America’s Top Crime Fighter John Walsh Made the Announcement of this First in the Nation Initiative
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (Jan. 26, 2024)- Place of Hope, the leading foster children and family non-profit in the nation, is teaming up with Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County to help bring justice and healing to victims of human trafficking. Place of Hope will match Crime Stoppers TIPS dollar-for-dollar up to $2,000 for any tip that leads to an arrest or recovery in a human trafficking related case. That increases the top reward a tip can receive from $3,000 to $5,000. John Walsh, Spokesperson for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and creator and host of the hit show America’s Most Wanted joined Place of Hope Founding CEO Charles Bender in a press conference this morning to make the announcement. “We (the United States) have now become the #1 sex trafficker of children in the world,” said Walsh. “We are hoping we’ll be copied around the United States where a business or a charity like this will add to the reward. Rewards work and we’ll make sure you get it without anyone knowing.”
This is the first time ever a non-profit has stepped up to the plate to increase the reward to bring human traffickers to justice. Place of Hope’s mission is to end the cycles of abuse, neglect, homelessness, poverty, and human trafficking. Over the years they’ve helped hundreds of human trafficking victims in Palm Beach County alone. “We have for over 20 years had victims and survivors come into our care and we see how their lives can be impacted and changed for the good, and they can heal from this trauma,” said Bender. “What you guys do its natural for us to get involved. We want to change it and go to the front end of this. If we can interrupt these things from happening, we can be the shining city on the hill for this area and for the nation and hopefully see it grow after that.”
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has made putting an end to human trafficking a top priority and is praising Place of Hope for taking action, “I’m glad to have Place of Hope with us on this mission,” said the Attorney General. “By working together, we can stop human traffickers. They’re Monsters.”
TIPS to Crime Stoppers are anonymous. If you have a tip, go to Crimestopperspbc.com, call 1-800-458-TIPS or text ** TIPS.
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Place of Hope is a faith-based, state-licensed children and families organization focused on providing programs and services to end the cycles of abuse, neglect, homelessness, and human trafficking. Since opening its doors in 2001 Place of Hope has helped more than 30,000 foster children, homeless youth, single moms with children, families in transition, and human trafficking survivors. It is one of the largest, most diverse, residential organizations in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast. Place of Hope is rated he number one charity in its category in America by Charity Navigator with a charity score of 100 and the highest possible, 4-star rating.