'Lost all credibility': Nonprofit CEO delivers demand to Trump HHS amid 'failed' human trafficking hotline
A group of anti-human trafficking advocates called "Safe House Project" is urging the Trump administration and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reform the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
The hotline, which is run by HHS, was started in 2007 to provide 24/7 help for victims of human trafficking.
According to Safe House Project, which offers victims a range of services, including a network of shelters, the hotline has "lost all credibility" and simply does not accomplish the goal of ending human trafficking.
After Kennedy cleared a committee vote on Tuesday, bringing him one step closer to confirmation, the nonprofit released a statement celebrating the step, saying that "our nation is in dire need of leadership that will restore it [the hotline] to fulfill its purpose of identifying victims of trafficking, supporting victims escaping from their traffickers, and helping bring swift justice to those who abuse and victimize desperate and vulnerable populations."
In line with the Department of Government Efficiency's mission to slash government waste, Safe House Project says HHS can reform the hotline to conserve its tax-dollar funding and save more lives at the same time.
"The American taxpayers funded the National Human trafficking hotline, and the reality is it has failed," Safe House Project CEO Kristi Wells told Fox News Digital.
Wells claimed that people who call the hotline often have to wait upwards of 45 minutes, resulting in many people hanging up before even reporting a human trafficking incident. She also said that in many instances, hotline staff fail to return calls or to share tips with law enforcement.
If he is confirmed by the Senate, Wells said Kennedy will have a "phenomenal opportunity" to save thousands of lives by moving quickly to increase the efficiency of the hotline.
"The National Human Trafficking Hotline, again, has the potential to save thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of lives," she continued. "And so, [since] the Department of Health and Human Services is the one that oversees the effectiveness of the hotline, it's really important that the current administration prioritizes and really holds the current hotline accountable and making sure that the services are operating the way that they need to be operating."
In place of the current hotline, Wells is urging HHS to leverage modern technology – such as cellphone apps and AI – to create a new system that is "fast, actionable and easy to use."
After conducting extensive research with law enforcement entities and related NGOs, Wells said she believes a new system could be created using modern technology that would make the tax dollars being spent by the government on this go much further and accomplish more.
"When you're leveraging technology, you are really creating efficiencies of scale and really increasing scale," she said. "And so, I don't believe that this is a solution that would cost the government more money. I think it would allow them to use the dollars that are currently being spent on a national hotline more effectively and see more effective results."
Wells said the Trump administration "has already shown an encouraging willingness to tackle human trafficking," but noted, "We want to do our part to make sure that this is a top priority for them and make sure that correct actions are taken to bring victims out of the shadows, to increase reporting and to increase law enforcement and prosecution of traffickers and buyers."
"Human trafficking is happening all around us and we as community members have the opportunity to identify and respond to human trafficking and a new tool is really vital to us making sure that that happens," she continued. "Whenever we have proper reporting mechanisms and we are 'seeing something and saying something,' then this idea that human trafficking is undercover and goes undetected is no longer the reality."
"The reality is we'll be able to see it more and when we start seeing it more, we're able to empower our lawmakers with more effective data to create more effective policies. And so, I am excited about the trajectory that a more robust reporting mechanism can bring to the objective of eradicating trafficking in America."
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