When the phone rang on the Travelers Aid desk at Dulles, the voice at the other end identified himself as "Ryan" from the U.S. State Department – Office of Children's Issues.  He was working with the Saudi Embassy to locate Mohammed, a 14-year-old boy known as "Mo", and bring him home to the United States to be reunited with his American mother. Mo’s mother and very abusive Serbian father had divorced five years earlier and according to the visitation arrangement, the father picked up Mo one day and disappeared with him – a classic case of international kidnapping.  Since then, the State Department had been working to find Mo.  

State had learned that Mo's father, his new wife, Mo and his stepbrother were on their way to Saudi Arabia when they suffered an accident because of the rough terrain.  All were killed but Mo, who was badly injured and transferred to a Saudi hospital, where he was in and out of a coma.  Through Serbian family members, the doctors located Mo's mother and after many phone calls to her reporting on Mo's progress, the doctors decided she needed to come to Saudi Arabia. 

The Saudi Embassy in DC paid for her trip and provided her with the proper documents for her travel and stay.  Prior to the day of departure, Travelers Aid arranged a conference call with the State Department official handling the case and coordinated the mother’s travel. On the day of travel to Saudi Arabia, Travelers Aid met Mo’s mother at the airline departure gate and escorted her to a pre-arranged conference room where State Department and Saudi Embassy officials helped Mo’s mother with reunification details.  Then Travelers Aid made sure she boarded the flight to Saudi Arabia for what we know was a happy reunion. 

Stan is a young soldier just back from Iraq, visiting friends in the Washington DC area. While here, he learned that his mother in New Jersey was gravely ill and was not expected to live more than another day. When he went to the Greyhound bus station to purchase a ticket to New Jersey, he discovered to his dismay that his wallet had been stolen. He had no cash or credit card to purchase a bus ticket. 

Greyhound referred Stan to Travelers Aid. After verifying the facts of the situation, Travelers Aid provided financial assistance for Stan’s bus ticket. He was able to travel home the same day so that he could say good-bye to his mother.

They were one of the last families to leave the DC Armory. They were a large family — Brian, Brenda and seven children, including a one-month-old baby. They left their ruined home in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans to make their way to the horror of the Super Dome. They were evacuated by bus to the Washington , DC area, where they were sheltered at the DC Armory, then transferred to a hotel.

Their money ran out after two weeks. Their total belongings consisted of two suitcases and some stuffed animals that had been given to the children at the Armory. After much searching, Brian was able to reconnect with an old friend in West Virginia . The friend said he could get the father a job as an electrician in Beckley , and a house in which they could live. Then they learned about Travelers Aid.

Our full-time social worker for Travelers Aid Washington DC spoke with the father and verified the information that he had provided. Travelers Aid then arranged for Greyhound Bus transportation from Washington to Beckley , West Virginia for the entire family, so they were able to travel together. Slightly less than two weeks later, the family had arrived safely at their West Virginia destination, where they started a new life, with a new home, new jobs, new schools. They were safe and sound in a supportive environment, thanks to Travelers Aid.

A local shelter rang the Travelers Aid desk at Union Station. A woman who appeared to be in her 70s who had been there for two weeks was expressing a desire to go to California . The shelter staff knew that Travelers Aid is the only social services agency in the Washington area which helps stranded and homeless people travel to safer havens.

Our social worker spent quite some time talking with the elderly homeless woman, coaxing out her story. Her name was Geraldine and she had come to D.C. to straighten out her social security. She had her daughter’s name and phone number written down on a small, crumpled scrap of paper. The social worker called the daughter, Jessica Ann, in Oakland , and learned that Geraldine was in the early stages of senile dementia.

Travelers Aid normally assists with a train or plane tickets in cases where the client has a significant disability or very long voyage. However, Jessica Ann insisted that the bus would work just fine. After a long bus ride across the country with many changes, mother and daughter were reunited at last. Geraldine went back home to her family and loved ones, where she would be taken care of and supported.

She was an attractive woman who appeared to be on her way to work. She was wearing nice gold jewelry and was well-dressed. She approached Travelers Aid and asked for help.

Our Union Station Program Manager, was perplexed. The client had no money, no ticket home and no resources. After consultation, we learned that the woman, Louisa, was bipolar and had not taken her medication. She had been living in a shelter in the District for a few days. She needed to get back home and Travelers Aid was there to help. Louisa asked to call her family to arrange transportation home. A call was placed to her mother, who was relieved to learn her daughter was fine and ready to return home. The family purchased a ticket for a flight from Reagan National. Travelers Aid provided assistance getting her to the airport. Five hours later, she was home safe, surrounded by family.

You never know who is going to need help,” our staff said. “Just like in the movie ‘The Pursuit of Happyness,’ it might be the person sitting at the desk next to you who is in extreme need.”

Mary had long suffered physical and emotional abuse from her husband. She had tried before to flee, but because he had total control over their friends and their money, she was never successful. She would go to a safe house, but he would always find her and force her back home. But this time she was determined.

One morning last fall, with guidance from Travelers Aid and a local shelter for abused women, she packed up her three children and their meager belongings as soon as her husband left for work.

When she arrived at the Travelers Aid desk at Union Station, our social worker was there to meet her. “She was a sweet lady with nice kids,” he recalls. “She had been in this horrific situation for years.” The social worker had already arranged for bus tickets for them, using numbers instead of names, to protect their identity. He placed Mary and her children on a bus for Indianapolis (location changed), where he had arranged for them to be taken to a safe house for domestic violence victims, to begin their new life.