Located in Duluth, GA, nestled among trees, is a seven-bedroom brick home.
This is where 10 young ladies will call home for the next year. In the front yard
is a large brown well with three beautiful goldfish, which are the only pets the
residents are allowed to have.
As you enter on the main level, you’ll find a finely decorated kitchen, similar to
what you may see in a Pottery Barn catalogue. This is where the ladies cook
their own food and divide the chores amongst each other.
Around the corner in the family room are walls filled with pictures of the
residents, staff and graduates. You would think they were all raised in the
same family. This is where they have morning and evening devotion. On the
wall is a large flat screen television where they watch videos from Northpoint
church. Other than that, the television is off during the day.
Each bedroom is uniquely decorated with its own bedding. The resident coach
has her own room. Wellspring has the capacity to house 14 women. They
currently have room for two more.
The attic is chicly designed, similar to what you would find in Pier 1. This is
where the ladies have classes and group therapy. There’s also a bookshelf full
of movies for them to enjoy. There are also Christmas ornaments waiting to dry
that the ladies have made to sell at a local fair.
In the basement you’ll find the intake office, a counseling room and fitness
center.
In the back you’ll find a tennis court, swimming pool, deck and lot a yard space.
The amazing thing is that all of furniture and decor was donated.
Approximately 10 years ago, a group of women on Atlanta's south side united
to arrange the city's first diverse Christian women's event. The event was an
enormous accomplishment, and several years later, those same women
joined forces across the metro-Atlanta area to host an even larger event for
20,000 women.
They wanted to continue working together for the good of their communities
and the kingdom of God. They were inspired to connect with those who would
never darken the door of a church. The women wanted to be the hands and
feet of God to the desperate and hopeless. After much prayer and discussion,
Wellspring Living, Inc. was formed.
Wellspring reaches out to women whose lives have been devastated by drug
and alcohol addictions, self-mutilation, depression, working in the commercial
sex industry--behaviors mostly stemming from the core issue of childhood
sexual abuse.
According to their website:
• 0ne out of four girls has her innocence stolen by sexual molestation.
• 6,000 women are involved in exotic dancing in Atlanta alone.
• 4.2 % of women suffer from an eating disorder.
• 1% struggle with self-injury.
• 7.7 % are addicted to drugs and alcohol.
Wellspring Living offers a safe place where motivated women who want a
chance to start over can begin to rebuild their lives. Wellspring Living is a no
cost residential program for women ages 20 to 35. It consists of six months in
an intensive therapeutic environment followed by six months of supported
transition.
“Most of the women we take in usually hear about our services via word-of-
mouth, churches, prisons, radio and other forms of media,” says Aubrie Crais,
director of Wellspring Living. “They are recovering from drug abuse, addictions,
cutting, eating disorders, depression, sexual abuse and many other various
unhealthy lifestyles.”
“Once a young lady is accepted into the program, we sign paperwork and
search through their belongings to make sure what they have is safe,” says
Hannah Rhineheart, program coordinator. “They check into their rooms and
follow the schedule we have for the day. We have them come in the evenings
so they can hang out and get adjusted to the program.”
There is a very structured treatment the women encounter in the program.
Each young lady gets one hour per week with a counselor to address their
specific need. They also attend group counseling, which is performed by
master’s level counseling students as their internship with schools around the
state.
“We’ve actually created our own curriculum,” says Crais. “The first part is called
Deep Roots, which covers basic Christian principles. The second is called Life
Skills which teaches how to apply those principles. The third is called Life
Journey which teaches coping mechanisms. They learn about co-dependency,
family history and generational strongholds. This is where they make a
genealogy presentation to the community of the home to show where the
problem they have also occurred in their family history in a time-line format. It’s
a way for them to get their stories out.”
Although this is a Christian organization, there have been a few ladies initially
resistant to the faith.
“One lady came to her interview dressed very gothic,” says Crais.
“She was wearing a coffin ring with a cross on it. I made a comment about the
ring and she held it up and said, ‘This is how I feel about Christ, it equals
death!’ Then she said, ‘I’ve tried everything from rehab to counseling and AA.
None of it worked. The only thing I haven’t tried is God, so here I am.’ Since
then, she and several like her have graduated from the program and are now
Christians.”
One was Kristy Brian. “I tried everything before Wellspring,” said Brian. “I was
raised in church. Then I got to a point where I didn’t want to hear about God.
That led me to a lifestyle of everything bad. I only wore was black. Since
graduating from Wellspring, I now can teach other women the value of having a
Christ-filled life.”
“We never sit them down and say, ‘You have to be a Christian.’ They simply
pray daily, spend time in the Bible daily and their lives literally begin to change,”
says Crais.
With various personalities, you’d expect some character clashes.
“Everyone has a roommate. There are two girls per room,” says Rhineheart.
“They either learn to love each other or figure out how to get along," says Crais.”
“Sometimes when a young lady is out of hand, she has to do extra chores or
write a paper.” The girls have an option to either hand write it or type it in the
computer lab.
“Our computers are pretty primitive. Mainly because the girls are not allowed to
use the Internet for the first six months. During the second six months, they’d
be monitored,” says Crais.
For more serious offenses, Wellspring has a zero tolerance for violence or
threats. The individual would be immediately removed from the program.
“Our main thing is to show grace,” adds Rhineheart.
According to their website, Wellspring has a few house rules that keep the
women in order:
Privileges during the Wellspring Living program are as follows:
Weeks 1 -2
Ladies can leave home with staff or approved ministry leader only. There is no
contact with anyone outside of Wellspring Living, Inc.
Weeks 3-4
Ladies can leave home with staff or approved ministry leader only. Approved
visitation takes place on Sundays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the Wellspring
Living property. Ladies can also receive mail and may make phone calls to
those on an approved contact list, on specified call days. All phone calls are
supervised by staff.
Months 1 -3
Ladies are appointed a mentor and may leave the property with their mentor on
Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Ladies can leave home with staff or approved
ministry leader only. Approved visitation takes place on Sundays from 2 p.m. to
4 p.m. on the Wellspring Living property. Ladies can also receive mail and may
make phone calls to those on an approved contact list, on specified call days.
All phone calls are supervised by staff.
Months 4-6
Ladies may leave home with staff, approved ministry leader, mentor or
approved contact. Ladies may leave the property with assigned mentor on
Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. & with family on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
One time a month an approved family overnight visit may take place on
Saturday at 9 a.m. through Sunday at 6 p.m. Ladies may make unsupervised
phone calls to approved contacts only on specified call nights.
Months 7 - 9
Ladies enter into a transition period that lasts from 1 to 3 months. She will
contribute to a contract containing goals for her to reach healthy independence.
During this time, she will still participate in some home activities in addition to
her contract work. The participant may go home every Friday through Sunday.
As the participant finishes her contract, she will have attained the elements
she needs to attain healthy independence in her life such as housing,
transportation and a job.
Months 10 - 12
During this period of the program, the participant lives away from the
Wellspring Home. She will still have bi-monthly counseling as well as monthly
meetings assessing her progress. She will make a connection with mentor in
her area, a church body, a small group Bible study, and more. During this time
she will begin her new career and re-connect with family on a more permanent
basis. At the end of the year program, there is a graduation ceremony for the
participant.
Volunteers are a huge part of Wellspring’s success.
“Our volunteers teach three to four hours a week,” said Rhineheart.
“They teach the ladies how to cook, how to prepare for an interview, scrap
booking, knitting, sewing, how to pray, etiquette, how to read the Bible and
many other skills. We have a guy that comes in to teach financial classes
about budgeting.”
“We still need to give the ladies a live example of a healthy Christian man and
married couple,” adds Crais. “Because of their background, that is something
they’ve never seen.”
Mentoring is an even bigger commitment than teaching. It requires you to be
there for the young lady every week, with only one week off per month.
“Mentors act as a female supportive friend to the ladies,” said Rhineheart.
“They are allowed to take the women off premises to dinner, Bible study or
wherever they decide. It’s about hanging out with someone that’s healthy. We
pair moms with moms.”
Men are not allowed to be mentors. The ultimate goal is for young lady to
graduate from Wellspring and remain friends with the mentor.
There are many opportunities when the ladies participate in off campus fun
activities. They have art therapy, equestrian therapy and attend church on
Sundays. Wellspring also has an upscale resale boutique in Duluth and
Peachtree City where some of the ladies work.
“Just last week, a group of ladies took them to the Casting Crowns concert.
Another time a group took them to dinner at the Sundial Restaurant downtown,”
said Crais.
Wellspring Living has operated as a grass roots organization. It has grown by
building relationships and credibility through effective large events, intimate
retreats, and sacrificial service through the Wellspring Home.
One of the large events was held in April at the Georgia Dome called
Dangerous Journey 2007. This was a radical event for women who wanted to
connect with God and hear from others. Speakers were Pastor Paula White,
Dr. Robin Smith of "Oprah & Friends", Jane Fonda, Ashley Smith, John Tesh
and more.
“Dangerous Journey 2007 was full of wisdom from great women I admire. I
especially enjoyed Dr. Robin Smith as she talked about forgiveness,” said
Karen Helligar, an attendee of the event.
As stated on their website, since March 2001, Wellspring has touched
thousands of lives in Atlanta:
• 27,000 women through large events
• 621 pastors' wives through retreats
• 75 women through the Wellspring Home.
• Over 200 family members of Wellspring participants served.
• 1,525 volunteers engaged
• $1.8 million given in contributions
Most people desire to make a difference in their communities and in the lives
of hurting people. Wellspring Living gives people who care about changing the
world an opportunity to do so. The responsibility of redirecting a life is an
enormous one that should not be taken lightly. Whether volunteers are
mentors, teachers or greeters for large events or prayer support for the staff,
they are definitely "Changing Our World by Changing Hers."
This is where 10 young ladies will call home for the next year. In the front yard
is a large brown well with three beautiful goldfish, which are the only pets the
residents are allowed to have.
As you enter on the main level, you’ll find a finely decorated kitchen, similar to
what you may see in a Pottery Barn catalogue. This is where the ladies cook
their own food and divide the chores amongst each other.
Around the corner in the family room are walls filled with pictures of the
residents, staff and graduates. You would think they were all raised in the
same family. This is where they have morning and evening devotion. On the
wall is a large flat screen television where they watch videos from Northpoint
church. Other than that, the television is off during the day.
Each bedroom is uniquely decorated with its own bedding. The resident coach
has her own room. Wellspring has the capacity to house 14 women. They
currently have room for two more.
The attic is chicly designed, similar to what you would find in Pier 1. This is
where the ladies have classes and group therapy. There’s also a bookshelf full
of movies for them to enjoy. There are also Christmas ornaments waiting to dry
that the ladies have made to sell at a local fair.
In the basement you’ll find the intake office, a counseling room and fitness
center.
In the back you’ll find a tennis court, swimming pool, deck and lot a yard space.
The amazing thing is that all of furniture and decor was donated.
Approximately 10 years ago, a group of women on Atlanta's south side united
to arrange the city's first diverse Christian women's event. The event was an
enormous accomplishment, and several years later, those same women
joined forces across the metro-Atlanta area to host an even larger event for
20,000 women.
They wanted to continue working together for the good of their communities
and the kingdom of God. They were inspired to connect with those who would
never darken the door of a church. The women wanted to be the hands and
feet of God to the desperate and hopeless. After much prayer and discussion,
Wellspring Living, Inc. was formed.
Wellspring reaches out to women whose lives have been devastated by drug
and alcohol addictions, self-mutilation, depression, working in the commercial
sex industry--behaviors mostly stemming from the core issue of childhood
sexual abuse.
According to their website:
• 0ne out of four girls has her innocence stolen by sexual molestation.
• 6,000 women are involved in exotic dancing in Atlanta alone.
• 4.2 % of women suffer from an eating disorder.
• 1% struggle with self-injury.
• 7.7 % are addicted to drugs and alcohol.
Wellspring Living offers a safe place where motivated women who want a
chance to start over can begin to rebuild their lives. Wellspring Living is a no
cost residential program for women ages 20 to 35. It consists of six months in
an intensive therapeutic environment followed by six months of supported
transition.
“Most of the women we take in usually hear about our services via word-of-
mouth, churches, prisons, radio and other forms of media,” says Aubrie Crais,
director of Wellspring Living. “They are recovering from drug abuse, addictions,
cutting, eating disorders, depression, sexual abuse and many other various
unhealthy lifestyles.”
“Once a young lady is accepted into the program, we sign paperwork and
search through their belongings to make sure what they have is safe,” says
Hannah Rhineheart, program coordinator. “They check into their rooms and
follow the schedule we have for the day. We have them come in the evenings
so they can hang out and get adjusted to the program.”
There is a very structured treatment the women encounter in the program.
Each young lady gets one hour per week with a counselor to address their
specific need. They also attend group counseling, which is performed by
master’s level counseling students as their internship with schools around the
state.
“We’ve actually created our own curriculum,” says Crais. “The first part is called
Deep Roots, which covers basic Christian principles. The second is called Life
Skills which teaches how to apply those principles. The third is called Life
Journey which teaches coping mechanisms. They learn about co-dependency,
family history and generational strongholds. This is where they make a
genealogy presentation to the community of the home to show where the
problem they have also occurred in their family history in a time-line format. It’s
a way for them to get their stories out.”
Although this is a Christian organization, there have been a few ladies initially
resistant to the faith.
“One lady came to her interview dressed very gothic,” says Crais.
“She was wearing a coffin ring with a cross on it. I made a comment about the
ring and she held it up and said, ‘This is how I feel about Christ, it equals
death!’ Then she said, ‘I’ve tried everything from rehab to counseling and AA.
None of it worked. The only thing I haven’t tried is God, so here I am.’ Since
then, she and several like her have graduated from the program and are now
Christians.”
One was Kristy Brian. “I tried everything before Wellspring,” said Brian. “I was
raised in church. Then I got to a point where I didn’t want to hear about God.
That led me to a lifestyle of everything bad. I only wore was black. Since
graduating from Wellspring, I now can teach other women the value of having a
Christ-filled life.”
“We never sit them down and say, ‘You have to be a Christian.’ They simply
pray daily, spend time in the Bible daily and their lives literally begin to change,”
says Crais.
With various personalities, you’d expect some character clashes.
“Everyone has a roommate. There are two girls per room,” says Rhineheart.
“They either learn to love each other or figure out how to get along," says Crais.”
“Sometimes when a young lady is out of hand, she has to do extra chores or
write a paper.” The girls have an option to either hand write it or type it in the
computer lab.
“Our computers are pretty primitive. Mainly because the girls are not allowed to
use the Internet for the first six months. During the second six months, they’d
be monitored,” says Crais.
For more serious offenses, Wellspring has a zero tolerance for violence or
threats. The individual would be immediately removed from the program.
“Our main thing is to show grace,” adds Rhineheart.
According to their website, Wellspring has a few house rules that keep the
women in order:
- No caffeine after 7p.m.
- No sleeping during the day
- You need to remain at the dinner table until all ladies are finished with
dinner - The television can only be on 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- No girls from the first part of the program are allowed on the transition
porch - No swimming without a buddy
- All trash goes into purple bags and taken to the road to be picked up
on Tuesday night - When you use a blanket, please fold it up and put it away when you are
done - If you do not list an item on the grocery list, then you will have to wait
until the next Sunday to get the item, even if we run out.
Classes
- Be on time (if you are late for classes, the amount of time that you are
late will be deducted from your phone time that week) - You must participate in all classes
- Clothing
- No spaghetti straps, halter tops, short shorts or midriffs
Privileges during the Wellspring Living program are as follows:
Weeks 1 -2
Ladies can leave home with staff or approved ministry leader only. There is no
contact with anyone outside of Wellspring Living, Inc.
Weeks 3-4
Ladies can leave home with staff or approved ministry leader only. Approved
visitation takes place on Sundays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the Wellspring
Living property. Ladies can also receive mail and may make phone calls to
those on an approved contact list, on specified call days. All phone calls are
supervised by staff.
Months 1 -3
Ladies are appointed a mentor and may leave the property with their mentor on
Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Ladies can leave home with staff or approved
ministry leader only. Approved visitation takes place on Sundays from 2 p.m. to
4 p.m. on the Wellspring Living property. Ladies can also receive mail and may
make phone calls to those on an approved contact list, on specified call days.
All phone calls are supervised by staff.
Months 4-6
Ladies may leave home with staff, approved ministry leader, mentor or
approved contact. Ladies may leave the property with assigned mentor on
Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. & with family on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
One time a month an approved family overnight visit may take place on
Saturday at 9 a.m. through Sunday at 6 p.m. Ladies may make unsupervised
phone calls to approved contacts only on specified call nights.
Months 7 - 9
Ladies enter into a transition period that lasts from 1 to 3 months. She will
contribute to a contract containing goals for her to reach healthy independence.
During this time, she will still participate in some home activities in addition to
her contract work. The participant may go home every Friday through Sunday.
As the participant finishes her contract, she will have attained the elements
she needs to attain healthy independence in her life such as housing,
transportation and a job.
Months 10 - 12
During this period of the program, the participant lives away from the
Wellspring Home. She will still have bi-monthly counseling as well as monthly
meetings assessing her progress. She will make a connection with mentor in
her area, a church body, a small group Bible study, and more. During this time
she will begin her new career and re-connect with family on a more permanent
basis. At the end of the year program, there is a graduation ceremony for the
participant.
Volunteers are a huge part of Wellspring’s success.
“Our volunteers teach three to four hours a week,” said Rhineheart.
“They teach the ladies how to cook, how to prepare for an interview, scrap
booking, knitting, sewing, how to pray, etiquette, how to read the Bible and
many other skills. We have a guy that comes in to teach financial classes
about budgeting.”
“We still need to give the ladies a live example of a healthy Christian man and
married couple,” adds Crais. “Because of their background, that is something
they’ve never seen.”
Mentoring is an even bigger commitment than teaching. It requires you to be
there for the young lady every week, with only one week off per month.
“Mentors act as a female supportive friend to the ladies,” said Rhineheart.
“They are allowed to take the women off premises to dinner, Bible study or
wherever they decide. It’s about hanging out with someone that’s healthy. We
pair moms with moms.”
Men are not allowed to be mentors. The ultimate goal is for young lady to
graduate from Wellspring and remain friends with the mentor.
There are many opportunities when the ladies participate in off campus fun
activities. They have art therapy, equestrian therapy and attend church on
Sundays. Wellspring also has an upscale resale boutique in Duluth and
Peachtree City where some of the ladies work.
“Just last week, a group of ladies took them to the Casting Crowns concert.
Another time a group took them to dinner at the Sundial Restaurant downtown,”
said Crais.
Wellspring Living has operated as a grass roots organization. It has grown by
building relationships and credibility through effective large events, intimate
retreats, and sacrificial service through the Wellspring Home.
One of the large events was held in April at the Georgia Dome called
Dangerous Journey 2007. This was a radical event for women who wanted to
connect with God and hear from others. Speakers were Pastor Paula White,
Dr. Robin Smith of "Oprah & Friends", Jane Fonda, Ashley Smith, John Tesh
and more.
“Dangerous Journey 2007 was full of wisdom from great women I admire. I
especially enjoyed Dr. Robin Smith as she talked about forgiveness,” said
Karen Helligar, an attendee of the event.
As stated on their website, since March 2001, Wellspring has touched
thousands of lives in Atlanta:
• 27,000 women through large events
• 621 pastors' wives through retreats
• 75 women through the Wellspring Home.
• Over 200 family members of Wellspring participants served.
• 1,525 volunteers engaged
• $1.8 million given in contributions
Most people desire to make a difference in their communities and in the lives
of hurting people. Wellspring Living gives people who care about changing the
world an opportunity to do so. The responsibility of redirecting a life is an
enormous one that should not be taken lightly. Whether volunteers are
mentors, teachers or greeters for large events or prayer support for the staff,
they are definitely "Changing Our World by Changing Hers."
There's Hope for Women In a Dangerous Lifestyle
Wellspring reaches out to women whose lives have been devastated
by drug and alcohol addictions, self-mutilation, depression, working in
the commercial sex industry--behaviors mostly stemming from the core
issue of childhood sexual abuse.
By Kim Ford
by drug and alcohol addictions, self-mutilation, depression, working in
the commercial sex industry--behaviors mostly stemming from the core
issue of childhood sexual abuse.
By Kim Ford
If you are interested in volunteering at Wellspring or you know a
young lady whose life needs an intervention, contact:
Aubrie Crais, Director
404.427.3100
acrais@wellspringliving.org
Hannah Rhineheart, Program Coordinator
404.427.3100
hrhineheart@wellspringliving.org
young lady whose life needs an intervention, contact:
Aubrie Crais, Director
404.427.3100
acrais@wellspringliving.org
Hannah Rhineheart, Program Coordinator
404.427.3100
hrhineheart@wellspringliving.org
Welcome to Wellspring Living residential home
Living Room
Kitchen
Dining Area
Fitness Room
Bedroom
Reading Room
Patio
Art Therapy Room
Group therapy takes place in this chic attic
Plenty of DVD's to keep the ladies entertained.
Beautiful goldfish in the front yard.
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