Polaris Project’s New Jersey office is currently the only non-profit organization in New Jersey exclusively dedicated to combating human trafficking and modern-day slavery and also providing services to victims of trafficking. 

The program operates with federal support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and with private support from individual donors and foundations. 

Activities
Victim Outreach and Identification:  Polaris Project conducts both direct victim outreach and community outreach to increase victim identification in New Jersey. Target areas include northern New Jersey cities in Essex, Hudson, Bergen, Union, and Passaic counties, as well as Atlantic City in southern New Jersey. Both trafficking survivors and staff collaborated closely to develop and refine direct outreach methodologies. Direct outreach is conducted in institutional settings such as the juvenile detention centers, adult jails, and courts in collaboration with criminal justice staff. In non-institutional settings, we conduct direct outreach on streets, stations for public transportation, residential brothels, strip clubs, massage parlors, farms, and more.

Target outreach populations include victims of labor trafficking and sex trafficking, U.S. citizens and foreign nationals from Latin America, South East Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa.  Outreach materials are currently available in English and Spanish and include information on red flag characteristics of victims, how to get help, and the phone numbers of the Polaris Project local New Jersey hotlines and the Polaris Project operated National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline.

Polaris Project NJ operates two toll-free, 24-hour hotlines in English and Spanish.  Staff fluent in the respective languages operate the hotlines.

Victim Services and Protection:  The NJ TIP provides case management services to victims to address the lack of specialized services available in New Jersey.  Services provided include emergency, short-term and long-term case management services for victims of trafficking.  Services provided through case management include: crisis intervention, criminal justice advocacy, court accompaniment, locating resources and referrals, interpretation, emotional support, and more.  Case management services are provided by a social worker who has attained her Master’s Degree in Social Work.  

Policy Advocacy:  Polaris Project has trained and provided technical assistance to state legislators, and collaborated to help close legal loopholes in New Jersey State statutes.

Prevention and Youth Education:  Polaris Project staff conduct prevention workshops with U.S. citizen youth at high-risk for sex trafficking.

Task Force, Coalition, and Infrastructure-Building:  Polaris Project spearheaded the mobilization of two city-wide local anti-trafficking coalitions in Newark and Atlantic City. These two urban areas were identified as high-risk locations for the presence of both sex and labor trafficking in the State of New Jersey.  Polaris Project also serves on the New Jersey Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force led by the Division of Criminal Justice.

Training, Technical Assistance, and Strategic Planning: Community outreach efforts focus on collaborating with and training intermediaries who may come into contact with potential trafficking victims in the course of their daily work. These efforts include local trainings and presentations and the distribution of outreach materials in organizational settings.   Program staff also participate in law enforcement training efforts through a partnership with the New Jersey Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force. 

Previously, Polaris Project coordinated the Atlantic City site of a multi-city program launched by the US Department of Justice to systemically address the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC). Polaris Project and local partners formed a CSEC Task Force that consisted of law enforcement, juvenile justice staff, child protective agencies, service providers, legislators, and other key stakeholders.

Grassroots Community Mobilization: Polaris Project New Jersey is the founding member of the Fight Human Trafficking Meetup in New Jersey, a grassroots group of students, activists, community members, and professionals dedicated to ending human trafficking in New Jersey and beyond. 

Contact Information

P.O. Box 32489 Newark, NJ 07102
Tel: 973-624-5454
Fax: 973-624-5400
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