TD Canada: How Human Trafficking Survivor Cassandra Harvey Recovered From Financial Abuse

I’m humbled to be featured by TD in partnership with Reclaim Victim Services Toronto, a program that helped me begin piecing my life back together after surviving human trafficking.

There was a time when I didn’t know if I’d ever be free — not just physically, but financially. I was left with over $65,000 in debt from credit cards, loans, and phone plans opened in my name by my traffickers.

Imagine escaping something so dark, only to realize that freedom comes with a price tag you never asked for. It felt like I was being punished for surviving.

When I came across Reclaim, I was exhausted, overwhelmed, and trying to rebuild from scratch.

What I found wasn’t just financial support — it was compassion, dignity, and people who saw me as more than my past. Through their trauma-informed programming, I began to understand that I wasn’t broken — I had been exploited. And slowly, I started to heal.

Sharing my story with TD was an emotional experience. It meant revisiting pain, but it also meant shining a light on what’s possible when people and institutions choose to care.

Thank you to TD for your genuine commitment to community, to healing, and to helping survivors piece back their lives. Your willingness to stand beside survivors and invest in long-term change is something I’ll never forget.

A special thank you to Gursharon Singh and Kaitlin Bick, who continue to advocate for me throughout this entire process. Thank you to Carly Kalish for connecting me with TD and always ensuring my voice is heard, even in rooms I don’t find myself in. You are all a force to be reckoned with.

To every survivor reading this: you are not your trauma. You are worthy of healing, of hope, and of a future that feels like your own.

Read the full story here.