Today's tip for the individual advocate: Contact your Elected Officials!

For many people, America is seen as "the land of opportunity." People come from all over for safety, financial opportunity, and the chance to start over. That's what Carlos was looking for when he was offered a job here in the United States.

This month’s featured abolitionist is Sharlene Graham!

Words hold incredible power. They are used to actively craft the world around us as stories are crafted from many different points of view, laws are written, debated, and passed, people exchange promises and secrets, and brand new discoveries are shared. The right words can make or break a person, an organization, or an entire movement. For all of these reasons, the words that we use when discussing human trafficking are of paramount importance.

Today's tip for the individual advocate: Utilize your talents! When we say that everyone has something to offer, we mean it!

Just as we want freedom for every single person who has been harmed by human trafficking, we also want justice to be served for those who have perpetrated that harm. Human trafficking is a notoriously difficult crime to prosecute, as traffickers are experts at flying under the radar. But today, we share a story of hope and justice.

This month's featured human trafficking abolitionist is Tanner Hensley! Tanner is currently working on a big anti-labor trafficking project, helping to create awareness and promote current legislation to protect and support survivors. Policy and how it can be used to assist or defend people is something Tanner is passionate about, so this work is right up his alley!

At the beginning of our journey of advocacy, we debunked some common human trafficking myths. Today, we're going to have a little refresher!

Today's tip for the individual advocate: Volunteer!

The scene: A cozy home in a quiet neighborhood in the Philippines, complete with stuffed animals, funky printed blankets, and pictures on the walls.

The story? Completely different.

This month's featured abolitionist is Courtney Kinter! Kinter is a Staff Attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio, where she provides free legal assistance to many people, including survivors of human trafficking!

Today is internationally recognized at the World Against Trafficking in Persons day! If you’ve been thinking about taking action or getting involved in anti-human trafficking work, today is a perfect day to do it.

In movies and media, it often seems as if human trafficking situations begin spontaneously. A person in a van snatches someone off the sidewalk or someone is lured into a trap where they're suddenly captured and instantly become victims. The truth is, trafficking is a much more deliberate and psychological crime than that. The story of Yuri Guerrero demonstrates the dependence traffickers create perfectly.

The coming of COVID 19 has changed so many things about our way of life. In some ways, it has brought forth some incredible innovation. The way people learned to adapt and appreciate what they have was truly something of beauty. In other ways, the pandemic has absolutely wreaked havoc. Instability in relatively every form has become the norm. That instability created all kinds of extra problems, including exacerbating the issue of human trafficking.

To help all of our individual advocates, we have started a series with some practical tips on how to join the work against trafficking. Today’s tip: Join a coalition!