New billboard to help fight human trafficking in Maryland unveiled

BALTIMORE - A digital billboard aimed to help combat human trafficking was unveiled in Hampden Thursday.

Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, Clear Channel Outdoor and Polaris Project representatives were on hand for the event.

“The reason why what we’re doing here is so important is because unlike murder, arson and robbery we know that exists… and people are careful about,” said Gansler, who is co-chair of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force.  Law enforcement and citizens don’t know it when they see it, he continued.

The board tells people where to anonymously report tips of suspected human trafficking, and get information or help related to trafficking.

The hotline has already taken 2,700 calls in Maryland and the District of Columbia.  The Polaris Project estimates that there are hundreds of thousands of trafficking victims in the United States.

The new billboard is located at 1500 Union Avenue in Hampden.

The billboard is one of 19 across the state that promote the National Human Trafficking Hotline, operated by the Polaris Project and sponsored by Clear Channel.

Need help or see a suspected case of human trafficking? Call 1-888-373-7888.