Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! This month, we want to celebrate just a few of the many Hispanic & Latinx colleagues and partners who are shaping our history as an organization, and fighting to address disparities in their work to end child trafficking and helping support children in their vulnerabilities.
Leonela Cruz-Ahuatal
Director, Project Rescue
Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (CIRI)
Represents the Love146 Value of Deliberate Collaboration
Leonela is one of Love146’s partners in ending child trafficking. CIRI and Love146 make cross referrals for each other and sometimes collaborate on family cases. Leonela has astute awareness of foreign nationals and has an in depth knowledge of how their needs may be different than domestic minors. She is an important partner in our work because trafficking presents itself in so many different ways. She believes that it is essential to be the voice for many that are hiding in the shadows and unable to leave their situation. She works to end child trafficking because she wants to provide children with a sense of hope for a better tomorrow.
Maria Reyes
Survivor Care Intake and Program Coordinator
Represents the Love146 Value of Intentional Thoughtfulness
Maria is the first person many community partners, parents, and DCF staff connect with regarding Survivor Care/Rapid Response Referrals. She supports the equity and inclusion for Survivor Care youth, families, and team members. She also exemplifies patience, empathy, efficiency, and works with a spirit of excellence in all that she does. Maria handles the behind-the-scenes care of our organization. She finds that learning about survivor’s courage helps her figure how we can better serve them. She recognizes the importance of education and awareness of this issue, because with more awareness, there is more hope for change.
Daniella Alvarado Pérez
Prevention Training Program Manager
Represents the Love146 Value of Relentless Advocacy
Daniella is not afraid of tough conversations – in fact, she loves them. She makes sure that our training programs emphasizes the importance of ending child trafficking. She believes that we must challenge each other to show up and do better to unlearn the societal issues that have led to child trafficking. She helps youth identify exploitation and create safety plans to be safe in areas of their life even beyond trafficking scenarios. She is driven to create engaging trainings that sparks passion in attendees. She is motivated by hearing stories from our Not a Number facilitators about how much fun they have running the curriculum and the great conversations they have with their youth.
