A Call for Volunteers: Counsellors for National Trafficking Hotline
Do you have mental health training? Are you currently living in Alberta? Are you passionate about ending human trafficking? If so, this volunteer opportunity is definitely worth checking out.
I just watched an interview with Jacqui Linder, executive director of the Crysalis Network. They have just launched a human trafficking crisis hotline in Canada, which is the first of its kind in North America. It’s about time we had something like this!
Linder explains that currently law enforcement is burdened with the psychological issues of the trafficking victims they encounter. She wants to relieve these officers of this burden by creating a hotline where victims can receive professional counselling over the phone. This will allow law enforcement to focus on their areas of expertise while mental health professionals address victim needs.
Victims of trafficking feel isolated and ashamed, and those who do not know English find it even more difficult to know where to turn for help. Linder hopes that this hotline will provide continuity and guidance for people whose lives are being destroyed by enslavement and abuse. The goal is to make this hotline 24/7 by the spring.
To volunteer, you must be a resident of Alberta (as that is where the hotline is based), and have some kind of mental health training. They are specifically looking for people to cover the day shift. There is an urgent need for people who speak different languages (including French).
Interested?
Email jacquilinder@yahoo.ca or call 1 866 528 7109 and get more details about volunteer opportunities. In your email, please include a bit about your background, education and counselling experience. If you are a law enforcement officer or a victim who needs help, that is the number you can call as well. Though the hotline is Alberta-based, you can call for help from anywhere in Canada. Help is being offered to female and male victims of sex or labour trafficking.
1 866 528 7109
And of course, if you have a desperate need to get rid of some cash, I am sure Linder would love the help as this is currently funded out of her own pocket. Email her if you wish to donate.
We have a trafficking hotline! How exciting is that!? For more information, check out this PAA Announcement & video interview. Please pass the link to this post to any friends you think might be interested.
Michelle Brock
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