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163 Children Rescued from Trafficking and Exploitation

General News ArticleCommunityPress Release

163 Children Rescued from Trafficking and Exploitation

163 children, who were missing and being exploited, are now safe.



Last week, we were part of Operation Statewide Shield, a coordinated recovery effort alongside the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Victim Services, and the Florida Human Trafficking Victims Fund to rescue 163 children from Florida ranging in age from infant to 17 from human trafficking and child exploitation. More than half of the children recovered were originally from Central and South Florida. Not somewhere far away, but here in the local Florida area.


These children were lured and transported across the U.S. and the world, in places from Ohio and California to Ghana and Spain. But they were rescued and are now back due to our collective efforts.


Recovery is the beginning, not the end. A child who has been trafficked does not simply return to an ordinary life the day they are found. They need trauma-informed care, counseling, medical attention, and adults who will not leave.


For 26 years, we have provided housing, healing, and long-term support for children and young adults who have survived exploitation and abuse. Our anti-trafficking prevention and recovery programs exist because rescue without restoration is only half of the work.


That is what you are part of when you support Place of Hope. Every safe bed, every counseling session, every meal, and every staff member who helps these precious children.


There are more still out there that need to be rescued and restored, and we are on the front lines of this fight.


Will you join us to END Human Trafficking?
HELP END HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Victorious's New Way of Life
Victorious is one of our young adults who grew up in foster care at Place of Hope and transitioned into our sister entity Villages of Hope after aging out of the foster care system. Now she has earned a home of her own.


Through our Independent Living Program, she worked alongside Habitat for Humanity of Greater Palm Beach County to build the very home she is now living in, putting in the hours required of every Habitat homeowner and learning what it takes along the way.


Two weeks before move-in, our team surprised her with news she did not expect. She would not be walking into an empty house. Because of the generosity of this community, her home was furnished and ready before she ever opened the front door.


That work belongs to our Angel Moms chapters in Boca Raton, Wellington, Jupiter, and Palm Beach, and to Katharine Moss, Killy Smith of Consign and Design, Jerry and Chaffi of Decades Consignment, Debra Buccina, Emily and Patrick Simon, Justin and Jessica Hunter, and Flavia Buffington. Room by room, they made it a home before she arrived.


Victorious has also traveled to North Carolina to speak on behalf of Habitat for Humanity, telling other young people what is possible and how to get there. What an incredible accomplishment!


Watching our young adults step into healthy independence is one of the greatest joys of this work and what we want for those in our programs. It is proof that generational cycles are being broken in Palm Beach County.
We could not be more thrilled to see Victorious build her own life in a home she helped create with her own hands.

What is Villages of Hope?
Villages of Hope is an Independent Living Program for young adults aging out of foster care, youth facing homelessness, and single mothers building a future for their children.


When support from the foster care system ends after they turn 18 and there is nowhere to go, this is where they can seek help.


Our programming provides:
  • Safe and affordable housing
  • Child abuse prevention and family education
  • Job training
  • Budgeting support and education
  • Faith-based therapeutic care
  • Mentors and case managers
  • Health and wellness support
  • Acountibility for growth and stability


All of these components help create real change in our residents. It allows them the ability to hold a stable job, pay off debt, save money, and move toward independence as a young adult. Participating in these classes and resources, these young adults create new possibilities for their life and the tragectory of their children's lives, too.
LEARN MORE

Sponsor Our Events



Click on each image to learn more and purchase tickets.

Hope Bash Boca



A Night of Champions opens our event season with an evening of cocktails, dinner, and live entertainment, built around the stories of the children, foster youth, and families whose lives have changed because this community showed up for them.


Every dollar raised funds our family-style foster care homes, transitional housing, maternity care, human trafficking prevention work, and more happening across Palm Beach County.


Sponsorships are selling out quick, so do not wait to lock yours down. We look forward to seeing you on Friday, November 6th at Boca West Country Club.

Light in The Shadows Human Trafficking Prevention Luncheon



Light in the Shadows brings our community face-to- face with a crisis that is happening right here. Child exploitation, trafficking, grooming, and sextortion are occurring often in plain sight and it has become widespread.


This luncheon convenes advocates, law enforcement, educators, and business leaders to directly and powerfully change that, and it funds the prevention education and recovery care that follows.


This is an event you do not want to miss because it will change the tragectory of Palm Beach County. Join us on Tuesday, December 1st to be a part of the change.

15th Annual Sporting Clays Fun Shoot



Now in its fifteenth year, our Sporting Clays Fun Shoot pairs a day outdoors with a cause this community has supported for more than two decades. Teams compete across stations, share breakfast, and close the day with awards and the kind of camaraderie that brings the same shooters back every January.


Our sponsorship opportunities are selling out, so purchase now to support Place of Hope and actively invest in the future of this county!


We look forward to seeing you join us out in Okeechobee on Friday, January 8th.
Runway of Hope Palm Beach


An afternoon of fashion, philanthropy and purpose, Runway of Hope benefits Villages of Hope, the sister program of Place of Hope, serving young adults ages 18 and older who have aged out of foster care and are building independent futures.


Guests will be welcomed with a couture cocktail experience, followed by a runway show featuring celebrity guests and community leaders in the latest fashions from The Royal Poinciana Plaza.


This year built around a fall dreamscape inspired by Punk Ikebana, with florals, fashion-forward beauty and design that meet a life-changing mission.


Sponsorship opportunities are limited, so reserve yours now and invest directly in the future of these young adults.


We look forward to seeing you in Palm Beach on January 23rd.
SPONSOR OUR EVENTS
Throwdown For The Kids
This past Saturday, athletes from across South Florida filled Thoroughbred Crossfit for the 7th annual Throwdown for the Kids competition in support of those who have experienced human trafficking and child exploitation.


Throwdown for the Kids was founded in 2020 by Derek Bishop, Savannah Wuthrich, and Jackie and Corey Penny, after a conversation between friends about how common child trafficking is in this country. They built it out of the Bishops' gym, The Crossfit Squad, and partnered with Place of Hope so the money raised would stay here in our county. Last year Bishop passed the baton to a local Crossfit Games Athlete, Danielle Szpindor and her husband Thomas Viale, owners of Thoroughbred Crossfit.


Over the past seven years it has brought more than $100,000 in donations, which is an incredible milestone!


"We want to make a difference for kids that had little chance at a normal life. We raise these funds in hopes of bettering their lives after being saved from trafficking, exploitation and abuse. As a father I cannot imagine this type of thing and how it must impact a child. This is the least we can do." - Derek Bishop, Co-Founder.


Recovery takes housing, counseling, education, and people who keep showing up. This competition helps fund every step of the way.


To Derek, Savannah, Jackie, Corey, Danielle and Tommy, and to every athlete who registered, to the sponsors and volunteers who made this day possible: thank you! Seven years of this has changed what is possible for the children in our care!

 
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Place of Hope is dedicated to providing a stable and loving environment for children, youth and families in crisis. We are committed to meeting desperate needs in our community by sharing God’s love and placing hope in their lives- one life at a time.

 

163 Children Rescued from Trafficking...
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