DC SUPERIOR COURT'S NEWEST TEAM MEMBER: PEPPER

WASHINGTON, DC – The D.C. Superior Court welcomes Pepper, an assistance dog who will be helping young survivors of commercial sexual exploitation during hearings in the HOPE Court program.  Pepper and her handler Abby Stavitsky will start work today in Magistrate Judge Mary Grace Rook's courtroom.

• DC Superior Court’s HOPE Court program (“Here Opportunities Prepare you for Excellence”) is a treatment court that was established to address the multiple needs of court-involved youth who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation.
• HOPE Court offers specialized services to assist participants and their families to identify and achieve their ‘permanency goal’

For more information about dogs in courthouses, see:  https://courthousedogs.org .

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