Mezzo Allies

The Story of Mezzo Allies Inc.

Born from urgency. Built by survivors. Powered by community.

Mezzo Allies Inc. was created with a singular, defiant mission: to bridge the gap to safety for victims of family-controlled human trafficking and organized abuse—those whose suffering has long been overlooked by the very systems meant to protect them.

Our story began in the moments when a survivor finally found the courage to speak the unthinkable—and no one knew how to respond.

Again and again, we saw the same thing: survivors trafficked by their own families falling through every crack. Mandated reporters didn’t know what to ask. Therapists missed the signs. Child protection systems weren’t designed for this. Anti-trafficking organizations weren’t talking about this or offering what survivors needed.

No one was coming to fix it.

So, we built it ourselves.

Led by Survivors. Driven by Justice.

Mezzo Allies is a survivor-led grassroots nonprofit disrupting the invisibility of familial trafficking. Our co-founder is a survivor of family controlled human trafficking. We know the trauma of being exploited by those who should have protected you—and the added trauma of being disbelieved when you tell the truth.

We work through four core strategies:

1. Advocacy that challenges harmful policies and lifts survivor-informed solutions
2. Coalition building across clinical, advocacy, and survivor-led sectors
3. Community outreach & education to train those on the front lines
4. Direct support for survivors and their allies navigating complex, retraumatizing systems

We don’t just provide supports. We build movements.

Why We Exist: The Crisis of Familial Trafficking

Studies show that approximately 40% of trafficking survivors were first trafficked by a family member—yet our systems remain fixated on threats from strangers, overlooking the devastating reality that, for many, the danger begins at home.

When the home is the crime scene, traditional responses fall short. Survivors are criminalized, dismissed, or retraumatized. That’s where Mezzo Allies steps in.

We train social workers, therapists, educators, and medical professionals to recognize and respond to family controlled human trafficking. We influence policy from a survivor-informed perspective. We walk alongside survivors and their advocates with safety planning, clinical support, and unwavering advocacy. And we use every tool we have—from podcasts to policy—to break the silence.

Making Good Trouble: The Mezzo Approach

We believe that safety should never be a privilege. That’s why we:

1. Advocate to make faith leaders mandated reporters in NY
2. Consult with state task forces to improve trafficking response
3. Design and deliver professional training grounded in trauma research and lived experience
4. Design and launch a national clinical training curriculum
5. Host The Ugly Truth About the Girl Next Door podcast (1M+ listens)
6. Mobilize thousands through our Step Up for Survivors walkathon
7. Offer pro bono consultation for professionals and allies

This is how we organize—not just for change, but for justice.

Where We’re Headed

We envision a future where:

1. Familial trafficking is understood, recognized, and named
2. First responders are trained to see and support hidden victims
3. Survivors don’t just heal—they lead change
4. Communities refuse to stay silent

We’re not waiting for systems to catch up. We’re reshaping them—with truth, action, and survivor power.

How You Can Help

We operate lean. But we dream big. Your donation fuels:

1. Training that equips helpers to intervene earlier
2. Survivor-led advocacy that rewrites policy
3. Outreach that educates communities and shatters myths
4. Direct support for survivors and their allies

Whether you give $25 or $2,500, your gift helps make the invisible visible—and helps us say to survivors: you are seen, believed, and never alone.

Silence protects perpetrators.

Awareness protects children.

Collective action changes everything.

Mezzo Allies mission is to bridge the gap to safety for victims of organized abuse and family controlled human trafficking. Through education, training, direct support and policy advocacy, it is our vision that every victim has an appropriate support system and ally that can walk alongside them as they journey from victimization to safety and healing.