During the outdoor vigil portion of the event.

One Bag, One Life, One Community:

Vigil Witness for Survivors of Human Trafficking

Participants gathered in solidarity with victims and survivors for the 16th annual vigil to pray for the end to human trafficking.  On January 11, 2026, Betsy Goodwin, OSF, a member of the Anti-Trafficking Coalition of the Boston Unit of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, welcomed attendees to the CSJ Motherhouse and highlighted the importance of prayer and awareness in combating human trafficking. The vigil called attention to the importance of human dignity, grounded in God’s irrevocable choice to become one with humanity – and acknowledged progress made in combating human trafficking, including law enforcement efforts and support for survivors. Outside, the sky was bleak and cloudy, but within the chapel, the air was filled with shared hope, purpose, and values, as golden as the light pouring through the colored glass windows.

Edith Ayuso, Deputy Director of Victim Assistance at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, shared insights into the office’s work in addressing human trafficking, emphasizing the need for wraparound services and collaboration with community partners. “These are not cases. It’s about holding traffickers accountable, but with a priority on survivors and their voices,” she said and continued, “it’s about seeing the survivors and providing them with the resources they need.”

Left to right: Mary Ann Ponti (who spoke at our vigil in 2024) and Edith Ayuso attending the outdoor portion of the vigil.

Many attendees present have participated in our “Bags of Love” initiative through which necessities have been provided to more than 500 survivors. Edith concretized her reflections in a personal story of one survivor who, when arriving for her court hearing, came with limited resources and was presented with a “Bag of Love” which provided her with the resources she needed for a cold Boston winter. She commented, “So, if you believe your work is in vain, it is not! It is changing people’s lives one bag at a time.” The Bag of Love was received by the survivor and she was seen, not as the need she had, but seen in love.” 

The vigil included prayers for survivors, a period of silent reflection, and an outdoor vigil during which participants bore signs saying, “STOP HUMAN TRAFFICKING,” and “PARE EL TRAFICO HUMANO.” One woman brought her own sign saying, “God loves ALL people!” Such words, although obvious to us, are sometimes not clear to the victims – they become abused to the point of believing that their lives have less dignity and worth than others. For this reason, this sign bore a message of hope and possibility.

The indoor segment  concluded as Edith encouraged participants urging, “If you have been in the fight to combat human trafficking for a long time and things happening around you seem overwhelming, daunting, and exhausting, and maybe the flame you once had seems to be flickering, today, I invite you to look around you, look at the people to our left and right who are also in the fight with you… take a deep breath filled with hope and strength as we stand alongside each other to move forward in the work, do not be hindered by limitations that others try to place on us, but hold hands for a brighter future for survivors…”