A Christian leader on a mission to stop sex trafficking has embarked on a fascinating journey to buy back a former strip club, acquiring it and turning it into a center that transforms women’s lives.
Helping Captives founder and anti-trafficking leader Caleb Altmeyer recently spoke on the Billy Hallowell and Dalton Harper Bible Brothers Podcast about how he and his team made the surprising decision to purchase the former club and turn it into a victim rescue and recovery center.
Altmaier said the quest to purchase the center began after becoming fully aware of the severity of the human trafficking crisis. Initially, his ministry began looking for ways to help women, but he soon became overwhelmed by what they were encountering.
“We thought we could help three to five women,” he says. “And over the course of nine months, 21 women visited our home.”
This rapid influx revealed a grim reality. Human trafficking is not a remote or minimal problem. It’s happening in communities across America, often hidden in plain sight.
So what began as a small ministry soon became the center of Altmaier’s missionary work. As our needs expanded, so did our vision. And his team decided to focus solely on anti-human trafficking efforts.
They then began praying for the creation of a “Freedom Center”, a place where women could receive immediate care, detox, counseling, and long-term support. That dream quickly became a reality when an unexpected opportunity presented itself: a local strip club closed.
That’s when Altmeyer said an idea took hold and the Lord intervened.
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“I thought, ‘God, maybe you’re crazy to take a strip club known for objectifying women and turn it into a center known nationally for helping women get out of human trafficking,'” Altmaier recalled.
Anti-trafficking leaders began taking steps to secure the building, but the path was not easy. At one point, the department was offered the opportunity to potentially participate in a $1 million grant to assist in the acquisition of real estate. However, there was a catch. Even if funding were secured, the facility would have to be used for “non-religious purposes only.”
Altmaier said the situation forced him and his team to completely reconsider accepting funding. That would have required them to abandon a faith-based model, a model they knew to be essential and effective.
“We love Jesus…we can’t do that,” he said. “Or we can remove Jesus from our ministry. We won’t accept that, because that’s the only thing that will truly heal people who come out of this horrible situation.”
It wasn’t easy to get away from that kind of money, but Altmaier and his team trusted the Lord along the way and did just that. Over time, that trust has become incredibly respected.
“By the grace of God, we got the money that came in last week and we just finished paying for the building yesterday,” he told “Bible Brothers.”
The facility is now fully owned, has no restrictions, and is on its way to becoming the Freedom Center that Mr. Altmaier and his team have long desired. As the journey continues, the team must raise $1.6 million for modifications and preparations.
The urgency behind this project is difficult to ignore, as human trafficking is a huge problem that is not getting better.
“This is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world…it has surpassed drug sales,” Altmaier said. “What we can say is it’s happening everywhere, it’s happening all the time, and it’s probably happening in a city near you.”
Despite the darkness, Altmeyer and his team are seeing lives transformed. Some of the women currently serving in his organization are survivors themselves.
“And they’re free,” he said. “And they know how to fight this problem.”
It is a powerful reminder that transformation is possible even in the most unlikely of places and that light always triumphs over darkness.
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