January 25, 2024 • 40 mins
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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.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Charles Bender (00:02):
Hello and thank you for tuning in to Ambassadors
of Hope.
I'm your host, charles Bender.
We're so excited that you'vetuned in to hear from local
South Florida leaders who aremaking a difference in our
community and region through ourcharity Place of Hope.
Maya Elias (00:22):
Hello, I'm your producer, Maya Elias.
In today's episode ofAmbassadors of Hope, our host,
Charles Bender, welcomes stateattorney Dave Aronberg onto the
show.
Listen in to hear how theyengage in a thoughtful and warm
conversation, highlighting theimportance of community
collaboration.
Dave, the state attorney forthe 15th Judicial Circuit,
(00:44):
expresses his commitment tomaintaining a safe and just
environment in Palm Beach County, emphasizing the vital role of
organizations like Place of Hopeand supporting survivors.
They discuss the challenges ofconfronting human trafficking
and tackling the opioid epidemic, showcasing the community's
united efforts to ensure justiceand recovery for those in need.
(01:04):
Their conversation exemplifiesthe power of community
partnerships in achieving abetter and safer future.
As we continue listening to thefull interview, it's important
to note that January marks HumanTrafficking Awareness Month, a
month designated to raiseawareness about human
trafficking and educate thepublic on how they can
contribute to its prevention andresponse.
Charles Bender (01:32):
We want to give a special thanks and shout out
to our presenting sponsor,crypto Capital Venture.
Crypto Capital Venture acts asboth a startup recruiting firm
as well as one of the largestcrypto communities in the
cryptocurrency space, offeringtrailblazing content for over
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If you're interested in crypto,you can join over 300,000
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(01:54):
, just go to YouTube and searchCrypto Capital Venture and make
sure to subscribe.
Thanks so much, Dan and ourfriends at Crypto Capital
Venture.
Maya Elias (02:07):
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 kidssanctuary campus.
Throughout this month, wegratefully welcomed three new
young residents into our familyand marking on a journey of
building meaningful connectionswith each of them, Further
enriching our shared experiences.
(02:27):
Our two youngest boys achieveda significant milestone by
successfully completing theirswim class.
This achievement not onlyhighlights their personal growth
, but also underscores the senseof unity and accomplishment
that thrives within our family,Adding to the tapestry of joy
and togetherness.
One of our cottages has aweekly journey tradition, which
(02:47):
is a family game night, creatingmoments of laughter and bonding
that fuel our optimism for thefuture.
With gratitude in our hearts,we look forward to nurturing
these seeds of hope, watchingthem grow into strong and
resilient individuals andfostering a loving and hopeful
environment here at Place ofHope.
Thank you so much for tuninginto this segment of Seed of
(03:07):
Hope and continue listening onfor our guests.
Charles Bender (03:16):
Dave Aronberg.
Thank you for joining the show.
Ambassadors of Hope, you knowyou've been a good friend of
mine for 20 years and you'vebeen a good friend of Place Hope
for 20 years, and I just wantto welcome you to the show and
thank you for being here.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg (03:28):
It is great to be back with you,
Charles.
I'm a proud ambassador of Hope.
Charles Bender (03:32):
You are the state attorney for the 15th
Judicial Circuit and also knownas our top cop right.
Yes, sir, Love the job.
Well, we appreciate all thatyou do to keep this community
the way that it is, which isparadise.
It's awesome.
We love it and you, you know,there's probably a big unsung
component about your job.
(03:53):
I don't think people realizewhat it takes to keep it and
help keep it the way that youhave over the years.
State Attorney Dave (04:01):
Unfortunate Charles, to have an amazing
team.
You know I have 110 prosecutorsin my office currently and we
have about 220 professionalstaff.
We've got 40 volunteers andthey're all dedicated to public
service, standing up for victimsof crime, making sure our
streets are safe and making surethat justice is done fairly.
(04:21):
You know, if someone iswrongfully accused, we want to
be there on the front lines tomake sure that no one has to be
incarcerated for something theydidn't do.
At the same time, you know, ifwe don't stand up for victims in
the criminal justice system, noone will.
And one other plug you know wecouldn't do what we do without
law enforcement.
We're Bradshaw and the policechiefs.
We work every day with lawenforcement and we believe we
(04:43):
have the strongest, mostsophisticated law enforcement
agencies in the entire country,right here in Palm Beach County,
I agree with you, yeah, andgreat team that, that you all do
work well together, to whateverdegree that's supposed to
happen.
Charles Bender (04:57):
I think that you know we're a model for the
nation.
There's no doubt about it, Iagree.
So you know, as someone who'salso been supporting,
specifically, place of hope formany years now, what do you,
what do you think is the thingthat solidified?
Solidified your commitment tohelp, just generally speaking,
help in our cause, becauseyou've been a part of it for a
lot of years.
State Attorney Dave Aronber (05:16):
You guys do so much in our
community, so much good, andsome of it is just being state
attorney.
We work with you and depend onplace of hope.
When it comes to humantrafficking, for example, we
have all these at riskindividuals out there, mostly
women.
And when it comes to humantrafficking, and where do they
go?
They're so, they've beenexploited.
(05:39):
They have, in some cases, comefrom other countries where law
enforcement is not their friendand so they need a helping hand.
And where would they go?
They go to a non-governmentorganization like place of hope,
which is just a salvation forthem, and then, as state
attorney, if they're not in asafe place, if they're out there
(06:00):
wondering where they're goingto get their next meal from, or
if the perpetrator is going tocome back and get them, then
they're not going to be able totestify in the case.
How do we do our job if thevictim or the key witnesses are
unavailable testify or unwillingto do so?
So place of hope does so much.
Not only does it help healindividuals who have been broken
(06:25):
, not only is it provide themwith sustenance and shelter and
security, but it also helps toensure justice, because it helps
us prosecute these cases, andwithout you I don't know where
we'd be.
Charles Bender (06:38):
Well, I certainly appreciate that and
we've been grateful to be ableto expand the vision and the
mission over the years too.
And you know, part of why we dothis show is to say to the
community look at the kinds ofpeople that are out there that
are behind the overall mission.
Like you've got your role outthere as the attorney for the
area, but also you know you're afan of what we do and how we do
(06:58):
what we do, and then there's somany examples of how we do that
together.
Obviously, I can't never beenable to work with you or any of
your people directly on a caseor anything like that, but you
know, for us, when we know ourkids have to sometimes go and
testify against the parent andso forth, it's nice for us, my
clinical team and our programfolks to know that you know you
guys are out there watching theoverall and you're keeping your
(07:19):
eye on how this system works andthat gives us a good feeling
that we're providing this greatplace for them to be in a stable
and loving environment.
But then when they go into thatvery difficult time of their
life, they're gonna be guidedthrough the right kind of system
because you do you recognizethem as victims?
And that's what they are.
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (07:34):
Yeah , people get nervous when they
go to jury duty.
Can you imagine someone who'sbeen a victim of a crime and
they've got to go to thecourthouse and testify against
someone who has committedUnspeakable horrors to them?
They have to look them in theeye because they defend as a
six-member right to confronttheir witnesses against them,
their accusers, and so you gotto look them in the eye, you got
(07:56):
to testify Under oath in a verycold, intimidating environment.
So place of hope is Crucial toour efforts to do justice.
So I'm a proud ambassador ofhope because there's so much
good that individuals in ourcommunity can do they may not
realize that, you know they cantruly do justice in their own
way.
Because we are limited as lawenforcement prosecutors.
(08:20):
We can't be everywhere, so wedepend on people in the
community to say something ifthey see something, to report
human trafficking and otherabuses, or else it continues to
go on.
It hides in plain sight.
Charles Bender (08:32):
Yeah, you know for us what that's always given
me comfort over the years withyou in this role and some of the
other you know, like thesheriff and so forth that you
mentioned, you know what peoplewill ask me.
They'll hear this high-profilecase, you know, and they'll know
possibly that you knowso-and-so is in our care Young
girl, young boy and they'll know, based on what the post is
reported or whatever, what'shappened in their lives, right?
(08:54):
And they'll say to me well,gosh, is that, is that uncle
being prosecuted or is thatTrafficker being prosecuted?
And of course, you know, on theside of the system that we're
in, we don't always know, butI've always had comfort knowing
that if you guys know that therewas a crime perpetrated, you're
after it.
State Attorney Dave (09:10):
Absolutely .
You know we work with lawenforcement to keep our
community safe as it canpossibly be, and so we are tough
on crime.
You know we have one of thehighest conviction rates in the
state of Florida our circuit andwhen I took over 11 years ago
we were rock bottom, we were20th out of 20 and this has been
a team effort.
But we also, you know, takegreat time to view every matter
(09:33):
on a case-by-case basis.
So you know that's why we willlook at all the facts and all
unique circumstances of everycase.
So we treat you know, forexample, out of your area, but
we treat you know someone withand well, actually, it is your
place.
Help does so much for so manypeople.
If someone has an addiction, ifsomeone has a substance use
disorder, we want to get thatperson help.
When we want to get that persontreatment, rehabilitation
(09:55):
rather than incarceration, right.
If it's a drug dealer, abusinessman who exploits other
people at the lowest stages oftheir lives, takes advantage of
their Misery, of their addiction, we want to throw the book at
them.
So we will evaluate each caseon a Individualized basis.
But that's what justice entails.
Charles Bender (10:13):
I remember some years back, and I don't remember
the exact case, but I rememberwhen those two things collided
and you were you know, obviouslyyou've been the in the
forefront of the entire opioidepidemic and coming after these,
these I don't even know whatyou call them some of these
places that were set up aroundour area, that you shut down a
ton of these places and youcould speak to that.
I'd love to have you speak tothat.
But also I remember there wasone where the trafficking was
(10:36):
actually part of it and youbusted them and made it made,
you know, it became nationalnews, which was great for the
efforts of anti-humantrafficking Efforts and so forth
.
So you know what I'm talkingabout with that.
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (10:48):
Well , talking about sober homes.
We established the first eversober homes task force and that
is In a task force thatcontinues to exist to this day.
We work with law enforcement toinvestigate and prosecute those
rogue sober homes and corrupteddrug treatment centers that
take advantage of people whohave substance use disorder.
Because under federal law youare entitled to Drug treatment
(11:12):
benefits and your insuranceunder the Affordable Care Act,
but there's no yearly limit orlifetime limit and the
reimbursement is on anold-school fee for service basis
, which rewards the worstproviders.
So if you over Utilize, if youencourage Relapse, you get paid
more than the good provider whoencourages sobriety.
(11:33):
So the money is in failure, notsuccess, and so we help change
our laws in the state.
We got tough on patientbrokering, which is when you pay
for a patient it's and provideincentives to get someone in
your care, and we got tough onthe marketing abuses and we have
closed down or arrested most ofthese bad actors.
(11:55):
We have cleaned up the industryin Palm Beach County.
We now have, I think, the bestdrug treatment industry again in
the country, but the problemhas fled to other communities
that are less aware of this, andso this Affects all of us,
because it's not just the drugtreatment issues.
This is also part of the humantrafficking Problem, because you
have some of these group homes,these sober homes that are
(12:18):
corrupted, that are havens forhuman trafficking.
Exactly that's why place ofhope is involved yet again, just
like everything we do in ouroffice.
There's a sort of arelationship with place of hope.
Charles Bender (12:27):
Yeah well, thank you for taking lead on that.
That one day, when you decideto move on and whatever you're
doing next, when that day comes,I hope somebody, the right
person, fills your shoes andthat maybe not at the level that
you, you stand in them, but youknow, one day we get the right
person, because you know this isparadise to live in, right?
But we don't not.
Everybody thinks about allthese other things you're
describing right now, and we gotto be ready to battle them.
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (12:49):
Well , thank you, man.
You know, I know this is not apolitical podcast and I won't
Make a pitch for any individual,but I'll say this we have two
people in my office who arerunning, two of my top
Assistants who are running formy seat.
I think either of them would doa great job.
Charles Bender (13:04):
Well, because they've come up underneath you
for all these years and you setthe standard for you know what
this community wants andapparently likes to have, so
Appreciate that.
So you know you spent time inthe Florida Senate Legislature.
You know in your role now forhow many years 11 years a state
attorney.
Eight years as a state senator,state senator yeah, and so
you've watched over the yearsJuvenile justice system evolve.
(13:28):
How do you feel like things aregoing overall now?
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (13:32):
Well , wansley waters took over DJ J
years ago and she brought theMiami model to Tallahassee and I
thought that was Importantbecause she expanded the use of
civil citations.
So if you're a juvenile and youcommit a low level crime in the
past, you would be sent to thejuvenile assessment center and
(13:55):
you would have an arrest record.
But if you're given a civilcitation it's different.
You can avoid being part of thecriminal justice system.
It's still a citation.
You would have to go through aprogram or do something to make
it right, but it's not part ofyour record.
It won't hurt your chance ofgoing to college or the military
(14:16):
.
It's something that has reallyhelped rehabilitate young people
or at least to set them in adifferent path and that has been
expanded greatly in recentyears.
And we have a very successfulprogram here juvenile first
offender program.
There's been calls to expand itto adults.
We don't have that adult civilcitation program in Palm Beach
(14:37):
County yet.
But for low level crimes you'retalking about marijuana
possession or getting into afight in the playground Did that
destroy your entire life andtake you out of the track to go
to college or the military?
No, we want to treat people theway the individual facts demand
(14:57):
, and that's a prosecutor's job.
It's not to throw the book atpeople in every case.
It's not to incarcerate peoplein every case.
It's to do justice.
There is a difference.
Charles Bender (15:05):
Yeah, I totally agree with you and you've shown
that to be the case in ourcommunity as well.
So thank you for that.
You know we have the wellyou're in it, you costar and are
invisible.
Our film, our efforts to combathuman trafficking in Florida,
and so forth, you know, one ofthe things we try to bring out
is the insidious tactics used bytraffickers, and you know what
plenty of those are.
(15:26):
How do you think the legalsystem and child welfare
agencies place hope others canwork together better to
strengthen prevention effortsand to provide?
more comprehensive supports forchildren at risk at risk of
trafficking.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg (15:39):
A lot of it is education.
I've been frustrated overrecent years all the
misinformation that exists abouthuman trafficking and, for
whatever reason, there's folksthat just they, they are so
obsessed with the duct tape andthe rope and kidnapping kids
over the southern border whenreally that's more Hollywood
than reality.
Human trafficking trials, asyou know, is more about
(16:02):
exploitation than transportation, the stuff that you know.
You see that if you're just ifyou're focused on smuggling kids
across the southern border andpreventing that, you're losing
sight of human traffickinghiding in plain sight right in
our midst.
You're missing the fact thatit's the 17 year old girl in
high school from a broken homewho comes to school one day with
(16:25):
new jewelry and older boyfriendwho has his name tattooed on
her eyelids.
That's the kind of reality ofmodern day slavery that exists.
We've seen that.
Or you go to the nail salon andthe person who is providing the
service is not allowed tohandle the money, is afraid to
look at you in the eye and isliving in the back room.
These are the realities ofhuman trafficking, and so that's
(16:49):
why it's important to get theword out, to show people,
because we depend on people onthe front lines who go to the
nail salons or go to the drycleaners and who were at the
schools or who are at the hotelsand the airlines and can see
what's going on.
That's not what you necessarilysee in the movies.
It's the reality that it's justhiding in plain sight amongst
(17:12):
us.
Charles Bender (17:12):
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 walksof life and bona fide HT cases
where they've just beenexploited period, you know,
summer under 18, summer over 18.
You know it affects it's not anage based scenario, right.
But one of the reasons westepped into the education realm
(17:37):
is because we really believethat, you know, you don't have
to sit down and watch, forinstance, our 30 something
minute invisible film.
Some people you know we're inthe 80D culture, right Like
people only have a couple ofminutes to do anything these
days.
But I think if we can just putsome of those concepts or those
ideas in front of people likeyou just described, as opposed
to thinking it's just, you knowone thing you know with, like
(17:58):
you see in the movies,understanding that this, all
this stuff happens right hereand it happens, it starts
somewhere.
It might start with the bullyand it might start with the bad
environment, could be in a badfoster placement and somebody's
watching to pull them in, tolure them in.
State Attorney Dave Aronber (18:12):
You know, parents have to be ever
vigilant and if you let yourguard down and you're focused on
the wrong thing, you're goingto miss the fact that your
child's on the internet everyday talking to some older man
who's going to lure them into alife of prostitution with the
promise of stardom and Hollywood.
I mean, that's what happens.
They start getting groomed overthe internet and they may be
(18:32):
using sites you've never heardof.
You're focused on Facebook.
Well, they're not usingFacebook.
They're using all these othersites, these apps.
They're even in their videogame consoles.
They start meeting people andthat's why it's important that
families know what humantrafficking is and what it isn't
.
It's about exploitation morethan transportation, although
then there's a transportationcomponent when the older person
(18:52):
sends your child a bus ticketand then they're gone.
And, by the way, the movieInvisible is so powerful and
although it's 30 minutes, andeven for our short attention
span culture, I still thinkthat's short enough to get the
point across.
It's powerful and also it'sdone very well.
I appreciate all the royaltychecks because I am in that
movie and I was able to buy I'mknown of not paying very well
(19:16):
For those listening and watching.
there are no royalty checks, andrightly so.
This is for a good cause and noone's making any money off it.
Charles Bender (19:25):
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 wantto learn more, especially if
they do have younger kids, thenthat's a perfect opportunity for
them to do so.
Child abuse prevention is a bigscenario that we have moved
into probably more in the lastcouple of years for Place of
(19:45):
Hope, based on the way thesystem places children and so
forth.
But I'm a big believer thatheck if we could keep kids out
of foster care by creatinghealthier families somehow, or
even if they do have to beremoved and they're placed with
relatives, which is a big pushin the last few years in Florida
and it's happening in hugenumbers.
What are some of your thoughtson how we can, maybe even prior
(20:10):
to that, address the root causesof child abuse and so forth and
family, so we can keep themjust from even landing in the
system at all?
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (20:18):
Well , sometimes you can help
families, as you say, strengthenthe families in advance, and
there are ways to do it.
Sometimes it's you pay a littlemore on the front end as
opposed to a greater amount onthe back end.
So, for example, you have afamily that's going through some
financial difficulties and ifyou help there's assistance to
(20:39):
pay their light bill.
Then perhaps the child doesn'thave to be removed from the home
because of financialdifficulties and now it's a much
bigger expense and it's a muchmore drastic move.
I mean, there's certain thingsyou can do on the front end to
help strengthen families thatyou know.
It's a little investment on thefront end that can go a long
way in the end.
Charles Bender (20:56):
What do you interface with or know much
about?
I don't know.
Like the drug court here inPalm Beach County that was
created, I think, about 10 yearsago.
Well, we work with drug court.
State Attorney Dave Aron (21:07):
That's part of our initiative is
diversion programs for peoplewho qualify.
We have veterans court.
If you're a veteran, we workwith the federal government to
help provide you with housingassistance.
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 goto court I mean, if the victims
(21:27):
are willing to allow it and theyalmost always do if it's a
nonviolent crime, you go tocourt and the prosecutor is a
veteran, the defense lawyer is aveteran and the judge is a
veteran and you get assigned amentor, someone who will walk
you through it to make sure youtake your meds, to make sure
that you can find housing, andthere's money available from the
federal government.
So that is a program that works.
(21:49):
Our court also works.
Instead of throwing you in jailbecause you've possessed drugs,
we're going to put you throughour very rigorous testing
program.
We have to come into court andget tested continuously and if
you fail there is punishment.
But you have people there whowant you to succeed and help you
succeed, and the recidivismrate for these treatment courts
(22:10):
is lower than it is if you'rethrown into a jail cell.
Charles Bender (22:13):
See, I mean, to me that's just something that
every community, everyjurisdiction should be doing.
So I'm getting ready to golearn a little bit more about
particularly the drug court andsome of the other early
intervention, because one of thethings we've done is, you know,
we've looked at, okay, how canwe be a part of diversion.
So we've actually just launchedsomething in this community.
We're dedicated building verysoon where we're housing.
(22:34):
It called Every Mother'sAdvocate.
So we've become.
They're going national, they'reout of Broward County, they've
chosen us to be their partner inPalm Beach and the whole idea
is just to take an at risk momand child and the court's
involved and, you know, todivert them from removal of the
children.
But what they're agreeing to doessentially is to come into
about a 15 week program withadvanced mentorship and all the
(22:58):
other different things that theyneed, but it's just more eyes
on, more lifting them up as acommunity at individuals.
You know different parts of thesystem are involved, but then
if it goes well and we hope itwill, and some of that's
material support as well, andthen basically the investigator,
along with the guardian and soforth, and the judge are going
to be able to say, okay, youknow what you've diverted.
Well, no, no, removal of kidsand, and, as you know, we've run
(23:21):
a lot of housing too.
So it's going to be a perfectmatchup where, from time to time
, we're going to identify earlyon that, okay, mom really needs
some affordable transitionalhousing as well.
Well, nobody's better set up todo it than us, because we're
building more of that right now.
So so I'm excited to learn moreabout the drug court.
The primary reason is, as we'veseen, all these kids divert to
relative and nonrelativecaregiving status as opposed to
(23:43):
licensed foster care.
What we've, what we're seeing Isort of knew it getting in, but
now we're really seeing it andI'm finding it.
It's the same for the diversionfamilies through the drug
courts is.
A lot of great people arestepping up to to help.
You know, it might be grandma,it might be the aunt, it might
be the sister that take in thesister's kids.
Well, a lot of them aren't setup financially for it.
(24:03):
So you, as you can imagine,overnight you have, you know,
say no, kids, or one kid, andnow you've got three more, and
so we're.
We're serving right now about130 families a month just in
this region with materialsupport.
We're doing community drives,we're getting the corporations
behind it, the churches, thetemples, all these groups are
stepping up to help and, and youknow, we just actually want to
(24:23):
do more.
So, and that's why I got anintroduction to the drug court
and I'm going to go there andsee it play out and we're going
to hopefully be a part of that.
State Attorney Dave Aron (24:30):
That's great, charles.
Well, you know we're alwayslooking for good prosecutors in
our office.
So if you want to get your lawdegree and come on and apply, we
could use you, because being aprosecutor is not just, you know
, convicting in every case, it'salso finding the right cases
for diversion, and I think youknow you have the right heart to
do it.
Charles Bender (24:47):
I might have the heart, but I don't have the
brains to go to a law school, sowe're going to skip that one.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg (24:51):
Oh yeah, you'd be surprised.
Charles Bender (24:54):
So I know we kind of touch on.
So there's a collaborationbetween law enforcement
community organizations.
The legal system, as you know,is essential to combating human
trafficking, but also childabuse as well.
In your experience, what aresome effective strategies or
partnerships that have yieldedpositive outcomes in prosecuting
traffickers and finding justicefor victims?
Just generally speaking.
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (25:13):
Well , for example, place of hope, in
providing housing and helpingthe victim, just yield a
confidence to trust people again, because a lot of them come
from places where lawenforcement and prosecutors are
not their friends and you justhave to.
You have to build that trust.
We have victim witnesscoordinators who help with that,
(25:35):
but you know all of our.
We have so many cases that allthese individuals are overworked
and when place of hope can stepin and provide a helping hand
and there is a better level oftrust.
I think when you have someonewho's not from the government,
who's there, who is there with afaith-based organization who
just wants to help, and I'veseen, I've been through your,
(25:57):
your housing and it is a happyplace.
These are not, this is notgovernment tenements, these are.
These are beautiful cottagesand you can do so much more
where you're from.
It plays a hope that agovernment worker could do, I
think, to building trust.
And then when you hand them offessentially to the prosecutors
and the victim witnesscoordinators, they're much
(26:18):
better witnesses and victims andwe're able to do justice.
Don't underestimate the powerplace of hope to do justice in
our community.
Charles Bender (26:27):
Well, thank you, and it is a team effort, as you
know.
One of the things that'sinteresting is, you know when
the genesis of when we got intoproviding post-18 housing, we
were looking at, okay, the youngkid that's in foster care who
unfortunately doesn't findpermanency through the court
system or where the family isunable to get back together.
They didn't find an adoptionthat worked or so forth, and
they're going to age out of thefoster care system.
(26:47):
So we've been on the forefrontof that now for 17, 18 years.
But one of the things westarted finding is that there
were single moms with dependentchildren who, whatever happened
to the guy in the situation,he's out of there and you've
seen the stats on you know, twoparent families as opposed to
one with poverty and so forth.
But we started seeing more andmore of these families coming to
(27:09):
us in desperate need.
So we kind of just startedlooking at it right away, as
it's no different than an agedout foster youth.
She may have been in care, shemay not have been in care, but
what we realized is that is achild abuse prevention program
as well, because if we can keepsomebody stable in a house and
maybe even help with a littlebit of parenting techniques and
so forth, but that also keepsthe spotlight of DCF off of the
(27:32):
families, because you knowthere's a lot of kids that end
up in foster care that reallyprobably shouldn't have.
It might have been a povertysituation.
It could have been, you know,it could have been neglected,
but that could have been easilyfixed 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 aresult of her working the
program, it's going to keep thespotlight of DCF off of them and
that's, I think that's good foreverybody.
State Attorney Dave Aronber (27:55):
Not many government agencies that
can do that.
You know DCF.
If you're going to depend onthem to solve all our problems,
you're going to be waiting along time.
It's not going to work.
So place hopes fills in thatgap.
I think one of the reasons whywe have a safe community is
because you help fill the gapsin when government can't do it,
and it just it's thispartnership that we have with
you that I think is just working, and I hope that other
(28:18):
communities will follow suit.
But other communities don'thave place of hope.
Other communities don't havethe partnerships we have.
Charles Bender (28:25):
I agree with that.
You think there's anythinggoing on or should be going on,
policy change-wise orlegislatively that would that we
just haven't gotten to yet.
Is there anything that'smissing in terms of, you know,
to strengthen the anti-humantrafficking efforts and so forth
, or even foster care, if youthink about it?
I mean, there's a bunch ofbills that float before the
legislature every year, butwhat's really missing right now?
(28:46):
What do we need to do to shoreit up?
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (28:48):
Well , I can speak more to human
trafficking than foster care,because human trafficking is a
crime and that is something thatI deal with every day.
Foster care there are advocateswho know more about.
Changes in the law are neededright now.
But I can tell you, when itcomes to human trafficking at
Florida, some of the best lawsin the country and this is
coming from a guy who was in thestate center for eight years,
who's not been shy aboutcriticizing the legislature for
(29:10):
their inaction when it comes tohuman trafficking we have, I
think, the best laws.
We are tough on humantraffickers.
They are really strong lawsthat are deterrent.
At the same time, it's alsopretty progressive in the way we
deal with the victims.
You know that victims of humantrafficking can get their low
level crimes expunged from theirrecord.
They can show that they'revictims of human trafficking.
(29:33):
The challenge is for them tospeak up, because they sometimes
they have lawyers who say, hey,don't say anything, just accept
the punishment and you'll beout tomorrow.
And then you know, then justmove on.
Whereas no no, no.
speak up and talk to us asprosecutors, and then we can
help you.
Now we can help you free youfrom your situation and then you
(29:55):
can have your prostitutioncharges or your low level drug
charges removed and start yourlife again.
So it's tough, though, to breakthrough that, because people
just don't know.
They don't know.
If you speak up, you can behelped, 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 federallevel for human trafficking
(30:15):
victims?
It's called a T visa.
The T visa is something thathas been used many times to
protect and keep the people ofhuman trafficking in this
country.
So you know, with all the talkabout how our immigration laws
are broken which they are andall the talk about how the laws
need to be changed, when itcomes to human trafficking, the
laws are really good we havecome a long way.
Charles Bender (30:38):
I agree, you know, I remember too.
I don't remember what year itwas.
It was probably getting closeto 10 years ago.
Isn't it terrible when you canstart to reference everything in
10 year increments, as we, youknow, get a little older here.
State Attorney Dave Aronber (30:49):
Man , I looked at you.
I don't know if you can see ifyou're well, macy, but Charles
has a gray beard here, you know.
So he's wearing that proudly,huh.
Charles Bender (30:57):
And I'm told a little preceding here too.
State Attorney Dave Aronber (30:59):
But no hair's looking good.
Charles Bender (31:00):
One of the things that you know happened, I
think around 2015, was that thesafe harbor law.
So I can recall days when youhave a young girl who was picked
up on a prostitution charge andthen, of course, bailed right
out the same day by her pimp, etcetera, and no, there were no
triggers to warn anybody.
It's almost like they weren'teven asking the age and so forth
.
And then they passed the lawsand it actually we saw it work.
(31:22):
We actually saw where now, allof a sudden, they're asking the
simple question of how old areyou, you know, or let me see
your ID, or whatever had to takeplace to now actually trigger
the child welfare system.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg (31:33):
It shows you how different the
laws are, how we have improvedthem, because back in the day
what you're referring to if youwere underage and you were found
to be committing the crime ofprostitution, you were arrested.
You were seen as a criminal.
Nowadays, you're seen as avictim and you're protected.
You're a human traffickingvictim, and so we're there to
(31:55):
help.
In the past, they would beincarcerated or charged a
juvenile and then released andonly to go back into that life.
Charles Bender (32:03):
Yeah absolutely so.
From your experiencelegislatively and your current
role and other things thatyou're involved in in criminal
justice and advocacy, whatadvice would you give other
individuals, other communities,because you know you said a
second ago, we have a lot ofresource in this community.
Maybe a couple communities awayfrom here they don't, but what
advice would you give you know,if they were wanting to actively
(32:25):
contribute to the prevention ofchild abuse and maybe make
their foster care systems betterand obviously deal with
combating human trafficking?
State Attorney Dave Aro (32:33):
Support place of hope.
Charles Bender (32:35):
We have to expand, right, I mean that's the
way to do it.
State Attorney Dave Aron (32:38):
People who want to give money, they
should do so to place of hopeand they want to volunteer, they
can do it.
A place of hope Now.
We in our office we lovevolunteers.
We do accept volunteers and wecan show you stuff right up
close.
That would shock yourconscience and it's important.
If you want to, if you havetime and you'd like to make a
difference in the community,volunteer.
But at the very least, if youcan't volunteer, if you can't
(33:02):
give money, what you can do isto educate yourself on the
realities of modern day slavery.
And the fact you're listeningto this podcast or watching it
means you already are, becausethere's so much ignorance out
there, misconceptions, and ithurts our cause when people are
paying attention to the wrongthings you know.
So it's just important to knowwhat it is, because you're
(33:23):
probably seeing it every day andnot noticing it.
Charles Bender (33:25):
Yeah, and, as you said, it's in the dark, it's
lurking, it's everywhere.
I don't care what county, ifyou're above the lake, next to
the lake, you know.
Up north from here, you know Iremember someone on my staff
went and did a presentation onnot even on human trafficking
and I'm going to tell you it wasonly four counties from here.
I'm not going to tell you whichdirection right, but if four
counties from here.
She got done giving apresentation on child abuse and
(33:48):
prevention and so forth andfoster care, and the mayor of
the town approached her afterand said hey, this is great
stuff, thanks for being heretoday.
But just so you know we don'thave abuse children in our
community.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg (34:00):
It reminds me when the the
president of Iran, ahmad Dinejad, he said that there were no gay
people in his country didn'thave it.
It's like these people have toget their head out of the stand.
You know that it's existing.
It's there.
In fact.
They say there's more slavestoday than at any time in the
history of the world.
Right, and it's because it'sjust it's.
(34:21):
It's not the what people knowit as, it's the exploitation
where sometimes you haveStockholm syndrome and the
victim is thinks that they're inlove with the perpetrator or
they're just scared because theythink they're going to be
deported if they if they speakup, or or harmed if they speak
up.
Do you know that most victimsof sex trafficking are actually
(34:42):
homegrown?
They're not from othercountries, Most of them are from
here.
Charles Bender (34:47):
The runaways are people just lured into a
lifestyle of of fame and gloryand riches and realities far
different and what's really saidto is a good percentage of even
you know, once you hone down tothat level, as you've described
, we've seen over the years as alot of it's familial.
So it's stepdad, it's uncle,it's grandma.
(35:09):
I mean, we've seen it all.
As you know, in your office yousee things that would make
people's hair fall out.
We have to at our level, andthat's, I think, part of why we
want to educate more on signs tolook for, because you might
think it's from here, there orthe other place, but it likely
isn't one as you've described.
And two, it could be much worsethan you could ever imagine for
(35:30):
some young person.
So keep an eye out, do theresearch, find out, very simply,
what it might look like, and ifyou want more information, you
can find out even more, right?
So absolutely.
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (35:40):
It's not just human trafficking,
it's child abuse and you workwith child abuse survivors all
the time and there's other typesof exploitation that go on that
don't.
It doesn't rise to the level ofhuman trafficking.
But if there's any exploitationagainst young people in our
community, place of hope isthere to help that victim.
Charles Bender (35:58):
Yeah, as are you guys, and we're appreciative of
that.
So, all right, all right,listen.
Looking ahead, you know what'sthe future aspirations, what do
they look like for you, whetherthat's shape and policy, or
raise an awareness, or whateverit is.
But what are your plans, DaveAronberg, that you're able to
share with us today?
On Ambassador's Hope?
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (36:16):
Well , I love my job.
I really do.
I'm grateful to the people ofPalm 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.
I decided, as you know, not torun for a fourth term but
because, after three terms, Iwant to try something new.
I just think it's good to havesome change in my role here in
(36:38):
this county and we have somefresh ideas coming in from a
couple of the candidates who arerunning, and I just want to try
something new because I wantnew challenges.
You know, when I started thisjob, I wanted to raise our
conviction rates.
We did from dead last, like thetop three in the state.
I want to lower our direct filerates, which were the rates at
(36:59):
which young people were beingfiled into adult court as
opposed to juvenile court.
We did lower that.
I wanted to clean up the drugtreatment and sober home
industries and we've done thatin a big way.
That's what we're known for.
I wanted to do something abouthuman trafficking.
We had no cases when I started,but then, because of a federal
grant obtained by SheriffBradshaw, we've now I mean we've
(37:21):
got well over 100 cases thatwe've had and we made a real
difference.
So we think about the goalsWe've largely accomplished them
and I just think that it's timeto 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 ableto talk in national media about
(37:43):
some of the big legal issues ofthe day.
So I don't have anything setyet, but stay tuned.
Charles Bender (37:48):
Well, just know that, as an ambassador of hope,
a place of hope, we're notletting you get too far away,
because you're a good friend, weappreciate you.
We need more people like youthat have conviction and want to
do the right thing by people,the community as a whole.
But also, you know place hopesin for taking care of, in a lot
of ways, the least of these, andI think that that's what you do
in your role.
Well, I'm sure you'll continueto in different ways, but you
(38:10):
know you're taking on the casesof 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 apersonal friend as well.
Dave, thanks for everythingyou're doing.
I know you're going to be asuccess and no matter what you
launch toward after your time isup in your current role, Thanks
, charles, you are awesome, yourgroup is amazing, and I hope
(38:31):
you'll have me back even afterI'm out of office.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg (38:34):
Oh yeah, for sure, thanks.
Charles Bender (38:36):
Dave.
Maya Elias (38:38):
In this radiant segment entitled Hope in Action,
we celebrate a momentousachievement that fills our
hearts with hope and gratitude.
Today, we proudly announce thatone of our residents has been
granted her work permit for theUnited States, marking a
profound milestone on herjourney.
This remarkable accomplishmentexemplifies the power of
determination and perseverance.
(38:59):
Her unwavering commitment toher dreams has bore fruit,
lighting the path for countlessothers who aspire to overcome
challenges and embrace newopportunities in this land of
promise.
As we witness her triumph, welet it serve as a reminder that
hope is not merely a sentiment,but a force that propels us
forward.
It reminds us that, withdedication, resilience and the
(39:23):
support of our community, we cantransform aspirations into
reality.
Let us extend our heartfeltcongratulations to her for
making this significantachievement.
May her story inspire us all toreach for our dreams with
unwavering faith, knowing thathope and action can bring about
profound change in our lives andthe lives of those around us.
Charles Bender (39:50):
Thank you for listening.
Please be sure to subscribe andshare with your friends.
If you don't even miss a thingand if you really gained value
today, please be sure to give usa five-star review so, of
course, we can be put in frontof more listeners.
For details and show notesabout today's podcast and how
you can connect with and supportour guests, please go to
placeofhopecom's forward slashpodcast and please don't forget
(40:12):
to email us atpohpodcastatplaceofhopecom.
And, for sure, follow us onsocial media.
And.
Askers of hope Placing Hope inthe Child's Day.
Hello and thank you for tuning in to Ambassadors
of Hope.
I'm your host, charles Bender.
We're so excited that you'vetuned in to hear from local
South Florida leaders who aremaking a difference in our
community and region through ourcharity Place of Hope.
Maya Elias (00:22):
Hello, I'm your producer, Maya Elias.
In today's episode ofAmbassadors of Hope, our host,
Charles Bender, welcomes stateattorney Dave Aronberg onto the
show.
Listen in to hear how theyengage in a thoughtful and warm
conversation, highlighting theimportance of community
collaboration.
Dave, the state attorney forthe 15th Judicial Circuit,
(00:44):
expresses his commitment tomaintaining a safe and just
environment in Palm Beach County, emphasizing the vital role of
organizations like Place of Hopeand supporting survivors.
They discuss the challenges ofconfronting human trafficking
and tackling the opioid epidemic, showcasing the community's
united efforts to ensure justiceand recovery for those in need.
(01:04):
Their conversation exemplifiesthe power of community
partnerships in achieving abetter and safer future.
As we continue listening to thefull interview, it's important
to note that January marks HumanTrafficking Awareness Month, a
month designated to raiseawareness about human
trafficking and educate thepublic on how they can
contribute to its prevention andresponse.
Charles Bender (01:32):
We want to give a special thanks and shout out
to our presenting sponsor,crypto Capital Venture.
Crypto Capital Venture acts asboth a startup recruiting firm
as well as one of the largestcrypto communities in the
cryptocurrency space, offeringtrailblazing content for over
five years.
If you're interested in crypto,you can join over 300,000
subscribers on their YouTubechannel for the latest on crypto
(01:54):
, just go to YouTube and searchCrypto Capital Venture and make
sure to subscribe.
Thanks so much, Dan and ourfriends at Crypto Capital
Venture.
Maya Elias (02:07):
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 kidssanctuary campus.
Throughout this month, wegratefully welcomed three new
young residents into our familyand marking on a journey of
building meaningful connectionswith each of them, Further
enriching our shared experiences.
(02:27):
Our two youngest boys achieveda significant milestone by
successfully completing theirswim class.
This achievement not onlyhighlights their personal growth
, but also underscores the senseof unity and accomplishment
that thrives within our family,Adding to the tapestry of joy
and togetherness.
One of our cottages has aweekly journey tradition, which
(02:47):
is a family game night, creatingmoments of laughter and bonding
that fuel our optimism for thefuture.
With gratitude in our hearts,we look forward to nurturing
these seeds of hope, watchingthem grow into strong and
resilient individuals andfostering a loving and hopeful
environment here at Place ofHope.
Thank you so much for tuninginto this segment of Seed of
(03:07):
Hope and continue listening onfor our guests.
Charles Bender (03:16):
Dave Aronberg.
Thank you for joining the show.
Ambassadors of Hope, you knowyou've been a good friend of
mine for 20 years and you'vebeen a good friend of Place Hope
for 20 years, and I just wantto welcome you to the show and
thank you for being here.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg (03:28):
It is great to be back with you,
Charles.
I'm a proud ambassador of Hope.
Charles Bender (03:32):
You are the state attorney for the 15th
Judicial Circuit and also knownas our top cop right.
Yes, sir, Love the job.
Well, we appreciate all thatyou do to keep this community
the way that it is, which isparadise.
It's awesome.
We love it and you, you know,there's probably a big unsung
component about your job.
(03:53):
I don't think people realizewhat it takes to keep it and
help keep it the way that youhave over the years.
State Attorney Dave (04:01):
Unfortunate Charles, to have an amazing
team.
You know I have 110 prosecutorsin my office currently and we
have about 220 professionalstaff.
We've got 40 volunteers andthey're all dedicated to public
service, standing up for victimsof crime, making sure our
streets are safe and making surethat justice is done fairly.
(04:21):
You know, if someone iswrongfully accused, we want to
be there on the front lines tomake sure that no one has to be
incarcerated for something theydidn't do.
At the same time, you know, ifwe don't stand up for victims in
the criminal justice system, noone will.
And one other plug you know wecouldn't do what we do without
law enforcement.
We're Bradshaw and the policechiefs.
We work every day with lawenforcement and we believe we
(04:43):
have the strongest, mostsophisticated law enforcement
agencies in the entire country,right here in Palm Beach County,
I agree with you, yeah, andgreat team that, that you all do
work well together, to whateverdegree that's supposed to
happen.
Charles Bender (04:57):
I think that you know we're a model for the
nation.
There's no doubt about it, Iagree.
So you know, as someone who'salso been supporting,
specifically, place of hope formany years now, what do you,
what do you think is the thingthat solidified?
Solidified your commitment tohelp, just generally speaking,
help in our cause, becauseyou've been a part of it for a
lot of years.
State Attorney Dave Aronber (05:16):
You guys do so much in our
community, so much good, andsome of it is just being state
attorney.
We work with you and depend onplace of hope.
When it comes to humantrafficking, for example, we
have all these at riskindividuals out there, mostly
women.
And when it comes to humantrafficking, and where do they
go?
They're so, they've beenexploited.
(05:39):
They have, in some cases, comefrom other countries where law
enforcement is not their friendand so they need a helping hand.
And where would they go?
They go to a non-governmentorganization like place of hope,
which is just a salvation forthem, and then, as state
attorney, if they're not in asafe place, if they're out there
(06:00):
wondering where they're goingto get their next meal from, or
if the perpetrator is going tocome back and get them, then
they're not going to be able totestify in the case.
How do we do our job if thevictim or the key witnesses are
unavailable testify or unwillingto do so?
So place of hope does so much.
Not only does it help healindividuals who have been broken
(06:25):
, not only is it provide themwith sustenance and shelter and
security, but it also helps toensure justice, because it helps
us prosecute these cases, andwithout you I don't know where
we'd be.
Charles Bender (06:38):
Well, I certainly appreciate that and
we've been grateful to be ableto expand the vision and the
mission over the years too.
And you know, part of why we dothis show is to say to the
community look at the kinds ofpeople that are out there that
are behind the overall mission.
Like you've got your role outthere as the attorney for the
area, but also you know you're afan of what we do and how we do
(06:58):
what we do, and then there's somany examples of how we do that
together.
Obviously, I can't never beenable to work with you or any of
your people directly on a caseor anything like that, but you
know, for us, when we know ourkids have to sometimes go and
testify against the parent andso forth, it's nice for us, my
clinical team and our programfolks to know that you know you
guys are out there watching theoverall and you're keeping your
(07:19):
eye on how this system works andthat gives us a good feeling
that we're providing this greatplace for them to be in a stable
and loving environment.
But then when they go into thatvery difficult time of their
life, they're gonna be guidedthrough the right kind of system
because you do you recognizethem as victims?
And that's what they are.
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (07:34):
Yeah , people get nervous when they
go to jury duty.
Can you imagine someone who'sbeen a victim of a crime and
they've got to go to thecourthouse and testify against
someone who has committedUnspeakable horrors to them?
They have to look them in theeye because they defend as a
six-member right to confronttheir witnesses against them,
their accusers, and so you gotto look them in the eye, you got
(07:56):
to testify Under oath in a verycold, intimidating environment.
So place of hope is Crucial toour efforts to do justice.
So I'm a proud ambassador ofhope because there's so much
good that individuals in ourcommunity can do they may not
realize that, you know they cantruly do justice in their own
way.
Because we are limited as lawenforcement prosecutors.
(08:20):
We can't be everywhere, so wedepend on people in the
community to say something ifthey see something, to report
human trafficking and otherabuses, or else it continues to
go on.
It hides in plain sight.
Charles Bender (08:32):
Yeah, you know for us what that's always given
me comfort over the years withyou in this role and some of the
other you know, like thesheriff and so forth that you
mentioned, you know what peoplewill ask me.
They'll hear this high-profilecase, you know, and they'll know
possibly that you knowso-and-so is in our care Young
girl, young boy and they'll know, based on what the post is
reported or whatever, what'shappened in their lives, right?
(08:54):
And they'll say to me well,gosh, is that, is that uncle
being prosecuted or is thatTrafficker being prosecuted?
And of course, you know, on theside of the system that we're
in, we don't always know, butI've always had comfort knowing
that if you guys know that therewas a crime perpetrated, you're
after it.
State Attorney Dave (09:10):
Absolutely .
You know we work with lawenforcement to keep our
community safe as it canpossibly be, and so we are tough
on crime.
You know we have one of thehighest conviction rates in the
state of Florida our circuit andwhen I took over 11 years ago
we were rock bottom, we were20th out of 20 and this has been
a team effort.
But we also, you know, takegreat time to view every matter
(09:33):
on a case-by-case basis.
So you know that's why we willlook at all the facts and all
unique circumstances of everycase.
So we treat you know, forexample, out of your area, but
we treat you know someone withand well, actually, it is your
place.
Help does so much for so manypeople.
If someone has an addiction, ifsomeone has a substance use
disorder, we want to get thatperson help.
When we want to get that persontreatment, rehabilitation
(09:55):
rather than incarceration, right.
If it's a drug dealer, abusinessman who exploits other
people at the lowest stages oftheir lives, takes advantage of
their Misery, of their addiction, we want to throw the book at
them.
So we will evaluate each caseon a Individualized basis.
But that's what justice entails.
Charles Bender (10:13):
I remember some years back, and I don't remember
the exact case, but I rememberwhen those two things collided
and you were you know, obviouslyyou've been the in the
forefront of the entire opioidepidemic and coming after these,
these I don't even know whatyou call them some of these
places that were set up aroundour area, that you shut down a
ton of these places and youcould speak to that.
I'd love to have you speak tothat.
But also I remember there wasone where the trafficking was
(10:36):
actually part of it and youbusted them and made it made,
you know, it became nationalnews, which was great for the
efforts of anti-humantrafficking Efforts and so forth
.
So you know what I'm talkingabout with that.
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (10:48):
Well , talking about sober homes.
We established the first eversober homes task force and that
is In a task force thatcontinues to exist to this day.
We work with law enforcement toinvestigate and prosecute those
rogue sober homes and corrupteddrug treatment centers that
take advantage of people whohave substance use disorder.
Because under federal law youare entitled to Drug treatment
(11:12):
benefits and your insuranceunder the Affordable Care Act,
but there's no yearly limit orlifetime limit and the
reimbursement is on anold-school fee for service basis
, which rewards the worstproviders.
So if you over Utilize, if youencourage Relapse, you get paid
more than the good provider whoencourages sobriety.
(11:33):
So the money is in failure, notsuccess, and so we help change
our laws in the state.
We got tough on patientbrokering, which is when you pay
for a patient it's and provideincentives to get someone in
your care, and we got tough onthe marketing abuses and we have
closed down or arrested most ofthese bad actors.
(11:55):
We have cleaned up the industryin Palm Beach County.
We now have, I think, the bestdrug treatment industry again in
the country, but the problemhas fled to other communities
that are less aware of this, andso this Affects all of us,
because it's not just the drugtreatment issues.
This is also part of the humantrafficking Problem, because you
have some of these group homes,these sober homes that are
(12:18):
corrupted, that are havens forhuman trafficking.
Exactly that's why place ofhope is involved yet again, just
like everything we do in ouroffice.
There's a sort of arelationship with place of hope.
Charles Bender (12:27):
Yeah well, thank you for taking lead on that.
That one day, when you decideto move on and whatever you're
doing next, when that day comes,I hope somebody, the right
person, fills your shoes andthat maybe not at the level that
you, you stand in them, but youknow, one day we get the right
person, because you know this isparadise to live in, right?
But we don't not.
Everybody thinks about allthese other things you're
describing right now, and we gotto be ready to battle them.
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (12:49):
Well , thank you, man.
You know, I know this is not apolitical podcast and I won't
Make a pitch for any individual,but I'll say this we have two
people in my office who arerunning, two of my top
Assistants who are running formy seat.
I think either of them would doa great job.
Charles Bender (13:04):
Well, because they've come up underneath you
for all these years and you setthe standard for you know what
this community wants andapparently likes to have, so
Appreciate that.
So you know you spent time inthe Florida Senate Legislature.
You know in your role now forhow many years 11 years a state
attorney.
Eight years as a state senator,state senator yeah, and so
you've watched over the yearsJuvenile justice system evolve.
(13:28):
How do you feel like things aregoing overall now?
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (13:32):
Well , wansley waters took over DJ J
years ago and she brought theMiami model to Tallahassee and I
thought that was Importantbecause she expanded the use of
civil citations.
So if you're a juvenile and youcommit a low level crime in the
past, you would be sent to thejuvenile assessment center and
(13:55):
you would have an arrest record.
But if you're given a civilcitation it's different.
You can avoid being part of thecriminal justice system.
It's still a citation.
You would have to go through aprogram or do something to make
it right, but it's not part ofyour record.
It won't hurt your chance ofgoing to college or the military
(14:16):
.
It's something that has reallyhelped rehabilitate young people
or at least to set them in adifferent path and that has been
expanded greatly in recentyears.
And we have a very successfulprogram here juvenile first
offender program.
There's been calls to expand itto adults.
We don't have that adult civilcitation program in Palm Beach
(14:37):
County yet.
But for low level crimes you'retalking about marijuana
possession or getting into afight in the playground Did that
destroy your entire life andtake you out of the track to go
to college or the military?
No, we want to treat people theway the individual facts demand
(14:57):
, and that's a prosecutor's job.
It's not to throw the book atpeople in every case.
It's not to incarcerate peoplein every case.
It's to do justice.
There is a difference.
Charles Bender (15:05):
Yeah, I totally agree with you and you've shown
that to be the case in ourcommunity as well.
So thank you for that.
You know we have the wellyou're in it, you costar and are
invisible.
Our film, our efforts to combathuman trafficking in Florida,
and so forth, you know, one ofthe things we try to bring out
is the insidious tactics used bytraffickers, and you know what
plenty of those are.
(15:26):
How do you think the legalsystem and child welfare
agencies place hope others canwork together better to
strengthen prevention effortsand to provide?
more comprehensive supports forchildren at risk at risk of
trafficking.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg (15:39):
A lot of it is education.
I've been frustrated overrecent years all the
misinformation that exists abouthuman trafficking and, for
whatever reason, there's folksthat just they, they are so
obsessed with the duct tape andthe rope and kidnapping kids
over the southern border whenreally that's more Hollywood
than reality.
Human trafficking trials, asyou know, is more about
(16:02):
exploitation than transportation, the stuff that you know.
You see that if you're just ifyou're focused on smuggling kids
across the southern border andpreventing that, you're losing
sight of human traffickinghiding in plain sight right in
our midst.
You're missing the fact thatit's the 17 year old girl in
high school from a broken homewho comes to school one day with
(16:25):
new jewelry and older boyfriendwho has his name tattooed on
her eyelids.
That's the kind of reality ofmodern day slavery that exists.
We've seen that.
Or you go to the nail salon andthe person who is providing the
service is not allowed tohandle the money, is afraid to
look at you in the eye and isliving in the back room.
These are the realities ofhuman trafficking, and so that's
(16:49):
why it's important to get theword out, to show people,
because we depend on people onthe front lines who go to the
nail salons or go to the drycleaners and who were at the
schools or who are at the hotelsand the airlines and can see
what's going on.
That's not what you necessarilysee in the movies.
It's the reality that it's justhiding in plain sight amongst
(17:12):
us.
Charles Bender (17:12):
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 walksof life and bona fide HT cases
where they've just beenexploited period, you know,
summer under 18, summer over 18.
You know it affects it's not anage based scenario, right.
But one of the reasons westepped into the education realm
(17:37):
is because we really believethat, you know, you don't have
to sit down and watch, forinstance, our 30 something
minute invisible film.
Some people you know we're inthe 80D culture, right Like
people only have a couple ofminutes to do anything these
days.
But I think if we can just putsome of those concepts or those
ideas in front of people likeyou just described, as opposed
to thinking it's just, you knowone thing you know with, like
(17:58):
you see in the movies,understanding that this, all
this stuff happens right hereand it happens, it starts
somewhere.
It might start with the bullyand it might start with the bad
environment, could be in a badfoster placement and somebody's
watching to pull them in, tolure them in.
State Attorney Dave Aronber (18:12):
You know, parents have to be ever
vigilant and if you let yourguard down and you're focused on
the wrong thing, you're goingto miss the fact that your
child's on the internet everyday talking to some older man
who's going to lure them into alife of prostitution with the
promise of stardom and Hollywood.
I mean, that's what happens.
They start getting groomed overthe internet and they may be
(18:32):
using sites you've never heardof.
You're focused on Facebook.
Well, they're not usingFacebook.
They're using all these othersites, these apps.
They're even in their videogame consoles.
They start meeting people andthat's why it's important that
families know what humantrafficking is and what it isn't
.
It's about exploitation morethan transportation, although
then there's a transportationcomponent when the older person
(18:52):
sends your child a bus ticketand then they're gone.
And, by the way, the movieInvisible is so powerful and
although it's 30 minutes, andeven for our short attention
span culture, I still thinkthat's short enough to get the
point across.
It's powerful and also it'sdone very well.
I appreciate all the royaltychecks because I am in that
movie and I was able to buy I'mknown of not paying very well
(19:16):
For those listening and watching.
there are no royalty checks, andrightly so.
This is for a good cause and noone's making any money off it.
Charles Bender (19:25):
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 wantto learn more, especially if
they do have younger kids, thenthat's a perfect opportunity for
them to do so.
Child abuse prevention is a bigscenario that we have moved
into probably more in the lastcouple of years for Place of
(19:45):
Hope, based on the way thesystem places children and so
forth.
But I'm a big believer thatheck if we could keep kids out
of foster care by creatinghealthier families somehow, or
even if they do have to beremoved and they're placed with
relatives, which is a big pushin the last few years in Florida
and it's happening in hugenumbers.
What are some of your thoughtson how we can, maybe even prior
(20:10):
to that, address the root causesof child abuse and so forth and
family, so we can keep themjust from even landing in the
system at all?
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (20:18):
Well , sometimes you can help
families, as you say, strengthenthe families in advance, and
there are ways to do it.
Sometimes it's you pay a littlemore on the front end as
opposed to a greater amount onthe back end.
So, for example, you have afamily that's going through some
financial difficulties and ifyou help there's assistance to
(20:39):
pay their light bill.
Then perhaps the child doesn'thave to be removed from the home
because of financialdifficulties and now it's a much
bigger expense and it's a muchmore drastic move.
I mean, there's certain thingsyou can do on the front end to
help strengthen families thatyou know.
It's a little investment on thefront end that can go a long
way in the end.
Charles Bender (20:56):
What do you interface with or know much
about?
I don't know.
Like the drug court here inPalm Beach County that was
created, I think, about 10 yearsago.
Well, we work with drug court.
State Attorney Dave Aron (21:07):
That's part of our initiative is
diversion programs for peoplewho qualify.
We have veterans court.
If you're a veteran, we workwith the federal government to
help provide you with housingassistance.
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 goto court I mean, if the victims
(21:27):
are willing to allow it and theyalmost always do if it's a
nonviolent crime, you go tocourt and the prosecutor is a
veteran, the defense lawyer is aveteran and the judge is a
veteran and you get assigned amentor, someone who will walk
you through it to make sure youtake your meds, to make sure
that you can find housing, andthere's money available from the
federal government.
So that is a program that works.
(21:49):
Our court also works.
Instead of throwing you in jailbecause you've possessed drugs,
we're going to put you throughour very rigorous testing
program.
We have to come into court andget tested continuously and if
you fail there is punishment.
But you have people there whowant you to succeed and help you
succeed, and the recidivismrate for these treatment courts
(22:10):
is lower than it is if you'rethrown into a jail cell.
Charles Bender (22:13):
See, I mean, to me that's just something that
every community, everyjurisdiction should be doing.
So I'm getting ready to golearn a little bit more about
particularly the drug court andsome of the other early
intervention, because one of thethings we've done is, you know,
we've looked at, okay, how canwe be a part of diversion.
So we've actually just launchedsomething in this community.
We're dedicated building verysoon where we're housing.
(22:34):
It called Every Mother'sAdvocate.
So we've become.
They're going national, they'reout of Broward County, they've
chosen us to be their partner inPalm Beach and the whole idea
is just to take an at risk momand child and the court's
involved and, you know, todivert them from removal of the
children.
But what they're agreeing to doessentially is to come into
about a 15 week program withadvanced mentorship and all the
(22:58):
other different things that theyneed, but it's just more eyes
on, more lifting them up as acommunity at individuals.
You know different parts of thesystem are involved, but then
if it goes well and we hope itwill, and some of that's
material support as well, andthen basically the investigator,
along with the guardian and soforth, and the judge are going
to be able to say, okay, youknow what you've diverted.
Well, no, no, removal of kidsand, and, as you know, we've run
(23:21):
a lot of housing too.
So it's going to be a perfectmatchup where, from time to time
, we're going to identify earlyon that, okay, mom really needs
some affordable transitionalhousing as well.
Well, nobody's better set up todo it than us, because we're
building more of that right now.
So so I'm excited to learn moreabout the drug court.
The primary reason is, as we'veseen, all these kids divert to
relative and nonrelativecaregiving status as opposed to
(23:43):
licensed foster care.
What we've, what we're seeing Isort of knew it getting in, but
now we're really seeing it andI'm finding it.
It's the same for the diversionfamilies through the drug
courts is.
A lot of great people arestepping up to to help.
You know, it might be grandma,it might be the aunt, it might
be the sister that take in thesister's kids.
Well, a lot of them aren't setup financially for it.
(24:03):
So you, as you can imagine,overnight you have, you know,
say no, kids, or one kid, andnow you've got three more, and
so we're.
We're serving right now about130 families a month just in
this region with materialsupport.
We're doing community drives,we're getting the corporations
behind it, the churches, thetemples, all these groups are
stepping up to help and, and youknow, we just actually want to
(24:23):
do more.
So, and that's why I got anintroduction to the drug court
and I'm going to go there andsee it play out and we're going
to hopefully be a part of that.
State Attorney Dave Aron (24:30):
That's great, charles.
Well, you know we're alwayslooking for good prosecutors in
our office.
So if you want to get your lawdegree and come on and apply, we
could use you, because being aprosecutor is not just, you know
, convicting in every case, it'salso finding the right cases
for diversion, and I think youknow you have the right heart to
do it.
Charles Bender (24:47):
I might have the heart, but I don't have the
brains to go to a law school, sowe're going to skip that one.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg (24:51):
Oh yeah, you'd be surprised.
Charles Bender (24:54):
So I know we kind of touch on.
So there's a collaborationbetween law enforcement
community organizations.
The legal system, as you know,is essential to combating human
trafficking, but also childabuse as well.
In your experience, what aresome effective strategies or
partnerships that have yieldedpositive outcomes in prosecuting
traffickers and finding justicefor victims?
Just generally speaking.
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (25:13):
Well , for example, place of hope, in
providing housing and helpingthe victim, just yield a
confidence to trust people again, because a lot of them come
from places where lawenforcement and prosecutors are
not their friends and you justhave to.
You have to build that trust.
We have victim witnesscoordinators who help with that,
(25:35):
but you know all of our.
We have so many cases that allthese individuals are overworked
and when place of hope can stepin and provide a helping hand
and there is a better level oftrust.
I think when you have someonewho's not from the government,
who's there, who is there with afaith-based organization who
just wants to help, and I'veseen, I've been through your,
(25:57):
your housing and it is a happyplace.
These are not, this is notgovernment tenements, these are.
These are beautiful cottagesand you can do so much more
where you're from.
It plays a hope that agovernment worker could do, I
think, to building trust.
And then when you hand them offessentially to the prosecutors
and the victim witnesscoordinators, they're much
(26:18):
better witnesses and victims andwe're able to do justice.
Don't underestimate the powerplace of hope to do justice in
our community.
Charles Bender (26:27):
Well, thank you, and it is a team effort, as you
know.
One of the things that'sinteresting is, you know when
the genesis of when we got intoproviding post-18 housing, we
were looking at, okay, the youngkid that's in foster care who
unfortunately doesn't findpermanency through the court
system or where the family isunable to get back together.
They didn't find an adoptionthat worked or so forth, and
they're going to age out of thefoster care system.
(26:47):
So we've been on the forefrontof that now for 17, 18 years.
But one of the things westarted finding is that there
were single moms with dependentchildren who, whatever happened
to the guy in the situation,he's out of there and you've
seen the stats on you know, twoparent families as opposed to
one with poverty and so forth.
But we started seeing more andmore of these families coming to
(27:09):
us in desperate need.
So we kind of just startedlooking at it right away, as
it's no different than an agedout foster youth.
She may have been in care, shemay not have been in care, but
what we realized is that is achild abuse prevention program
as well, because if we can keepsomebody stable in a house and
maybe even help with a littlebit of parenting techniques and
so forth, but that also keepsthe spotlight of DCF off of the
(27:32):
families, because you knowthere's a lot of kids that end
up in foster care that reallyprobably shouldn't have.
It might have been a povertysituation.
It could have been, you know,it could have been neglected,
but that could have been easilyfixed 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 aresult of her working the
program, it's going to keep thespotlight of DCF off of them and
that's, I think that's good foreverybody.
State Attorney Dave Aronber (27:55):
Not many government agencies that
can do that.
You know DCF.
If you're going to depend onthem to solve all our problems,
you're going to be waiting along time.
It's not going to work.
So place hopes fills in thatgap.
I think one of the reasons whywe have a safe community is
because you help fill the gapsin when government can't do it,
and it just it's thispartnership that we have with
you that I think is just working, and I hope that other
(28:18):
communities will follow suit.
But other communities don'thave place of hope.
Other communities don't havethe partnerships we have.
Charles Bender (28:25):
I agree with that.
You think there's anythinggoing on or should be going on,
policy change-wise orlegislatively that would that we
just haven't gotten to yet.
Is there anything that'smissing in terms of, you know,
to strengthen the anti-humantrafficking efforts and so forth
, or even foster care, if youthink about it?
I mean, there's a bunch ofbills that float before the
legislature every year, butwhat's really missing right now?
(28:46):
What do we need to do to shoreit up?
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (28:48):
Well , I can speak more to human
trafficking than foster care,because human trafficking is a
crime and that is something thatI deal with every day.
Foster care there are advocateswho know more about.
Changes in the law are neededright now.
But I can tell you, when itcomes to human trafficking at
Florida, some of the best lawsin the country and this is
coming from a guy who was in thestate center for eight years,
who's not been shy aboutcriticizing the legislature for
(29:10):
their inaction when it comes tohuman trafficking we have, I
think, the best laws.
We are tough on humantraffickers.
They are really strong lawsthat are deterrent.
At the same time, it's alsopretty progressive in the way we
deal with the victims.
You know that victims of humantrafficking can get their low
level crimes expunged from theirrecord.
They can show that they'revictims of human trafficking.
(29:33):
The challenge is for them tospeak up, because they sometimes
they have lawyers who say, hey,don't say anything, just accept
the punishment and you'll beout tomorrow.
And then you know, then justmove on.
Whereas no no, no.
speak up and talk to us asprosecutors, and then we can
help you.
Now we can help you free youfrom your situation and then you
(29:55):
can have your prostitutioncharges or your low level drug
charges removed and start yourlife again.
So it's tough, though, to breakthrough that, because people
just don't know.
They don't know.
If you speak up, you can behelped, 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 federallevel for human trafficking
(30:15):
victims?
It's called a T visa.
The T visa is something thathas been used many times to
protect and keep the people ofhuman trafficking in this
country.
So you know, with all the talkabout how our immigration laws
are broken which they are andall the talk about how the laws
need to be changed, when itcomes to human trafficking, the
laws are really good we havecome a long way.
Charles Bender (30:38):
I agree, you know, I remember too.
I don't remember what year itwas.
It was probably getting closeto 10 years ago.
Isn't it terrible when you canstart to reference everything in
10 year increments, as we, youknow, get a little older here.
State Attorney Dave Aronber (30:49):
Man , I looked at you.
I don't know if you can see ifyou're well, macy, but Charles
has a gray beard here, you know.
So he's wearing that proudly,huh.
Charles Bender (30:57):
And I'm told a little preceding here too.
State Attorney Dave Aronber (30:59):
But no hair's looking good.
Charles Bender (31:00):
One of the things that you know happened, I
think around 2015, was that thesafe harbor law.
So I can recall days when youhave a young girl who was picked
up on a prostitution charge andthen, of course, bailed right
out the same day by her pimp, etcetera, and no, there were no
triggers to warn anybody.
It's almost like they weren'teven asking the age and so forth
.
And then they passed the lawsand it actually we saw it work.
(31:22):
We actually saw where now, allof a sudden, they're asking the
simple question of how old areyou, you know, or let me see
your ID, or whatever had to takeplace to now actually trigger
the child welfare system.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg (31:33):
It shows you how different the
laws are, how we have improvedthem, because back in the day
what you're referring to if youwere underage and you were found
to be committing the crime ofprostitution, you were arrested.
You were seen as a criminal.
Nowadays, you're seen as avictim and you're protected.
You're a human traffickingvictim, and so we're there to
(31:55):
help.
In the past, they would beincarcerated or charged a
juvenile and then released andonly to go back into that life.
Charles Bender (32:03):
Yeah absolutely so.
From your experiencelegislatively and your current
role and other things thatyou're involved in in criminal
justice and advocacy, whatadvice would you give other
individuals, other communities,because you know you said a
second ago, we have a lot ofresource in this community.
Maybe a couple communities awayfrom here they don't, but what
advice would you give you know,if they were wanting to actively
(32:25):
contribute to the prevention ofchild abuse and maybe make
their foster care systems betterand obviously deal with
combating human trafficking?
State Attorney Dave Aro (32:33):
Support place of hope.
Charles Bender (32:35):
We have to expand, right, I mean that's the
way to do it.
State Attorney Dave Aron (32:38):
People who want to give money, they
should do so to place of hopeand they want to volunteer, they
can do it.
A place of hope Now.
We in our office we lovevolunteers.
We do accept volunteers and wecan show you stuff right up
close.
That would shock yourconscience and it's important.
If you want to, if you havetime and you'd like to make a
difference in the community,volunteer.
But at the very least, if youcan't volunteer, if you can't
(33:02):
give money, what you can do isto educate yourself on the
realities of modern day slavery.
And the fact you're listeningto this podcast or watching it
means you already are, becausethere's so much ignorance out
there, misconceptions, and ithurts our cause when people are
paying attention to the wrongthings you know.
So it's just important to knowwhat it is, because you're
(33:23):
probably seeing it every day andnot noticing it.
Charles Bender (33:25):
Yeah, and, as you said, it's in the dark, it's
lurking, it's everywhere.
I don't care what county, ifyou're above the lake, next to
the lake, you know.
Up north from here, you know Iremember someone on my staff
went and did a presentation onnot even on human trafficking
and I'm going to tell you it wasonly four counties from here.
I'm not going to tell you whichdirection right, but if four
counties from here.
She got done giving apresentation on child abuse and
(33:48):
prevention and so forth andfoster care, and the mayor of
the town approached her afterand said hey, this is great
stuff, thanks for being heretoday.
But just so you know we don'thave abuse children in our
community.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg (34:00):
It reminds me when the the
president of Iran, ahmad Dinejad, he said that there were no gay
people in his country didn'thave it.
It's like these people have toget their head out of the stand.
You know that it's existing.
It's there.
In fact.
They say there's more slavestoday than at any time in the
history of the world.
Right, and it's because it'sjust it's.
(34:21):
It's not the what people knowit as, it's the exploitation
where sometimes you haveStockholm syndrome and the
victim is thinks that they're inlove with the perpetrator or
they're just scared because theythink they're going to be
deported if they if they speakup, or or harmed if they speak
up.
Do you know that most victimsof sex trafficking are actually
(34:42):
homegrown?
They're not from othercountries, Most of them are from
here.
Charles Bender (34:47):
The runaways are people just lured into a
lifestyle of of fame and gloryand riches and realities far
different and what's really saidto is a good percentage of even
you know, once you hone down tothat level, as you've described
, we've seen over the years as alot of it's familial.
So it's stepdad, it's uncle,it's grandma.
(35:09):
I mean, we've seen it all.
As you know, in your office yousee things that would make
people's hair fall out.
We have to at our level, andthat's, I think, part of why we
want to educate more on signs tolook for, because you might
think it's from here, there orthe other place, but it likely
isn't one as you've described.
And two, it could be much worsethan you could ever imagine for
(35:30):
some young person.
So keep an eye out, do theresearch, find out, very simply,
what it might look like, and ifyou want more information, you
can find out even more, right?
So absolutely.
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (35:40):
It's not just human trafficking,
it's child abuse and you workwith child abuse survivors all
the time and there's other typesof exploitation that go on that
don't.
It doesn't rise to the level ofhuman trafficking.
But if there's any exploitationagainst young people in our
community, place of hope isthere to help that victim.
Charles Bender (35:58):
Yeah, as are you guys, and we're appreciative of
that.
So, all right, all right,listen.
Looking ahead, you know what'sthe future aspirations, what do
they look like for you, whetherthat's shape and policy, or
raise an awareness, or whateverit is.
But what are your plans, DaveAronberg, that you're able to
share with us today?
On Ambassador's Hope?
State Attorney Dave Aronbe (36:16):
Well , I love my job.
I really do.
I'm grateful to the people ofPalm 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.
I decided, as you know, not torun for a fourth term but
because, after three terms, Iwant to try something new.
I just think it's good to havesome change in my role here in
(36:38):
this county and we have somefresh ideas coming in from a
couple of the candidates who arerunning, and I just want to try
something new because I wantnew challenges.
You know, when I started thisjob, I wanted to raise our
conviction rates.
We did from dead last, like thetop three in the state.
I want to lower our direct filerates, which were the rates at
(36:59):
which young people were beingfiled into adult court as
opposed to juvenile court.
We did lower that.
I wanted to clean up the drugtreatment and sober home
industries and we've done thatin a big way.
That's what we're known for.
I wanted to do something abouthuman trafficking.
We had no cases when I started,but then, because of a federal
grant obtained by SheriffBradshaw, we've now I mean we've
(37:21):
got well over 100 cases thatwe've had and we made a real
difference.
So we think about the goalsWe've largely accomplished them
and I just think that it's timeto 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 ableto talk in national media about
(37:43):
some of the big legal issues ofthe day.
So I don't have anything setyet, but stay tuned.
Charles Bender (37:48):
Well, just know that, as an ambassador of hope,
a place of hope, we're notletting you get too far away,
because you're a good friend, weappreciate you.
We need more people like youthat have conviction and want to
do the right thing by people,the community as a whole.
But also, you know place hopesin for taking care of, in a lot
of ways, the least of these, andI think that that's what you do
in your role.
Well, I'm sure you'll continueto in different ways, but you
(38:10):
know you're taking on the casesof 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 apersonal friend as well.
Dave, thanks for everythingyou're doing.
I know you're going to be asuccess and no matter what you
launch toward after your time isup in your current role, Thanks
, charles, you are awesome, yourgroup is amazing, and I hope
(38:31):
you'll have me back even afterI'm out of office.
State Attorney Dave Aronberg (38:34):
Oh yeah, for sure, thanks.
Charles Bender (38:36):
Dave.
Maya Elias (38:38):
In this radiant segment entitled Hope in Action,
we celebrate a momentousachievement that fills our
hearts with hope and gratitude.
Today, we proudly announce thatone of our residents has been
granted her work permit for theUnited States, marking a
profound milestone on herjourney.
This remarkable accomplishmentexemplifies the power of
determination and perseverance.
(38:59):
Her unwavering commitment toher dreams has bore fruit,
lighting the path for countlessothers who aspire to overcome
challenges and embrace newopportunities in this land of
promise.
As we witness her triumph, welet it serve as a reminder that
hope is not merely a sentiment,but a force that propels us
forward.
It reminds us that, withdedication, resilience and the
(39:23):
support of our community, we cantransform aspirations into
reality.
Let us extend our heartfeltcongratulations to her for
making this significantachievement.
May her story inspire us all toreach for our dreams with
unwavering faith, knowing thathope and action can bring about
profound change in our lives andthe lives of those around us.
Charles Bender (39:50):
Thank you for listening.
Please be sure to subscribe andshare with your friends.
If you don't even miss a thingand if you really gained value
today, please be sure to give usa five-star review so, of
course, we can be put in frontof more listeners.
For details and show notesabout today's podcast and how
you can connect with and supportour guests, please go to
placeofhopecom's forward slashpodcast and please don't forget
(40:12):
to email us atpohpodcastatplaceofhopecom.
And, for sure, follow us onsocial media.
And.
Askers of hope Placing Hope inthe Child's Day.
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