IT'S A GOD THING
by
Maryann Miller

Walking in the front door of Morgan's Mercy Mansion Rehabilitation Center for Women (MMRC) in Winnsboro, the first thing a visitor sees is a small table holding two photographs of a little girl. This is Morgan, for whom the center is named. "When we started out we called this His House Ministries Rehab Center," Pastor Greg Hansen explained. "We needed a name because we opened so quickly and didn't have time to pray about what to name the center."

Sometime later, Carla Caviness, sister to Pastor Sherrie Hansen, was praying and the idea of naming the center after the little girl came to her. Morgan is special to Carla and Sherrie. She was the daughter of their niece, Cassie, who walked a terrible road of drug addiction and gang involvement before she was finally able to get and remain clean.

Because Cassie was so strung out, Morgan lived most of her two and a half years with her grandmother on her father's side in Arkansas. One day after a heavy rain, Morgan toddled outside and was caught up in rushing water in the storm drain in front of the house and drowned. "It was just tragic for her to die so young," Sherrie said. "Her mother had considered getting an abortion and we all thought of Morgan as God's miracle. We never thought we would lose her. "

"The whole point," Greg put in. "Was to find a name for the Center that had some significance. ' Drugs will always take you further than you want to go; keep you there longer than you want to stay; and cost you more than you want to pay.'"

Greg, pictured above on the right, with Sherrie in the middle and Carla on the left, doesn't know where he first came across that truism, but the message is one that illustrates the terrible price that Cassie and all addicts like her do pay. And that is significant enough to give some meaning to the name of the Center.

Sherrie said that she had been thinking and praying about the idea of opening a rehab center for women for some time. Then last June, Angela Anderson contacted her. "She made me do this," Sherrie said. "She walked into my house at five in the morning one day and said 'you've got to start the rehab today. I can't wait another day.' There was no way I could ignore that message, so I got up and started making phone calls."

Members of His House Ministries and Enough is Enough, a Winnsboro volunteer drug task force, responded by helping to organize and support the rehab effort. A local woman offered her home to Angela as she started going through the process. Angela stayed 60 days in Winnsboro, then moved to Potter's Clay in Little Rock, Arkansas to finish her rehab.

In November, 2005, MMRC moved to its present location on Chestnut Street in Winnsboro, where it can take up to fifteen women at a time. They currently have five, and have had as many as twelve.

The ladies talked freely about the journey that brought them to Morgan's Mercy Mansion, and the stories are hard and painful. One lady got into the drug scene to find out who had been threatening her son, and she ended up reporting drug dealers to a DEA agent. She had to use to fit in with the drug scene, and she got hooked.

Another lady, Ruth, related the moment that changed her life. "This little boy had given me a bracelet that read 'proud to be drug free.' It was made out of some kind of rubberized material and I started using it to tie off. One day I looked at the bracelet and what I was doing with it and knew I had to stop."

She spent three days making frantic phone calls to get into a rehab center before she lost her resolve, but there were no openings. Finally, she was put in contact with MMRC and was able to get in. "If it wasn't for this place, I don't know where I'd be," she finished. "I was this close to giving up and going back to the street."

Tina, pictured here on the right, with Andrya next to her, Ruth next and Elizabeth on the left, has been involved with drugs and alcohol the longest of all the residents, and she has been in and out of many rehab centers. She truly believes that this time rehab will work because for the first time the program is geared toward the crux of her addiction problem. "All those other places focused on the drugs all the time," she said. "They had classes to tell me how bad the drugs and alcohol are for me. I know that. What I didn't know is that I am worth something and that God loves me."

According to specialists in the mental health field, having a sense of self-worth is as important for human survival and well-being as the air we breath and the food we eat. Most addicts start drinking or doping to mask the pain of not being loved, so any program geared toward forgiveness, spiritual and emotional healing, and support has a good chance of succeeding if the person is willing to make the effort.

"We don't take anyone who doesn't want to be here," Carla said. "We can't help an addict who isn't ready to even try to stop."

Carla knows how true that is because she spent many years trapped in addiction and has paid some heavy prices. She will celebrate four years of being clean this November and the rehab center is a dream come true for her. "The only reason I have been able to get straight and stay straight is the love of God and the support of my sister and brother in law. Without them loving me and showing me God's love, I never would have made it. I wanted something like that for other women, and here we are."

The rest of the staff are Therrissa Hickman, Kelly Weems, and Renae Wilburn. Kelly and Renae were not available for a picture. Therrissa is pictured here (left) with Deborah Wilhelm, who has written a curriculum, STARS, Survivors of Trauma and Recovery Support. She lives in Little Rock and has come once a week to teach the program to the staff. Therrissa is a House Mom and lives on site with Kelly Weems, who is the secretary/bookkeeper and a House Mom. Renae is the donations coordinator.

Greg and Sherrie Hansen are the Administrators, and they sit on the Board of Directors along with Brett Miller and Kay Cameron. The Center is supported by a number of churches in the area, including volunteers from Lake Fork Baptist Church, and Sherrie is especially proud of the ecumenical atmosphere. "For instance, we hold some classes at the Presbyterian Church across the street, and the class is taught by ladies from First United Methodist."

Six days a week residents have a strict schedule of classes, exercise, meals, group sharing, prayer, Bible study, and recreation. Kendra, the newest residen, tries out an exercise bike. She also loves to dance, so the staff has added a half hour of dance in the mornings just for fun.

The classes focus on spiritual, emotional, and practical issues, including classes in parenting that they attend at the NorthEast Texas Child Advocacy Center. They also use other nationally recognized programs such as Celebrate Recovery, Conquering Chemical Dependency, and Overcomers.

"This is not a locked facility," Therrissa said. "This is a place where you can come for a life change. We help the women develop coping skills and teach them how to manage their lives better."

The residents and staff all agree that the important factor to the success in the focus on God. "You can feel the Lord's presence when you walk in here," one of them said. "And we are confident it has been his grace that sustains us."

Tina also wants all readers to know that they close their days by saying a Hedge of Protection prayer. "We're praying for you, for the community, for the police and for the addicts out there," she said. "We are asking God to keep them all safe."

MMRC is totally supported by donations from individuals and churches and welcomes all donations. You can mail donations to MMRC, PO Box 83, Winnsboro, TX 75494. Visit them on the Web at www.mmmrehab.com

To read a powerful plea from one of the residents click HERE