Help Keep Our Confidential Crisis Email Operating

For Americans facing abuse, exploitation, and violence overseas, a single email can be the difference between isolation and hope.

Pathways' Crisis Email Service serves as the primary point of contact for American citizens experiencing emergencies abroad, including domestic violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, forced marriage, and other forms of exploitation. Often reaching out from unfamiliar countries and dangerous situations, survivors contact Pathways when they have nowhere else to turn and no one else they feel safe asking for help.

Every message represents a person in crisis—a mother desperately seeking a way home with her children, a young traveler struggling to cope after an assault, a victim of trafficking searching for a path to freedom, or someone trapped in an abusive relationship thousands of miles from family and support. For many, sending that first email takes tremendous courage. Behind each message is fear, uncertainty, and the hope that someone will answer.

Because of generous donors, Pathways is able to respond with compassion, guidance, and practical support. The Crisis Email Service provides survivors with a safe and accessible way to connect with caring advocates who understand the complexities of international crises. Through these communications, Pathways assesses needs, provides emotional support, offers resources, and helps individuals begin taking the first steps toward safety and recovery.

While an email may seem simple, its impact can be profound. A timely response can reassure someone who feels completely alone. It can help a survivor create a safety plan, connect with counseling resources, or begin the process of escaping abuse. In moments when fear and hopelessness threaten to overwhelm, knowing that someone is listening—and ready to help—can change the course of a life.

Your support makes these life-changing connections possible. Every response sent through the Crisis Email Service is more than a reply to a message—it is an answer to a cry for help. It is a reminder to vulnerable Americans around the world that they are not forgotten, that their lives matter, and that hope still exists.

Thank you for making it possible for Pathways to be there when that first email arrives. Together, we are transforming messages of desperation into stories of safety, healing, and new beginnings.

The Pathway's Team