As a survivor of human trafficking, Olivia Neal often wondered whether starting over was even possible.
As a survivor of human trafficking, Olivia Neal often wondered whether starting over was even possible. More than half of trafficking survivors like her end up with felony convictions and a pervasive instability that makes independence feel impossible. "I definitely needed some help," she said.
Until two years ago, Olivia had nowhere to go for legal help, financial guidance, job training, housing assistance, clothing, food, and hope. Then she discovered Start Anew.
"What I learned at Start Anew is that your background doesn't need to hold you back all the time," she said. "There is a chance for you to live again."
First-of-Its-Kind Initiative
In the fall of 2024, Jones Day, in partnership with several of its clients and numerous nongovernmental organizations, launched the Start Anew Project, a first-of-its-kind initiative hosting one-day clinics in cities across the United States for trafficking survivors.
The project was born out of a series of conversations between lawyers at Jones Day and JPMorgan Chase about how to support trafficking survivors in rebuilding their lives. They began to envision a single day, in a single room, where a survivor could access every tool needed to achieve stability and self-sufficiency. Eighteen months later, that vision became reality.
The first five clinics took place from September to November 2024 in Boston, Chicago, Columbus, New York, and Washington, where over 300 volunteers served 136 survivors. In its second year, the project more than doubled its reach, expanding to 12 cities to include Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Southern California, and Tampa. In total, over 900 volunteers assisted 457 survivors. The next clinics take place in fall 2026.
A Place to Belong
The survivors came from every walk of life. All genders. All races. All ages. To see them walk through the doors, sit down at the intake tables, and begin to speak was a moment the team would not soon forget.
"Recidivism rates for prostitution and trafficking-related offenses remain strikingly high, driven in large part by a deeply rooted lack of self-worth among survivors," says Carrie Landau, a former FBI special agent and human trafficking expert witness. "No program, however well-designed, can succeed on its own until the individuals it serves feel they belong — to a family, to a community, to something larger than themselves that empowers them to start fresh and build a future. Programs like Start Anew make a profound difference because they offer more than services: they show survivors that people genuinely care about them and believe in them, even when they have not yet learned to believe in themselves."
Holistic Approach
Every element of the clinics was shaped by a single goal: to help people reclaim their futures and break the cycle of revictimization.
"The priority for the Start Anew clinics is independence for our participants," says Jones Day partner Bethany Biesenthal. "We tried to think about every service that a participant might need in order to be independent. That is how we believe the cycle of victimization will be broken."
JPMorgan lawyers staffed expungement intake tables, sitting with survivors whose criminal records were the direct result of their trafficking situations and walking them through the process of petitioning courts for relief. In many states, laws now recognize that a trafficking victim's criminal conviction is not truly their own, and these lawyers worked to make that legal principle real.
The clinics also offered a wide range of holistic services designed to promote financial and job stability: resume workshops, where lawyers sat beside survivors and helped them find the words to describe their skills and experiences; interview coaching sessions; a job fair and a clothing drive, so that a survivor heading to an interview could walk in feeling prepared; and Hope Bags filled with toiletries and grocery money — small things that said, you are worth investing in.
But the true revelation was the financial health presentations.
Community managers from JPMorgan prepared sessions on budgeting, credit repair, and financial planning. Survivors packed the sessions. They spoke openly about their financial troubles. The community managers listened, answered, and listened some more. "The interaction between the survivors and the community managers was something all the lawyers present found deeply moving," Bethany said.
One woman came to the Chicago clinic at the start of the day, her infant in her arms. She attended every financial health presentation. After her third session, she approached the front desk, her face torn between gratitude and regret. "I want to stay," she said, "but my baby needs to take a nap."
A lawyer from Hilton was standing nearby. Without a word, he walked over carrying a large fleece blanket — one of many that Hilton had for participants. He wrapped the baby gently, and the child settled into sleep. The woman went back in to learn about building a budget.
That moment captured everything Start Anew was built to be.
A Chance to Begin Again
"Start Anew is one of the most rewarding projects I've been involved in," said Talia Irabagon, Vice President, Assistant General Counsel at JPMorgan. "The impact is extraordinary. We meet with people at every stage of their journey as they emerge from this traumatic experience. And what we want them to know is that they are not alone — that there are people ready to help them without judgment."
For Olivia Neal and other survivors, Start Anew has been life changing.
"I've come such a long way," said Olivia, who is now pursuing a bachelor's degree in science and technology to become a substance abuse counselor. Thanks to Start Anew, she added, "I know there's a brighter future ahead of me. They open doors for you. They can help get your background sealed or expunged. They connect you with the financial support you need, arrange transportation to the clinic, help you find a job, polish your resume, and even make sure you have the right outfit for that interview next week. Start Anew is exactly what it sounds like — a chance to begin a new life."
Learn more about the Start Anew Project at https://www.startanew.com.
Combating Human Trafficking
Jones Day remains committed to combating human trafficking and securing justice for survivors. In addition to the Start Anew Project, the Firm engages in a broad range of initiatives, including:
Our survey of governments, non-governmental organizations ("NGOs"), and other stakeholders revealed a clear need for a standardized global resource on human trafficking laws. In response, we partnered with NGOs, clients, academics, and lawyers around the world to create the Global Compendium–Human Trafficking Laws. This freely available resource, hosted on the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery website, gives policymakers, legislators, survivor advocates, businesses, and civil society organizations a practical tool that is continually updated to reflect the status of laws around the world.
In collaboration with the American Hospital Association ("AHA") and leading NGOs (including HEAL Trafficking), Jones Day health care lawyers helped establish the first nationwide diagnostic codes for human trafficking and are now training hospital systems across the country to implement them. This effort grew out of the AHA's Hospitals Against Violence initiative, which aims to provide health care providers with resources to combat human trafficking. The comprehensive guide Jones Day lawyers developed helps providers navigate the complex patchwork of state reporting and education obligations — a resource that has become increasingly valuable as telehealth expands and more practitioners work across state lines.