TheMarginalized.com

Grab your iPhones, your Blackberries and, if you’re like me, your trusty old clunker from way back in ’05, because today’s post is a short, sweet, do-it-yourself project.

Here are three numbers to add to your phone that can help stop human trafficking and save lives – even perhaps your own.

1) The National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline

1-888-3737-888

This number is for anyone victimized by human trafficking (sex slavery, forced labor, etc.), and for anyone who sees evidence of it. Whether a child or adult, if trafficking ever happens to you, or if you ever meet a victim, or if you suspect you see a victim on the street or at a sporting event, this is the number to call after 911.

2) The Missing and Exploited Children Call Center

1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678)

This is the number to call regarding missing children. (For example, if you see a child from an Amber Alert). If you are in the mall and a woman runs up to you screaming and crying because she can’t find her child, contact security and local law enforcement first. But then call this number to report it, too.

3) The Cyber Tipline

1-800-843-5678

Also known as the Child Pornography Tipline, you might notice it is the same as the number above. This is the number to call if you find any evidence of child trafficking or pornography online (a sale on Craigslist, perhaps, or a misleading domain name. Anything that could put a child in serious danger). In this case, the hotline can be even more helpful than local law enforcement, because the internet is a global tool. I plan to store this number separately in my phone as the Cyber Tip Hotline to remind myself to call them immediately if I see anything online.

JOIN IN!

Let me know in the comments if you store these numbers on your phone. It’d be a welcomed encouragement for me today and a reminder that many of us are out there, fighting the good fight.