Rv: Polaris News: Secretary Clinton praises the national hotline

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North Star Blog Tenacious Advocacy In the summer of 2011 Polaris Project's Policy team decided that they would tackle an enormous hurdle. There were two states that had not yet criminalized human trafficking - West Virginia and Wyoming. What followed in the next seven months in West Virginia is a blueprint for how to build a coalition and construct a legal framework to end human trafficking.  Read More. Success begins with a call When I tell people I work on the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline, the most common reaction I get is, "Wow, that must be hard." The hardest part, after hearing a story of cruelty and abuse, is doing your best to help but not knowing how the story ends.  But then there are those moments when we learn about a victim who was able to escape and find shelter after she called us, or a trafficker who was brought to justice, and the hard work becomes so worthwhile. Read More. Polaris in the news New York Times: The Fight Against Modern Slavery Daily Beast: Fight Unseen U.S. Slave Trade on Day of Remembrance NPR'S Hearsay with Cathy Lewis: Human Trafficking in Virginia The Smoking Gun: Feds Arrest Mansion Dweller in Servant Case HOTLINE STORY OF THE MONth While stopping to sleep for the night at a truck stop near an interstate, a trucker saw a young teenage girl and boy approaching several of the trucks parked in the lot. The trucker initially thought that the children were waiting for a parent until they approached his cab and offered him sex for money. Read more. Thursday, March 29, 2012 Presidential Task Force Highlights Progress in Fighting Human Trafficking Earlier this month The President's Interagency Taskforce to Monitor & Combat Trafficking convened their annual meeting in which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Attorney General Eric Holder and other top officials shared the steps their agencies had taken to eradicate trafficking. We were particularly pleased when Secretary Clinton remarked that "The National Human Trafficking Resource Center… is really making a difference in reaching out to survivors and helping us prosecute abusers."  Polaris Project's national hotline, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, plays a vital role in national anti-trafficking efforts and is a lifeline for victims of human trafficking. Since 2007 the hotline has taken more than 49,000 calls, connected more than 5,000 victims of human trafficking to life-saving resources, and provided more than 2,100 tips to law enforcement. There is still more that must be done and Polaris Project is pleased to see all government agencies publicly commit to working together to preserve and restore freedom for the world's most vulnerable and exploited women, men, and children. If you're interested in watching the full recording of this annual meeting please click here. Back to top Transforming Individual Lives Since 2003, Polaris Project's client services department has been providing survivors of human trafficking with the support necessary to rebuild lives and regain hope for the future. In the most recent installment of our Celebrating Ten Years of Impact video series,  Director of Client Services, Carolina De Los Rios, shares the success story of Claudia, one of the survivors we serve.  Click here to watch the video now. We're happy to report that Claudia is about to graduate with her GED and on her way to fulfilling her dreams of going to college and becoming an advocate for other victims of human trafficking. Back to top Spring into Action Help survivors like Claudia get the services they need. We need to raise $10,000 before April 15 to help provide survivors with a safe place to sleep.  This is what it takes each month to keep the doors open for our transitional housing units, offer food and clothing to survivors and provide emotional support. To reach our goal, we need your help to engage more people than ever before.  This month, we are asking our supporters to "Spring into action." Here is what we need: Step 1: Set up your own personal fundraising page here. Step 2: Ask five friends or family members to help you reach your own fundraising goal. Step 3: Value the fact that your action has helped the survivors of modern-day slavery get back on their feet.  We greatly appreciate the dozens of you who have already stepped up to the challenge. For examples of how others have successfully launched their own personal fundraising pages visit our blog today.  Back to top