Mary Armistead

The Project

There are currently no legal resources dedicated solely to serving human trafficking survivors in the Capital Region of New York. While there are several organizations that are dedicated to working with such survivors, they often do not collaborate with one another in efficient ways.

Mary will bring much-needed legal knowledge and assistance to trafficking survivors in the Capital Region and work with existing organizations to create better systems to serve the needs of trafficking survivors in our area.

In her former legal experiences, particularly with immigrant victims of crimes in the US and abroad, Mary has dedicated herself to learning about and performing a trauma-informed practice and providing holistic representation. Further, in her seven years as a member of the Capital Region legal community, Mary has developed an extensive network to draw upon in providing direct services to human trafficking victims or connecting victims with those who can provide pro bono services. Specifically, she has had numerous interactions with almost every legal service organization in the area as well as many non-profit organizations that provide services to the targeted population. These existing networks will strengthen her ability to follow through with grant objectives more efficiently and effectively.

Fellowship Plans

This Fellowship helps close the service gap for trafficking victims in the Capital Region by expanding current resources to offer free civil legal needs assessments by The Legal Project staff and pro bono attorneys; incorporate civil legal services into community-based outreach efforts; refer to other legal services organizations as appropriate; provide training to existing panel of pro bono attorneys on the legal needs of the trafficking victims, expand numbers of attorneys on the pro bono panel and engage Legal Project staff and pro bono attorneys to provide comprehensive and culturally competent civil legal services as needed including representation in the following areas: family law, public benefits, employment law, housing, criminal justice advocacy, consumer credit , immigration, and tax-related.

Mary will help victims escape human trafficking situations and improve the quality of life for human trafficking survivors through holistic legal representation of victims (direct and indirect) and by shedding light on human trafficking activity in New York’s greater Capital Region through education and collaboration of law enforcement, attorneys, non-profit/faith-based/other community organizations, and the community at large.