May marks Missing and Unidentified Persons Month, a solemn reminder of the tens of thousands of people across the U.S. whose disappearances remain unresolved. Behind every missing persons case is a family looking for answers—and a system that sometimes fails to provide them.

To understand what more we all can do, we sat down with Brittany Dunn, co-founder of Safe House Project, a national nonprofit dedicated to raising the identification rate of human trafficking survivors and ensuring they have the care and support they need to recover.

The statistics are staggering: although an estimated 300,000 children are trafficked in the U.S. each year, only about 1% are ever identified. For Brittany and her co-founder Kristi Wells, that number wasn’t just unacceptable—it was a call to action.

“You can’t call yourself the land of the free,” Brittany told us, “when so many children are experiencing exploitation and going unnoticed.”

From Corporate Careers to a National Mission

Safe House Project was born in 2017, during what Brittany described as “probably the least convenient time” for her to launch a national organization. Both women had young children. Both of their spouses were deployed in the military. And yet, they launched a national anti-trafficking organization rooted in one clear idea: we must do better at identifying and supporting survivors.

Since then, Safe House Project has made a measurable impact:

• Trained over 400,000 people to recognize signs of trafficking;
  
  
• Added 624 new safe house spaces across the U.S.;
  
  
• Provided over 227,000 safe nights to survivors every year;
  
  
• Served 1,529 survivors in 2024 alone, with plans to reach 3,000 in 2025.
  
  

Their three-pronged approach—Protect, Place, Prosper—focuses on emergency response, safe housing, and long-term support that includes therapy, life skills, legal aid, and medical care.

Bridging the Gaps with Technology

During our conversation, Brittany shared that traffickers have been using tech to exploit people for years—and it was time for those working to stop trafficking to catch up.

“Honestly, [they’re] using technology more effectively than those who are trying to fight it,” she said. “So our team has really made an intentional investment into technology over the past few years.”

That investment led to the launch of a new mobile app called Simply Report. Designed for anyone to download, the app provides a simple, secure, and anonymous way to report suspected trafficking. For people who sense something is wrong but aren’t sure what to do, Simply Report offers a straightforward tool that can quite literally save a life.

As Brittany explained, the goal isn’t to do it all—but to connect what already exists: “We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We just have to bring all of these systems together and create that nationwide safety net.”

Training That Starts with Survivors

Another key part of that safety net is education. Safe House Project’s OnWatch™ training is survivor-led and designed to equip people—teachers, healthcare workers, neighbors—with the knowledge to recognize the warning signs of trafficking. Through firsthand accounts and practical guidance, OnWatch gives everyday people the confidence to step in when it counts.

The training is free and available online. It’s already empowered hundreds of thousands, and Brittany is hopeful it will become standard in communities across the country.

How Flock Safety Fits In

At Flock Safety, we share Safe House’s focus on identification and intervention to undercut human trafficking. Flock technology is used by thousands of law enforcement agencies to help locate missing persons, respond to AMBER alerts, and support investigations.

We see tools like Simply Report and OnWatch as essential complements to our own platform: where Flock’s tech supports rapid identification and response, Safe House ensures survivors have a place to go and a path forward.

Together, it’s a more complete system to help those who have dealt with some of the most challenging situations imaginable. 

Ways to Get Involved

If you want to take action, here are a few steps you can take today:

• Download the Simply Report app to be prepared when something feels off.
  
  
• Take the OnWatch™ training to learn how to recognize trafficking in your community.
  
  
• Donate to help fund emergency housing, care, and long-term services for survivors.
  
  

With the right tools and the right partnerships, we can build a system that doesn’t just respond to crises—but prevents them.

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