Ambassadors of Hope
Ambassadors of Hope celebrates local south Florida leaders who are making a difference in our community and region through Place of Hope. We will discuss our nonprofit's mission of providing a stable and loving environment for children, youth and families that are hurting by sharing inspiring stories of those who have crossed our path–our Ambassadors. They are people who have faced adversity and overcome challenges and community members dedicated to impacting lives for generations to come. With a goal to help end cycles of abuse, neglect, homelessness, poverty, and human trafficking for children and young adults, Ambassadors of Hope will do what Place of Hope’s Ambassadors do everyday: work to change our world one life and one child at a time.
Ambassadors of Hope
A Dialogue on Change with State Attorney Dave Aronberg
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When Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg joins the conversation, you know it's going to be an eye-opening discussion about the pressing issues facing Palm Beach County. Our latest episode brings to light the incredible work done by local organizations like Place of Hope in supporting survivors, combating human trafficking, and facing down the opioid crisis. State Attorney Dave Aronberg shares his insights on the unwavering spirit of community collaboration, which not only helps to heal but also brings about significant change, and we get to celebrate the real-life victories that often go unnoticed.
Unraveling the complexities of rogue sober homes and corruption within our healthcare system, State Attorney Aronberg and Charles Bender tackle the tough topics that many shy away from. We're talking about the murky waters of patient brokering, the manipulative practices in drug treatment centers, and the aggressive measures taken to keep our streets and citizens safe. From revising laws to juvenile justice reform, this episode is a deep dive into the critical role of justice and the importance of staying vigilant in the fight against exploitation and abuse.
Finally, we set our sights on the future with optimism as Dave Aronberg shares his pride in the positive changes he’s been part of and the new horizons he's looking towards after his service to the public. Heartening stories from the Place of Hope family, such as a resident's achievement in obtaining a work permit, serve as powerful reminders of the resounding impact that a supportive community can have. Join us for a conversation that not only informs but inspires action and fosters a sense of community where every voice and every story is valued.
Host: Charles L. Bender III, Founding CEO and Board Member of Place of Hope
Title Sponsor: Crypto Capital Venture | Follow Dan Gambardello's on Twitter (@cryptorecruitr)
Link: Visit the Place of Hope Website, PlaceOfHope.com
Connect with Place of Hope on social media: Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn
Email the Show: POHPodcast@PlaceOfHope.com
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Producer: Maya Elias
Copyright of Place of Hope 2023.
Hello and thank you for tuning in to Ambassadors of Hope. I'm your host, charles Bender. We're so excited that you've tuned in to hear from local South Florida leaders who are making a difference in our community and region through our charity Place of Hope.
Maya Elias:Hello, I'm your producer, Maya Elias. In today's episode of Ambassadors of Hope, our host, Charles Bender, welcomes state attorney Dave Aronberg onto the show. Listen in to hear how they engage in a thoughtful and warm conversation, highlighting the importance of community collaboration. Dave, the state attorney for the 15th Judicial Circuit, expresses his commitment to maintaining a safe and just environment in Palm Beach County, emphasizing the vital role of organizations like Place of Hope and supporting survivors. They discuss the challenges of confronting human trafficking and tackling the opioid epidemic, showcasing the community's united efforts to ensure justice and recovery for those in need. Their conversation exemplifies the power of community partnerships in achieving a better and safer future. As we continue listening to the full interview, it's important to note that January marks Human Trafficking Awareness Month, a month designated to raise awareness about human trafficking and educate the public on how they can contribute to its prevention and response.
Charles Bender:We want to give a special thanks and shout out to our presenting sponsor, crypto Capital Venture. Crypto Capital Venture acts as both a startup recruiting firm as well as one of the largest crypto communities in the cryptocurrency space, offering trailblazing content for over five years. If you're interested in crypto, you can join over 300,000 subscribers on their YouTube channel for the latest on crypto, just go to YouTube and search Crypto Capital Venture and make sure to subscribe. Thanks so much, Dan and our friends at Crypto Capital Venture.
Maya Elias:Hello and welcome to this segment entitled Seed of Hope. I'm your producer, Maya Elias, and today I'd like to share with you all a story from our kids sanctuary campus.
Maya Elias:Throughout this month, we gratefully welcomed three new young residents into our family and marking on a journey of building meaningful connections with each of them, Further enriching our shared experiences. Our two youngest boys achieved a significant milestone by successfully completing their swim class. This achievement not only highlights their personal growth, but also underscores the sense of unity and accomplishment that thrives within our family, Adding to the tapestry of joy and togetherness. One of our cottages has a weekly journey tradition, which is a family game night, creating moments of laughter and bonding that fuel our optimism for the future. With gratitude in our hearts, we look forward to nurturing these seeds of hope, watching them grow into strong and resilient individuals and fostering a loving and hopeful environment here at Place of Hope. Thank you so much for tuning into this segment of Seed of Hope and continue listening on for our guests.
Charles Bender:Dave Aronberg. Thank you for joining the show. Ambassadors of Hope, you know you've been a good friend of mine for 20 years and you've been a good friend of Place Hope for 20 years, and I just want to welcome you to the show and thank you for being here.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:It is great to be back with you, Charles. I'm a proud ambassador of Hope.
Charles Bender:You are the state attorney for the 15th Judicial Circuit and also known as our top cop right. Yes, sir, Love the job. Well, we appreciate all that you do to keep this community the way that it is, which is paradise. It's awesome. We love it and you, you know, there's probably a big unsung component about your job. I don't think people realize what it takes to keep it and help keep it the way that you have over the years.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Unfortunate Charles, to have an amazing team. You know I have 110 prosecutors in my office currently and we have about 220 professional staff. We've got 40 volunteers and they're all dedicated to public service, standing up for victims of crime, making sure our streets are safe and making sure that justice is done fairly. You know, if someone is wrongfully accused, we want to be there on the front lines to make sure that no one has to be incarcerated for something they didn't do. At the same time, you know, if we don't stand up for victims in the criminal justice system, no one will. And one other plug you know we couldn't do what we do without law enforcement. We're Bradshaw and the police chiefs. We work every day with law enforcement and we believe we have the strongest, most sophisticated law enforcement agencies in the entire country, right here in Palm Beach County, I agree with you, yeah, and great team that, that you all do work well together, to whatever degree that's supposed to happen.
Charles Bender:I think that you know we're a model for the nation. There's no doubt about it, I agree. So you know, as someone who's also been supporting, specifically, place of hope for many years now, what do you, what do you think is the thing that solidified? Solidified your commitment to help, just generally speaking, help in our cause, because you've been a part of it for a lot of years.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:You guys do so much in our community, so much good, and some of it is just being state attorney. We work with you and depend on place of hope. When it comes to human trafficking, for example, we have all these at risk individuals out there, mostly women. And when it comes to human trafficking, and where do they go? They're so, they've been exploited. They have, in some cases, come from other countries where law enforcement is not their friend and so they need a helping hand. And where would they go?
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:They go to a non-government organization like place of hope, which is just a salvation for them, and then, as state attorney, if they're not in a safe place, if they're out there wondering where they're going to get their next meal from, or if the perpetrator is going to come back and get them, then they're not going to be able to testify in the case. How do we do our job if the victim or the key witnesses are unavailable testify or unwilling to do so? So place of hope does so much. Not only does it help heal individuals who have been broken, not only is it provide them with sustenance and shelter and security, but it also helps to ensure justice, because it helps us prosecute these cases, and without you I don't know where we'd be.
Charles Bender:Well, I certainly appreciate that and we've been grateful to be able to expand the vision and the mission over the years too.
Charles Bender:And you know, part of why we do this show is to say to the community look at the kinds of people that are out there that are behind the overall mission.
Charles Bender:Like you've got your role out there as the attorney for the area, but also you know you're a fan of what we do and how we do what we do, and then there's so many examples of how we do that together. Obviously, I can't never been able to work with you or any of your people directly on a case or anything like that, but you know, for us, when we know our kids have to sometimes go and testify against the parent and so forth, it's nice for us, my clinical team and our program folks to know that you know you guys are out there watching the overall and you're keeping your eye on how this system works and that gives us a good feeling that we're providing this great place for them to be in a stable and loving environment. But then when they go into that very difficult time of their life, they're gonna be guided through the right kind of system because you do you recognize them as victims? And that's what they are.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Yeah, people get nervous when they go to jury duty. Can you imagine someone who's been a victim of a crime and they've got to go to the courthouse and testify against someone who has committed Unspeakable horrors to them? They have to look them in the eye because they defend as a six-member right to confront their witnesses against them, their accusers, and so you got to look them in the eye, you got to testify Under oath in a very cold, intimidating environment. So place of hope is Crucial to our efforts to do justice. So I'm a proud ambassador of hope because there's so much good that individuals in our community can do they may not realize that, you know they can truly do justice in their own way. Because we are limited as law enforcement prosecutors. We can't be everywhere, so we depend on people in the community to say something if they see something, to report human trafficking and other abuses, or else it continues to go on. It hides in plain sight.
Charles Bender:Yeah, you know for us what that's always given me comfort over the years with you in this role and some of the other you know, like the sheriff and so forth that you mentioned, you know what people will ask me. They'll hear this high-profile case, you know, and they'll know possibly that you know so-and-so is in our care Young girl, young boy and they'll know, based on what the post is reported or whatever, what's happened in their lives, right? And they'll say to me well, gosh, is that, is that uncle being prosecuted or is that Trafficker being prosecuted? And of course, you know, on the side of the system that we're in, we don't always know, but I've always had comfort knowing that if you guys know that there was a crime perpetrated, you're after it.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Absolutely. You know we work with law enforcement to keep our community safe as it can possibly be, and so we are tough on crime. You know we have one of the highest conviction rates in the state of Florida our circuit and when I took over 11 years ago we were rock bottom, we were 20th out of 20 and this has been a team effort. But we also, you know, take great time to view every matter on a case-by-case basis. So you know that's why we will look at all the facts and all unique circumstances of every case. So we treat you know, for example, out of your area, but we treat you know someone with and well, actually, it is your place.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Help does so much for so many people. If someone has an addiction, if someone has a substance use disorder, we want to get that person help. When we want to get that person treatment, rehabilitation rather than incarceration, right. If it's a drug dealer, a businessman who exploits other people at the lowest stages of their lives, takes advantage of their Misery, of their addiction, we want to throw the book at them. So we will evaluate each case on a Individualized basis. But that's what justice entails.
Charles Bender:I remember some years back, and I don't remember the exact case, but I remember when those two things collided and you were you know, obviously you've been the in the forefront of the entire opioid epidemic and coming after these, these I don't even know what you call them some of these places that were set up around our area, that you shut down a ton of these places and you could speak to that. I'd love to have you speak to that. But also I remember there was one where the trafficking was actually part of it and you busted them and made it made, you know, it became national news, which was great for the efforts of anti-human trafficking Efforts and so forth. So you know what I'm talking about with that.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Well, talking about sober homes. We established the first ever sober homes task force and that is In a task force that continues to exist to this day. We work with law enforcement to investigate and prosecute those rogue sober homes and corrupted drug treatment centers that take advantage of people who have substance use disorder. Because under federal law you are entitled to Drug treatment benefits and your insurance under the Affordable Care Act, but there's no yearly limit or lifetime limit and the reimbursement is on an old-school fee for service basis, which rewards the worst providers. So if you over Utilize, if you encourage Relapse, you get paid more than the good provider who encourages sobriety. So the money is in failure, not success, and so we help change our laws in the state.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:We got tough on patient brokering, which is when you pay for a patient it's and provide incentives to get someone in your care, and we got tough on the marketing abuses and we have closed down or arrested most of these bad actors. We have cleaned up the industry in Palm Beach County. We now have, I think, the best drug treatment industry again in the country, but the problem has fled to other communities that are less aware of this, and so this Affects all of us, because it's not just the drug treatment issues. This is also part of the human trafficking Problem, because you have some of these group homes, these sober homes that are corrupted, that are havens for human trafficking. Exactly that's why place of hope is involved yet again, just like everything we do in our office. There's a sort of a relationship with place of hope.
Charles Bender:Yeah well, thank you for taking lead on that. That one day, when you decide to move on and whatever you're doing next, when that day comes, I hope somebody, the right person, fills your shoes and that maybe not at the level that you, you stand in them, but you know, one day we get the right person, because you know this is paradise to live in, right? But we don't not. Everybody thinks about all these other things you're describing right now, and we got to be ready to battle them.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Well, thank you, man. You know, I know this is not a political podcast and I won't Make a pitch for any individual, but I'll say this we have two people in my office who are running, two of my top Assistants who are running for my seat. I think either of them would do a great job.
Charles Bender:Well, because they've come up underneath you for all these years and you set the standard for you know what this community wants and apparently likes to have, so Appreciate that. So you know you spent time in the Florida Senate Legislature. You know in your role now for how many years 11 years a state attorney. Eight years as a state senator, state senator yeah, and so you've watched over the years Juvenile justice system evolve. How do you feel like things are going overall now?
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Well, wansley waters took over DJ J years ago and she brought the Miami model to Tallahassee and I thought that was Important because she expanded the use of civil citations. So if you're a juvenile and you commit a low level crime in the past, you would be sent to the juvenile assessment center and you would have an arrest record. But if you're given a civil citation it's different. You can avoid being part of the criminal justice system. It's still a citation. You would have to go through a program or do something to make it right, but it's not part of your record. It won't hurt your chance of going to college or the military. It's something that has really helped rehabilitate young people or at least to set them in a different path and that has been expanded greatly in recent years.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:And we have a very successful program here juvenile first offender program. There's been calls to expand it to adults. We don't have that adult civil citation program in Palm Beach County yet. But for low level crimes you're talking about marijuana possession or getting into a fight in the playground Did that destroy your entire life and take you out of the track to go to college or the military? No, we want to treat people the way the individual facts demand, and that's a prosecutor's job. It's not to throw the book at people in every case. It's not to incarcerate people in every case. It's to do justice. There is a difference.
Charles Bender:Yeah, I totally agree with you and you've shown that to be the case in our community as well. So thank you for that. You know we have the well you're in it, you costar and are invisible. Our film, our efforts to combat human trafficking in Florida, and so forth, you know, one of the things we try to bring out is the insidious tactics used by traffickers, and you know what plenty of those are. How do you think the legal system and child welfare agencies place hope others can work together better to strengthen prevention efforts and to provide?
Charles Bender:more comprehensive supports for children at risk at risk of trafficking.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:A lot of it is education. I've been frustrated over recent years all the misinformation that exists about human trafficking and, for whatever reason, there's folks that just they, they are so obsessed with the duct tape and the rope and kidnapping kids over the southern border when really that's more Hollywood than reality. Human trafficking trials, as you know, is more about exploitation than transportation, the stuff that you know. You see that if you're just if you're focused on smuggling kids across the southern border and preventing that, you're losing sight of human trafficking hiding in plain sight right in our midst. You're missing the fact that it's the 17 year old girl in high school from a broken home who comes to school one day with new jewelry and older boyfriend who has his name tattooed on her eyelids. That's the kind of reality of modern day slavery that exists.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:We've seen that. Or you go to the nail salon and the person who is providing the service is not allowed to handle the money, is afraid to look at you in the eye and is living in the back room. These are the realities of human trafficking, and so that's why it's important to get the word out, to show people, because we depend on people on the front lines who go to the nail salons or go to the dry cleaners and who were at the schools or who are at the hotels and the airlines and can see what's going on. That's not what you necessarily see in the movies. It's the reality that it's just hiding in plain sight amongst us.
Charles Bender:Yeah, that's why, obviously, you know, we have the survivors in our care, probably anywhere between nine to 12, on a daily basis. Different ages, different walks of life and bona fide HT cases where they've just been exploited period, you know, summer under 18, summer over 18. You know it affects it's not an age based scenario, right. But one of the reasons we stepped into the education realm is because we really believe that, you know, you don't have to sit down and watch, for instance, our 30 something minute invisible film.
Charles Bender:Some people you know we're in the 80D culture, right Like people only have a couple of minutes to do anything these days. But I think if we can just put some of those concepts or those ideas in front of people like you just described, as opposed to thinking it's just, you know one thing you know with, like you see in the movies, understanding that this, all this stuff happens right here and it happens, it starts somewhere. It might start with the bully and it might start with the bad environment, could be in a bad foster placement and somebody's watching to pull them in, to lure them in.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:You know, parents have to be ever vigilant and if you let your guard down and you're focused on the wrong thing, you're going to miss the fact that your child's on the internet every day talking to some older man who's going to lure them into a life of prostitution with the promise of stardom and Hollywood. I mean, that's what happens. They start getting groomed over the internet and they may be using sites you've never heard of. You're focused on Facebook. Well, they're not using Facebook. They're using all these other sites, these apps. They're even in their video game consoles. They start meeting people and that's why it's important that families know what human trafficking is and what it isn't.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:It's about exploitation more than transportation, although then there's a transportation component when the older person sends your child a bus ticket and then they're gone. And, by the way, the movie Invisible is so powerful and although it's 30 minutes, and even for our short attention span culture, I still think that's short enough to get the point across. It's powerful and also it's done very well. I appreciate all the royalty checks because I am in that movie and I was able to buy I'm known of not paying very well For those listening and watching.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:there are no royalty checks, and rightly so. This is for a good cause and no one's making any money off it.
Charles Bender:Well, you've brought a lot of credibility to that, as you do as an ambassador, and I think people when they get a little bit and they want to learn more, especially if they do have younger kids, then that's a perfect opportunity for them to do so. Child abuse prevention is a big scenario that we have moved into probably more in the last couple of years for Place of Hope, based on the way the system places children and so forth. But I'm a big believer that heck if we could keep kids out of foster care by creating healthier families somehow, or even if they do have to be removed and they're placed with relatives, which is a big push in the last few years in Florida and it's happening in huge numbers. What are some of your thoughts on how we can, maybe even prior to that, address the root causes of child abuse and so forth and family, so we can keep them just from even landing in the system at all?
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Well, sometimes you can help families, as you say, strengthen the families in advance, and there are ways to do it. Sometimes it's you pay a little more on the front end as opposed to a greater amount on the back end. So, for example, you have a family that's going through some financial difficulties and if you help there's assistance to pay their light bill. Then perhaps the child doesn't have to be removed from the home because of financial difficulties and now it's a much bigger expense and it's a much more drastic move. I mean, there's certain things you can do on the front end to help strengthen families that you know. It's a little investment on the front end that can go a long way in the end.
Charles Bender:What do you interface with or know much about? I don't know. Like the drug court here in Palm Beach County that was created, I think, about 10 years ago. Well, we work with drug court.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:That's part of our initiative is diversion programs for people who qualify.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:We have veterans court.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:If you're a veteran, we work with the federal government to help provide you with housing assistance.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:And you, if you commit a crime, for example, and you're a veteran, so you have PTSD, you're a veteran, or you're addicted to opioids and you go to court I mean, if the victims are willing to allow it and they almost always do if it's a nonviolent crime, you go to court and the prosecutor is a veteran, the defense lawyer is a veteran and the judge is a veteran and you get assigned a mentor, someone who will walk you through it to make sure you take your meds, to make sure that you can find housing, and there's money available from the federal government. So that is a program that works. Our court also works. Instead of throwing you in jail because you've possessed drugs, we're going to put you through our very rigorous testing program. We have to come into court and get tested continuously and if you fail there is punishment. But you have people there who want you to succeed and help you succeed, and the recidivism rate for these treatment courts is lower than it is if you're thrown into a jail cell.
Charles Bender:See, I mean, to me that's just something that every community, every jurisdiction should be doing. So I'm getting ready to go learn a little bit more about particularly the drug court and some of the other early intervention, because one of the things we've done is, you know, we've looked at, okay, how can we be a part of diversion. So we've actually just launched something in this community. We're dedicated building very soon where we're housing. It called Every Mother's Advocate. So we've become. They're going national, they're out of Broward County, they've chosen us to be their partner in Palm Beach and the whole idea is just to take an at risk mom and child and the court's involved and, you know, to divert them from removal of the children. But what they're agreeing to do essentially is to come into about a 15 week program with advanced mentorship and all the other different things that they need, but it's just more eyes on, more lifting them up as a community at individuals. You know different parts of the system are involved, but then if it goes well and we hope it will, and some of that's material support as well, and then basically the investigator, along with the guardian and so forth, and the judge are going to be able to say, okay, you know what you've diverted. Well, no, no, removal of kids and, and, as you know, we've run a lot of housing too. So it's going to be a perfect matchup where, from time to time, we're going to identify early on that, okay, mom really needs some affordable transitional housing as well. Well, nobody's better set up to do it than us, because we're building more of that right now. So so I'm excited to learn more about the drug court.
Charles Bender:The primary reason is, as we've seen, all these kids divert to relative and nonrelative caregiving status as opposed to licensed foster care. What we've, what we're seeing I sort of knew it getting in, but now we're really seeing it and I'm finding it. It's the same for the diversion families through the drug courts is. A lot of great people are stepping up to to help. You know, it might be grandma, it might be the aunt, it might be the sister that take in the sister's kids.
Charles Bender:Well, a lot of them aren't set up financially for it. So you, as you can imagine, overnight you have, you know, say no, kids, or one kid, and now you've got three more, and so we're. We're serving right now about 130 families a month just in this region with material support. We're doing community drives, we're getting the corporations behind it, the churches, the temples, all these groups are stepping up to help and, and you know, we just actually want to do more. So, and that's why I got an introduction to the drug court and I'm going to go there and see it play out and we're going to hopefully be a part of that.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:That's great, charles. Well, you know we're always looking for good prosecutors in our office. So if you want to get your law degree and come on and apply, we could use you, because being a prosecutor is not just, you know, convicting in every case, it's also finding the right cases for diversion, and I think you know you have the right heart to do it.
Charles Bender:I might have the heart, but I don't have the brains to go to a law school, so we're going to skip that one.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Oh yeah, you'd be surprised.
Charles Bender:So I know we kind of touch on. So there's a collaboration between law enforcement community organizations. The legal system, as you know, is essential to combating human trafficking, but also child abuse as well. In your experience, what are some effective strategies or partnerships that have yielded positive outcomes in prosecuting traffickers and finding justice for victims? Just generally speaking.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Well, for example, place of hope, in providing housing and helping the victim, just yield a confidence to trust people again, because a lot of them come from places where law enforcement and prosecutors are not their friends and you just have to.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:You have to build that trust. We have victim witness coordinators who help with that, but you know all of our. We have so many cases that all these individuals are overworked and when place of hope can step in and provide a helping hand and there is a better level of trust. I think when you have someone who's not from the government, who's there, who is there with a faith-based organization who just wants to help, and I've seen, I've been through your, your housing and it is a happy place. These are not, this is not government tenements, these are. These are beautiful cottages and you can do so much more where you're from. It plays a hope that a government worker could do, I think, to building trust. And then when you hand them off essentially to the prosecutors and the victim witness coordinators, they're much better witnesses and victims and we're able to do justice. Don't underestimate the power place of hope to do justice in our community.
Charles Bender:Well, thank you, and it is a team effort, as you know. One of the things that's interesting is, you know when the genesis of when we got into providing post-18 housing, we were looking at, okay, the young kid that's in foster care who unfortunately doesn't find permanency through the court system or where the family is unable to get back together. They didn't find an adoption that worked or so forth, and they're going to age out of the foster care system. So we've been on the forefront of that now for 17, 18 years. But one of the things we started finding is that there were single moms with dependent children who, whatever happened to the guy in the situation, he's out of there and you've seen the stats on you know, two parent families as opposed to one with poverty and so forth. But we started seeing more and more of these families coming to us in desperate need. So we kind of just started looking at it right away, as it's no different than an aged out foster youth.
Charles Bender:She may have been in care, she may not have been in care, but what we realized is that is a child abuse prevention program as well, because if we can keep somebody stable in a house and maybe even help with a little bit of parenting techniques and so forth, but that also keeps the spotlight of DCF off of the families, because you know there's a lot of kids that end up in foster care that really probably shouldn't have. It might have been a poverty situation. It could have been, you know, it could have been neglected, but that could have been easily fixed had there been some intervention early on. But so what we're doing is, yeah, you know, we're taking mom in with the kids and as a result of her working the program, it's going to keep the spotlight of DCF off of them and that's, I think that's good for everybody.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Not many government agencies that can do that. You know DCF. If you're going to depend on them to solve all our problems, you're going to be waiting a long time. It's not going to work. So place hopes fills in that gap. I think one of the reasons why we have a safe community is because you help fill the gaps in when government can't do it, and it just it's this partnership that we have with you that I think is just working, and I hope that other communities will follow suit. But other communities don't have place of hope. Other communities don't have the partnerships we have.
Charles Bender:I agree with that. You think there's anything going on or should be going on, policy change-wise or legislatively that would that we just haven't gotten to yet. Is there anything that's missing in terms of, you know, to strengthen the anti-human trafficking efforts and so forth, or even foster care, if you think about it? I mean, there's a bunch of bills that float before the legislature every year, but what's really missing right now? What do we need to do to shore it up?
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Well, I can speak more to human trafficking than foster care, because human trafficking is a crime and that is something that I deal with every day. Foster care there are advocates who know more about. Changes in the law are needed right now. But I can tell you, when it comes to human trafficking at Florida, some of the best laws in the country and this is coming from a guy who was in the state center for eight years, who's not been shy about criticizing the legislature for their inaction when it comes to human trafficking we have, I think, the best laws.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:We are tough on human traffickers. They are really strong laws that are deterrent. At the same time, it's also pretty progressive in the way we deal with the victims. You know that victims of human trafficking can get their low level crimes expunged from their record. They can show that they're victims of human trafficking. The challenge is for them to speak up, because they sometimes they have lawyers who say, hey, don't say anything, just accept the punishment and you'll be out tomorrow. And then you know, then just move on. Whereas no no, no.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:speak up and talk to us as prosecutors, and then we can help you. Now we can help you free you from your situation and then you can have your prostitution charges or your low level drug charges removed and start your life again. So it's tough, though, to break through that, because people just don't know. They don't know. If you speak up, you can be helped, as opposed to be punished and sent back home. For example, do you know, speaking of that, that there's a special visa at the federal level for human trafficking victims? It's called a T visa. The T visa is something that has been used many times to protect and keep the people of human trafficking in this country. So you know, with all the talk about how our immigration laws are broken which they are and all the talk about how the laws need to be changed, when it comes to human trafficking, the laws are really good we have come a long way.
Charles Bender:I agree, you know, I remember too. I don't remember what year it was. It was probably getting close to 10 years ago. Isn't it terrible when you can start to reference everything in 10 year increments, as we, you know, get a little older here.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Man, I looked at you. I don't know if you can see if you're well, macy, but Charles has a gray beard here, you know. So he's wearing that proudly, huh.
Charles Bender:And I'm told a little preceding here too.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:But no hair's looking good.
Charles Bender:One of the things that you know happened, I think around 2015, was that the safe harbor law. So I can recall days when you have a young girl who was picked up on a prostitution charge and then, of course, bailed right out the same day by her pimp, et cetera, and no, there were no triggers to warn anybody. It's almost like they weren't even asking the age and so forth. And then they passed the laws and it actually we saw it work. We actually saw where now, all of a sudden, they're asking the simple question of how old are you, you know, or let me see your ID, or whatever had to take place to now actually trigger the child welfare system.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:It shows you how different the laws are, how we have improved them, because back in the day what you're referring to if you were underage and you were found to be committing the crime of prostitution, you were arrested. You were seen as a criminal. Nowadays, you're seen as a victim and you're protected. You're a human trafficking victim, and so we're there to help. In the past, they would be incarcerated or charged a juvenile and then released and only to go back into that life.
Charles Bender:Yeah absolutely so. From your experience legislatively and your current role and other things that you're involved in in criminal justice and advocacy, what advice would you give other individuals, other communities, because you know you said a second ago, we have a lot of resource in this community. Maybe a couple communities away from here they don't, but what advice would you give you know, if they were wanting to actively contribute to the prevention of child abuse and maybe make their foster care systems better and obviously deal with combating human trafficking?
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Support place of hope.
Charles Bender:We have to expand, right, I mean that's the way to do it.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:People who want to give money, they should do so to place of hope and they want to volunteer, they can do it. A place of hope Now. We in our office we love volunteers. We do accept volunteers and we can show you stuff right up close. That would shock your conscience and it's important. If you want to, if you have time and you'd like to make a difference in the community, volunteer. But at the very least, if you can't volunteer, if you can't give money, what you can do is to educate yourself on the realities of modern day slavery. And the fact you're listening to this podcast or watching it means you already are, because there's so much ignorance out there, misconceptions, and it hurts our cause when people are paying attention to the wrong things you know. So it's just important to know what it is, because you're probably seeing it every day and not noticing it.
Charles Bender:Yeah, and, as you said, it's in the dark, it's lurking, it's everywhere. I don't care what county, if you're above the lake, next to the lake, you know. Up north from here, you know I remember someone on my staff went and did a presentation on not even on human trafficking and I'm going to tell you it was only four counties from here. I'm not going to tell you which direction right, but if four counties from here. She got done giving a presentation on child abuse and prevention and so forth and foster care, and the mayor of the town approached her after and said hey, this is great stuff, thanks for being here today. But just so you know we don't have abuse children in our community.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:It reminds me when the the president of Iran, ahmad Dinejad, he said that there were no gay people in his country didn't have it. It's like these people have to get their head out of the stand. You know that it's existing. It's there. In fact. They say there's more slaves today than at any time in the history of the world. Right, and it's because it's just it's. It's not the what people know it as, it's the exploitation where sometimes you have Stockholm syndrome and the victim is thinks that they're in love with the perpetrator or they're just scared because they think they're going to be deported if they if they speak up, or or harmed if they speak up. Do you know that most victims of sex trafficking are actually homegrown? They're not from other countries, Most of them are from here.
Charles Bender:The runaways are people just lured into a lifestyle of of fame and glory and riches and realities far different and what's really said to is a good percentage of even you know, once you hone down to that level, as you've described, we've seen over the years as a lot of it's familial.
Charles Bender:So it's stepdad, it's uncle, it's grandma. I mean, we've seen it all. As you know, in your office you see things that would make people's hair fall out. We have to at our level, and that's, I think, part of why we want to educate more on signs to look for, because you might think it's from here, there or the other place, but it likely isn't one as you've described. And two, it could be much worse than you could ever imagine for some young person. So keep an eye out, do the research, find out, very simply, what it might look like, and if you want more information, you can find out even more, right? So absolutely.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:It's not just human trafficking, it's child abuse and you work with child abuse survivors all the time and there's other types of exploitation that go on that don't. It doesn't rise to the level of human trafficking. But if there's any exploitation against young people in our community, place of hope is there to help that victim.
Charles Bender:Yeah, as are you guys, and we're appreciative of that. So, all right, all right, listen. Looking ahead, you know what's the future aspirations, what do they look like for you, whether that's shape and policy, or raise an awareness, or whatever it is. But what are your plans, Dave Aronberg, that you're able to share with us today? On Ambassador's Hope?
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Well, I love my job. I really do. I'm grateful to the people of Palm Beach County for putting me there for the last 11 years. I'm going to serve out my term, which is 12 years. I'll be leaving in January 2025.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:I decided, as you know, not to run for a fourth term but because, after three terms, I want to try something new. I just think it's good to have some change in my role here in this county and we have some fresh ideas coming in from a couple of the candidates who are running, and I just want to try something new because I want new challenges. You know, when I started this job, I wanted to raise our conviction rates. We did from dead last, like the top three in the state. I want to lower our direct file rates, which were the rates at which young people were being filed into adult court as opposed to juvenile court. We did lower that.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:I wanted to clean up the drug treatment and sober home industries and we've done that in a big way. That's what we're known for. I wanted to do something about human trafficking. We had no cases when I started, but then, because of a federal grant obtained by Sheriff Bradshaw, we've now I mean we've got well over 100 cases that we've had and we made a real difference. So we think about the goals We've largely accomplished them and I just think that it's time to try something different and new. And I've got ideas. You know, whether in the law, whether in politics, whether in media, I've enjoyed being able to talk in national media about some of the big legal issues of the day. So I don't have anything set yet, but stay tuned.
Charles Bender:Well, just know that, as an ambassador of hope, a place of hope, we're not letting you get too far away, because you're a good friend, we appreciate you. We need more people like you that have conviction and want to do the right thing by people, the community as a whole. But also, you know place hopes in for taking care of, in a lot of ways, the least of these, and I think that that's what you do in your role. Well, I'm sure you'll continue to in different ways, but you know you're taking on the cases of people who truly are victims and need our help as a community, and so we're grateful for you and thankful to have you as a personal friend as well. Dave, thanks for everything you're doing. I know you're going to be a success and no matter what you launch toward after your time is up in your current role, Thanks, charles, you are awesome, your group is amazing, and I hope you'll have me back even after I'm out of office.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg:Oh yeah, for sure, thanks.
Charles Bender:Dave.
Maya Elias:In this radiant segment entitled Hope in Action, we celebrate a momentous achievement that fills our hearts with hope and gratitude. Today, we proudly announce that one of our residents has been granted her work permit for the United States, marking a profound milestone on her journey. This remarkable accomplishment exemplifies the power of determination and perseverance. Her unwavering commitment to her dreams has bore fruit, lighting the path for countless others who aspire to overcome challenges and embrace new opportunities in this land of promise. As we witness her triumph, we let it serve as a reminder that hope is not merely a sentiment, but a force that propels us forward. It reminds us that, with dedication, resilience and the support of our community, we can transform aspirations into reality. Let us extend our heartfelt congratulations to her for making this significant achievement. May her story inspire us all to reach for our dreams with unwavering faith, knowing that hope and action can bring about profound change in our lives and the lives of those around us.
Charles Bender:Thank you for listening. Please be sure to subscribe and share with your friends. If you don't even miss a thing and if you really gained value today, please be sure to give us a five-star review so, of course, we can be put in front of more listeners. For details and show notes about today's podcast and how you can connect with and support our guests, please go to placeofhopecom's forward slash podcast and please don't forget to email us at pohpodcastatplaceofhopecom. And, for sure, follow us on social media. And. Askers of hope Placing Hope in the Child's Day.
