To the Editor:

As someone who has been in foster care and has seen how difficult it can be when offices butt heads, I am very happy to see the effortless collaboration that make Mark Marshall and Georgette Phillips such a great team.

Four years ago, I was in an abusive household. I was sexually abused for seven years by a former adopted father, and no one believed me. No one worked with me, no one cooperated and no one did their job. For their decisions, I paid the price.

That lack of support changed my senior year of high school — when I told the guidance counselor that I was being raped. I met a detective from the Sheriff’s office that did his job and passed on the information to the prosecutor’s office during his investigation.

The Commonwealth Attorney’s office and the Sheriff’s office worked as partners on my case and helped me find justice. When Christopher Meyers was sentenced to 18 years and 9 months, I was able to begin a new life.

Today, I run Road to Repair LLC. to teach professionals in the field of law how to talk to children and trauma survivors. I teach professionals how to work together like I see Mark Marshall and Georgette Phillips do every day I come into the office as an intern and every day during my case four years ago.

I could not have started this without the effort of these two offices, and it is for these reasons that I ask all of you to keep this this crime-fighting team in office by voting for Mark Marshall and Georgette Phillips.

Help girls and boys all over this county have the kind of today that I was given by these wonderful people.

Ashley Edwards
(previously Ashley Meyers)
Newport News