Safe harbor expungement is a special tool for survivors of human trafficking that eliminates many of the restrictions that come along with traditional expungement, providing much needed relief to survivors of a traumatic crime that were coerced or forced into committing crimes themselves. However, safe harbor is an under-utilized tool that many Ohio courts are still not equipped to navigate. The road to safe harbor is no easy feat, and still requires survivors to retell their stories, with many survivors having to submit multiple applications across several different courts in different counties across the state of Ohio in order to access true relief.
OJPC client Maggie S.* was one such survivor who came to OJPC seeking safe harbor. After receiving early release from incarceration due to her history of human trafficking, Maggie immediately began the hard work of rebuilding her life after overcoming a lifetime of abuse. Maggie made it her mission to help other women enduring the same trauma she survived, balancing not only working and living full-time with other survivors but also attending college for social work. As time went on, Maggie realized she not only needed, but also deserved a space of her own to relax, recharge, and study. Maggie applied for home after home for nearly a year, each time facing disappointment when each landlord saw only her record and not her humanity.
“People were not willing to rent to me because of my convictions, and the ones that were willing to house me tried to exploit me because of my record,” explains Maggie. “I felt ‘less-than.’ Nobody was even asking me why I had a record, to them it didn’t matter. The fact was that my abuser, my trafficker, he was the one who committed the worst crime, but they looked at me like I was just the same. Nobody wanted me to live in their establishment unless they were a slum lord, and I felt so demeaned.”
Maggie came to OJPC seeking help to become free from the chains of her past so she could tell her story when and how she wanted to, working closely with Anti Human Trafficking Attorney Devin Perry on multiple applications for safe harbor expungement. “Without the work OJPC has done, I wouldn’t have made any progress. They took all the information and prevented me from having to retell my story over and over,” Maggie says about working with OJPC. Her favorite part about working with us has been the compassion she’s received when being asked difficult questions. “I’m always getting positive feedback and reinforcement after having to talk about difficult things, and I’ve always felt like there’s been follow-through on getting stuff done. Not everybody’s work ethic is like that, and I don’t feel like I’m on a waitlist. OJPC’s work is where it all started.”
Today, Maggie has been able to settle into a new home with the help of her community, and she continues to work with OJPC’s attorneys to clear her record. While she still faces challenges due to her record, Maggie has hope for the future, including becoming a homeowner one day. “My main goal is to spend the rest of my life actively working and helping others overcome the barriers that I have.”
To impact the lives of Ohioans and promote policies that pave the way for lasting, restorative change to our criminal legal system, donate to OJPC here: https://ohiojpc.org/donate/.
*This client’s name was anonymized.