some other additions to the organization. ?? ??

Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services (ALWAYS) is at Shared Hope International's annual JuST Conference this week. Congratulations to The Hickey Family Foundation for receiving the much-deserved Pathbreaker Award and thanks to everyone at Shared Hope and Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network | AATN for making the event possible. It was lovely to reconnect with partners like ALIGHT National Attorney Network and learn about other services for trafficking victims and survivors across the country. ??: Our ED apologizes for not being able to get a good picture of everyone with their eyes open because this year the conference was in ALWAYS' home state of sunny Arizona.

Thank you to the Mexican Consulate in Tucson and Casey Family Programs for making today's Health Fair possible. Excited about the great turnout and lovely weather. Looking forward to our continued partnerships with the orgs that participated and happy to have had the opportunity to connect with the larger community in Tucson. ??

Come see us at the Community Gathering and Annual Health Fair at The Mexican Consulate in Tucson on Saturday, October 19th! Thank you to all of our partners at the Consulate and Casey Family Programs for making this event possible... Feel free to reach out with any questions! ??

ALWAYS is thrilled to be a part of this event with Ezequiel Y. Dominguez, MSW and Arizona Labor Trafficking Outreach (ALTO) who are doing so much for people being labor trafficked in our state. If you aren't able to partner or attend, you can still support by visiting the following Wishlist link and making donations that will reach labor trafficking victims, such as reflective vests, sunscreen, first aid kids, and other necessities: https://lnkd.in/gFQVTrnf. Thanks, Ezequiel and ALTO, for all that you do and look forward to seeing folks next weekend! ?

Congratulations to the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network | AATN on its fourth annual Rise for a Purpose Breakfast. And thank you Tanya Alegria, PSS, BS for your vulnerability and all you do for our community through the Arizona Human Trafficking Hotline and so many other spaces serving trafficking victims and survivors.

It's always an honor to have the opportunity to celebrate Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services (ALWAYS)'s founder and longtime CEO January Contreras, along with other women who have dedicated their lives to serving their communities. Thank you to Mary Mitchell for inviting us and the ALWAYS team, including Managing Attorney Marissa Anderson, Paralegal Marina Peterson, and Law Fellow Maya Dominguez for coming out! ??

A sincere thank you to Global Ties Arizona and the whole delegation from Mexico for including ALWAYS as one of the stops on its tour of meetings in Arizona! Both this and the opportunity to speak with women doing work on behalf of women across the world several months ago were enlightening and energizing opportunity for us at ALWAYS and we look forward to partnering together on future delegations and other initiatives to improve access to justice for women and migrants. A special shoutout to Ruth Santos, one of ALWAYS' Board members, and the organization's Bilingual Social Worker, Graciela Gomez Cruz, who participated in the all-Spanish panel with our Executive Director Valentina Restrepo Montoya.

A huge felicidades to ALWAYS' founder and longtime Executive Director, January Contreras, on receiving this well-deserved recognition. We are grateful to the Arizona Diamondbacks for celebrating her prowess and dedication. ?Vamos D-backs y vamos January!