If you suspect someone in the Denver metro area is being trafficked or exploited, knowing exactly who to call and what to do first can make the difference between a safe intervention and a missed opportunity. This directory brings together the region’s key hotlines, shelters, and survivor services in one place, along with a practical checklist for responding.
Step 1: Know the Hotlines
Save these numbers now, before you need them. Advocates are available 24/7 and can walk you through next steps even if you aren’t certain a trafficking situation is occurring.
- National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888, or text 233733 (BeFree).
- Colorado Human Trafficking Hotline (Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking): (866) 455-5075, or text (720) 999-9724.
- Covered Colorado Text Hotline (Denver metro): (720) 999-5075, or text HELP/INFO to (720) 999-9724.
- In immediate danger: call 911.
Step 2: Know Where Survivors Can Go
The Denver metro area has a growing network of shelters and transitional housing programs, each serving slightly different needs. Knowing which one fits a given situation helps you make a faster, more useful referral.
- Covered Colorado (Aurora): transitional housing, crisis counseling, mentoring, and court support for trafficking and abuse survivors.
- Voluntad (Denver): community-based case management, trauma recovery support, and peer specialists for trafficking survivors metro-wide.
- Tessa: a trusted resource supporting women healing from exploitation, trauma, and related instability through safe housing and restorative care.
- Open Door Ministries (Denver): four safe houses supporting women transitioning from homelessness, addiction, and exploitation.
- The Upper Room: Christ-centered sober living for single women, pregnant mothers, and mothers with children experiencing homelessness or exploitation.
- Rose Andom Center (RAC): domestic violence and trafficking overlap support, including legal and advocacy services.
Step 3: A Response Checklist for Community Members
Use this checklist if you believe someone you know may be experiencing trafficking or coercion.
- Notice patterns without labeling. Look for isolation, financial control, monitoring, or inconsistent stories.
- Create a safe, private moment to talk, away from shared devices or people who might overhear.
- Ask open questions and listen without pushing for details or offering ultimatums.
- Document what you observe (dates, patterns, statements) and keep those notes private and secure.
- Offer practical support: a code word, a safe contact list, help storing documents, or a ride to an appointment.
- Connect the person to a hotline or local partner listed above once they are ready. Never force the pace.
- If there is any immediate danger, call 911 without hesitation.
Why Long-Term Support Matters Most
Emergency shelter and crisis response are critical, but survivors’ greatest need is often what comes after: sustained, relational support during the months and years of healing. Re-fined focuses specifically on this stage, partnering with organizations across this directory to walk alongside survivors as they rebuild their lives in the Denver metro community.
References
- Women’s Directory, “Covered Colorado – Emergency Shelters,” womensdirectory.org.
- Women’s Directory, “Voluntad,” womensdirectory.org.
- Re-fined, “Partners,” re-fined.org.
- Women’s Directory, “Colorado’s Human Trafficking Hotline,” womensdirectory.org.
- National Human Trafficking Hotline, “Colorado,” humantraffickinghotline.org.
- Denver Alliance, “Resources,” denveralliance.org.