When Mayda speaks about her life today, she begins with gratitude. “We’re doing well, and I’m grateful to be alive.”
A mother of three children—ages 19, 12, and 4—Mayda works long hours at an aluminum factory, doing everything she can to provide her family with safety and stability.
But her life has been shaped by extraordinary hardship—and resilience.
Five years ago, Mayda’s life in Guatemala looked very different. After repeated attempts to force her partner into gang activity, members of that gang turned to brutal violence. While driving together with their two young sons, gunfire erupted. Tragically the attack took her husband’s life, and Mayda was shot seven times, including once in the stomach. At the time, Mayda was pregnant. Against all odds, Mayda and her children survived.
Carrying lasting physical injuries and deep emotional trauma, Mayda fled to the United States in search of safety. When she arrived, everything was uncertain. She had no financial resources, no family, and no clear path forward. Back home, she had been a dedicated public school teacher. In the U.S., she took on whatever work she could find to support her children, even while coping with depression and anxiety rooted in her trauma.
A referral eventually connected her to Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy—and that moment changed everything. Through our Immigrant Justice Program, Mayda found not only legal representation, but a team that stood beside her through one of the most difficult processes of her life. Applying for asylum required her to revisit painful memories—but this time, she did not face them alone.
“With Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy’s support, I felt protected,” she shared. “I knew I had people who would stand by me.”
That support has led to meaningful progress for her family.
We successfully helped Mayda obtain full legal custody of her two sons, a critical step in both their daily stability and their long-term immigration cases. Her eldest son has already been approved for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), and her younger son has a pending application that is expected to be approved soon.
Mayda’s own asylum case, however, remains in limbo as she awaits to be scheduled for an interview. Even so, legal representation has given her something she had not felt in a long time: hope.
Today, her children are on a path toward stability and security. Each milestone brings renewed confidence that their future can be safe. Slowly, the fear and uncertainty that once defined her life have been replaced with a sense of possibility.
“When we found you,” Mayda says, “that’s when we truly started living again.”
She now dreams of returning to the profession she loves—teaching—and continuing to build a stable future for her family. Because of legal advocacy, Mayda did more than survive. She began to hope again.
