Twilio Flex empowers Polaris to Aid Victims of Human Trafficking More Quickly

The hotline that safely connects victims with advocates and support services in their greatest time of need saw a significant reduction in wait time after implementation of Twilio Flex

SAN FRANCISCO, August 22, 2024 – Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO), the customer engagement platform that drives real-time, personalized experiences for today’s leading brands, and Polaris, the operator of the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline, today announced that Twilio Flex enables Polaris to make the Trafficking Hotline more effective so victims can access support systems securely and quickly. 

Since 2007, Polaris has operated the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which supports the needs of victims and survivors of human trafficking and those close to them by connecting them with local resources. Those resources include a safe place to stay, legal assistance, psychological support, and assistance with reporting to law enforcement. Due to the important and time-sensitive nature of the work that Polaris does, the organization chose Twilio Flex to provide trusted and reliable communications with access to the latest innovations to continuously improve and increase impact. 

Polaris built a contact center system within Twilio Flex that combined all their channels – IVR, telephony, SMS, chat, online webform, and email –  into a unified, simple support platform. Previously, Polaris was working with different systems and processes for each of their outreach channels across phone, text, webchat, online webform, and email. Now, hotline advocates have a simple and easy-to-navigate, single-pane interface for all outreach channels that displays relevant information about each potential trafficking situation to help them better serve the person needing support. Since implementing Twilio Flex, Polaris has achieved a significant reduction in wait times, saving critical time in high-stakes cases where every moment counts. Plus, hotline advocates have experienced a 45% reduction in workflow steps, and half as many loading screens to wait through compared to their previous system, making their jobs easier, more impactful, and enabling them to help more victims in less time. 

“Our first priority is connecting victims with the support and resources they need while meeting them on their level as a human being,” said Monica Krebs, Associate Director of Data and Operations, Polaris. “Twilio Flex enabled us to improve our wait times, but most importantly, simplify the process for our hotline advocates so they can focus on the victims on the other end of the conversation. As we look to the future of our collaboration with Twilio, we’re looking at additional ways we can leverage new technology to improve the hotline for victims and advocates in order to help as many victims as possible.”

“Polaris has made an immense impact since they were founded, assisting more than 75,800 victims via the National Human Trafficking Hotline,” said Erin Reilly, Chief Social Impact Officer, Twilio. “We’re honored to be able to help scale Polaris’ mission to aid trafficking victims by simplifying backend technology, allowing Polaris to deliver lifesaving support more quickly. Our goal is to make connection and communication as simple as possible, enabling great organizations like Polaris to focus on their mission and help save lives.”

To learn more about how to use Twilio Flex to expand your organization's reach, visit: https://www.twilio.com/flex.

About Polaris 

Named after the North Star, an historical symbol of freedom, Polaris is leading a survivor-centered, justice- and equity-driven movement to end human trafficking. Since 2007, Polaris has operated the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline, connecting victims and survivors to support and services, and helping communities hold traffickers accountable. Through that work, Polaris has built the largest known dataset on human trafficking in North America. The data and expertise gained from two decades of working on trafficking situations in real time informs strategies that hold traffickers accountable, support survivors on their healing journeys and address the vulnerabilities that enable the business of stealing freedom for profit.

About Twilio.org 

Effective communication and engagement play a critical role in helping social impact organizations meet the increased demand for their services. Twilio started Twilio.org to be the engine behind social impact organizations, helping them use Twilio technology, people, and funding to supercharge their reach. Twilio.org partners with thousands of organizations advancing social good - from nonprofits and NGOs, to universities, hospitals, and local governments - to deliver critical services and support to over half a billion people around the world.