Oklahoma to join national network for survivors with Magdalene House OKC

The graduation invitation included a picture of women with happy faces.

The Rev. Dana Orwig said her recent invite to a Thistle Farm graduation in Nashville, Tennessee, was especially endearing when she pulled it out of her mailbox.

She knew that the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma is joining the Thistle Farm network with the launch of Magdalene House OKC, a faith-based women's residential program offering participants hope and second chances.

"I just felt so hopeful to see it," Orwig said of the invitation.

"Seeing the smiles, seeing the excitement on the women's faces that comes from knowing you have some training, a job, some skills, it really is empowering."

Orwig, a deacon at Yukon's Grace Episcopal Church, is a member of the Episcopal diocese's Magdalene House OKC committee.

The Rt. Rev. Poulson Reed, bishop of the Oklahoma diocese, said Magdalene House OKC will support women by helping them break cycles of addiction, trauma, sexual exploitation, poverty and incarceration and recidivism. He said the diocese is still in the process of raising funds to pay for at least two years of the program and a house for the women's residential home is still be sought in Oklahoma City.

The religious leader said the diocese has raised more than $90,000 for the program as part of the annual Bishop's Appeal, a fundraising initiative that began in late 2021 and ended in January 2022. He is excited about starting a program that will help women and is thrilled that Magdalene House OKC will be part of the Thistle Farms network.

The network was founded by the Rev. Becca Stevens, an Episcopal priest and author based in Nashville. Reed said the Oklahoma City women's residential program will be modeled after the first Magdalene House that Stevens opened in Nashville.

Stevens said she was elated when she learned she'd be welcoming the new Oklahoma City affiliate into her network of residential homes for women.

"It's such good news," she said in a phone interview.

Reed, Orwig and others said it was Stevens who planted the seeds of an idea that sprouted into plans for a Magdalene House OKC program. They said it was her inspirational presentation about the first Magdalene House and the Thistle Farms social enterprises program that captured their attention.

"I liked the Thistle Farms philosophy," said the Rev. Tim Baer, a Magdalene House OKC committee member.

"They don't ask women the question 'What did you do?' They ask 'What happened to you?'"

Network of sanctuaries

Baer, rector of Grace Episcopal Church, said it wasn't only the Thistle Farms' mantra that intrigued him. He also knew that Interstate 35 is generally known as a popular route for drug and sex trafficking and that Oklahoma City, where I-35 and Interstate 40 intersect, is seen as the "crossroads of America," and thus a prime target for such criminal enterprises.

Joining the Thistle Farms network of more than 60 Magdalene Houses seemed like a good idea to help support Oklahoma women whose lives have been impacted by such trafficking and other trauma.

"I was looking at the map of where all these houses are and we were thinking about sex trafficking and the high rate of incarceration of women in Oklahoma," he said. "It was a bull's-eye and I'm thinking why don't we have one of these in Oklahoma City?"

Baer and Orwig said program committee members envision Magdalene House OKC working alongside other Oklahoma City programs, like the Remerge diversionary program.

"We want to provide a safe place that's anchored in love and grace and a fresh start," Baer said.

Orwig was also among the group of Oklahoma Episcopal leaders who were inspired by Stevens' 2019 presentation at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Oklahoma City. Stevens visited Oklahoma City at the invitation of the Rt. Rev. Ed Konieczny, who was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, at that time. She addressed a large group of people as part of the annual Bishop's Lecture series and brought with her women who were part of her Thistle Farms network. The women sold some of the soaps and other products from Thistle Farms enterprises, which helps train and employ women in the network.

Orwig said Oklahoma Episcopal leaders reached out to Stevens and they were invited to tour the first Magdalene House in Nashville. Orwig said the leaders also toured a Magdalene House in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and each of the tours helped them understand how these programs aided the women they serve.

"We were just very impressed with the spirit and the goal that they have in helping people put their lives together," she said.

Orwig said women will be able to stay at Magdalene House OKC for two years, which is program criteria modeled after other women's homes in the Thistle Farms network. She said she was pleased to learn that the Thistle Farms network has a high success rate, with about 75 percent of the graduates living on their own and living productive, happy lives five years after graduating from the program.

The deacon said she was especially pleased that program leaders respected the participants they served.

"Magdalene House is a real home, it's not a dormitory or something like that. People can cook, watch TV, buy groceries, things like that," Orwig said. "One woman we talked to said she had never had a home with sheets on the bed and how much that meant to her. It was clear what a difference the program made for so many people that we talked to."

Voice for survivors

Stevens said the respect and care that Orwig spoke about is a hallmark of the Thistle Farms network.

"Love has to be at the center but it has to be a free gift offered. It has to be alongside each other without this hierarchical authority," she said. "Once we put that old knowledge into new practice, it works."

Stevens opened the first home Magdalene House in 1997 in Nashville, welcoming five women who had experienced trafficking, violence and addiction.

She found that there was a huge need for support programs for female trauma survivors. Her biggest challenge with the first home was that she hated turning people away.

"Within a year, we opened a second house because I couldn't take it," Stevens said, laughing.

The Episcopal priest said she can't wait to come to Oklahoma City to celebrate the opening of Magdalene House OKC.

"What Oklahoma is joining is a national network of more than 500 long-term free beds for survivors," she said. "It's the largest collection of beds for survivors in the United States of America, so they're joining a powerful network."

Stevens said Episcopal leaders are also joining a growing chorus of voices who are helping determine "what trauma-informed treatment looks like, what the needs of survivors are, how we can be a player in the laws and legislation that effect survivors."

"So it's beautiful that there's a house in Oklahoma, a house in New Orleans, a house in Nashville and that when we join together to commit to this work together, we're propelling healing for women all over the country," she said.

"It's a reminder that justice work is not a competition — that we can do this work together."

Meanwhile Baer said he's hoping more donations will pour in to help get Magdalene House OKC up and running.

"We are looking for givers who are looking to be partners to help find a home," he said. He said the program committee is about to gain 501(c)3 status, but in the meantime, tax-deductible donations may be made through the Episcopal diocese.

"We are in the early stages but it's cooking," Baer said.

How to Help

For more information about Magdalene House OK or to make a donation to the program, email the Rev. Tim Baer at tim@graceyukon.org or go to https://www.epiok.org/donate. For more information about the Thistle Farms network, go to https://thistlefarms.org/

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Episcopalians are starting a women's residential program in OKC