For Leslie Lugo, working at La Casa de Don Pedro has always been about more than a job. It is about standing alongside a community in moments when compassion, courage, and advocacy matter most. She never imagined that one of those moments would become the most frightening chapter of her life.
Leslie and her husband run a small ice cream truck business together, a labor of love the couple has built side by side, parking their truck at their garage at the end of each long day. A few months ago, that ordinary routine turned into a nightmare. ICE agents abducted her husband directly outside the garage, where they keep the truck. He was taken to Delaney Hall detention center, leaving Leslie, their family, and their small business in crisis overnight.
What followed were some of the hardest weeks of Leslie’s life, but she did not face them alone. La Casa de Don Pedro rallied, advocating alongside community partners, working with Congressman Rob Menendez, and demanding transparency about how or why people were detained. LCDP called for peaceful protest and for lawful due process for all detainees. On a Friday evening, a surprise phone call brought the news the family had been praying for: her husband had been released.
The relief was profound, but the trauma the family endured does not simply disappear with a phone call. Leslie took time off from work to be present for her husband and family as they began to heal, because some wounds are invisible and recovery takes time.
That is why what happened next meant so much. Without warning, Leslie pulled up to LCDP’s 221 Broad Street location in her ice cream truck, surprising her entire work team. It was a moment of joy, wrapped in gratitude, her way of saying thank you to the people who showed up for her family when it mattered most.
She will be coming back. And her family will continue to heal.
For Leslie, witnessing her employer respond with conviction during one of the most frightening experiences of her life only deepened her pride in being part of the La Casa de Don Pedro family.
“I am grateful to work for an organization that doesn’t just talk about serving the community; it shows up when people need it most,” Leslie shared.
La Casa de Don Pedro has served Newark and Essex County for more than five decades through education, housing, workforce development, mental health services, immigration legal assistance, and family support. During times of uncertainty, the organization remains a trusted resource for thousands of families seeking hope, stability, and opportunity. For Leslie, that commitment is no longer abstract. She lived it.
As La Casa de Don Pedro continues its mission to empower families and strengthen neighborhoods, employees like Leslie Lugo remind us that the work is never merely professional. It is deeply personal. That is exactly why she looks forward to returning to serve the Newark community for years to come.
