What happens when words aren’t enough to express trauma? For survivors at Hope Center Indy, art becomes the language of healing. Mary Faith, Hope Center’s Art Therapist since 2019, works individually with residents, helping them process pain through creative expression long before words can be found.
Mary shares one of her most powerful projects: residents draw a silhouette of themselves, then separate the negative words spoken over them from the loving words God speaks over their identity. It’s a visual, tangible moment of reclaiming truth.
In this conversation, Mary opens up about her journey to Hope Center and why art therapy is essential for trauma recovery. It’s about helping survivors find their voice when it may be hard to find, and watching beauty emerge from brokenness.
Learn more: hopecenterindy.org
Support Hope Center: hopecenterindy.org/donate

Welcome to the Hope Center Indy Podcast. When tragedy strikes, community reveals its true character. Chris Mescall knows this better than most. Chris and his late wife Heidi have been pillars of Hope Center Indy for years serving, building relationships, and helping create a community with Jesus Christ at the center. When Heidi passed away, that same community surrounded Chris with the love and support they had both poured out for so long. Today, Chris shares his heart about Heidi’s legacy, the power of Christ-centered community, and why he continues to serve even in grief. As a firefighter, veteran, and longtime advocate for domestic abuse survivors, Chris understands what it means to show up for people in their darkest moments. This is Chris’s story and honoring Heidi’s legacy.

Welcome to the Hope Center Indy Podcast. You’ve heard us mention the Pastor Nolen phrase ‘giving engines’ throughout this season—businesses built right here on campus that employ residents, generate income, and fuel our mission. Today, you’re going to meet the woman that helps lead this vision: Rachel Kleine. As a seasoned business owner and strategic advisor, Rachel helps the Hope Center build sustainable businesses that create real career opportunities for women rebuilding their lives. Her insight, creativity, and heart for the women at the Hope Center have transformed how we think about sustainability.

We would like to thank 316 Product Development for sponsoring this episode. We are able to produce the work that we do because of generous sponsors like 316.

https://316productdevelopment.com/

Please support these great sponsors.

Welcome to the Hope Center Indy Podcast. Most business owners look for the best location, the lowest overhead, the highest return. Jake Flagle asked a different question: 'Where can my business make the greatest impact for the Kingdom?' His answer? Right here on Hope Center's campus. As owner of 316 Product Development, Jake has built a company that doesn't just create innovative products, it creates opportunities for women rebuilding their lives. Today, you're going to hear how one entrepreneur turned his business into a ministry without compromising excellence.

We would like to thank 316 Product Development for sponsoring this episode. We are able to produce the work that we do because of generous sponsors like 316.

https://316productdevelopment.com/

Please support these great sponsors.

Welcome to the Hope Center Indy Podcast. The best leaders don't just direct, they listen and learn. Since 2019, Mary has served as Associate Director at Hope Center Indy, and she'll tell you her greatest teachers have been the survivors themselves. Women who've walked through unimaginable trauma and are rebuilding their lives here on campus. Mary takes Pastor Nolen's vision and makes it operational reality. If you know EOS, she's the Integrator to his Visionary. Today, we're talking about how faith, systems, and the wisdom of survivors come together to create lasting transformation. This is Mary's story.

Human trafficking doesn't end when a woman is rescued, it's just the beginning. Creating a safe place for healing, growth, and transformation requires more than staff and facilities. It requires an army of volunteers who show up, serve, and believe in the mission.

Dan Leary is one of those volunteers. After retiring, Dan knew he wanted to serve his community, he just didn't know where. Then he attended a Saturday tour at Hope Center Indy, and everything clicked. Walking back to his car, he told his wife four simple words: "I think I found it."

Now, Dan serves two days a week as part of the team that keeps Hope Center's 25-acre campus and 210,000 square feet of space running. From maintenance to operations, Dan's work allows residents to focus on what matters most: rebuilding their lives. And for Dan, the reward isn't just in the work, it's in being part of a mission he deeply believes in.

This episode is about why volunteers are the backbone of Hope Center Indy, what it's like to serve on the front lines of anti-trafficking work, and how one Saturday tour changed Dan's retirement from restful to purposeful. If you've ever wondered whether your time and skills could make a difference, Dan's story will inspire you.

Interested in volunteering? Visit hopecenterindy.org/takeaction to learn more.

This episode is sponsored by SBBC (School-Based Behavior Consultation). Visit schoolbehaviorconsultation.com or call 888-877-7ABA or 888-877-7222. info@schoolbehaviorconsultation.com

Subscribe, share, and support Hope Center Indy at hopecenterindy.org/donate.

What do you do when your kids leave for college and your sense of purpose shifts? For Jenn Starr, a prayer at Hope Center Indy became the answer and launched her into leading one of the most demanding and rewarding roles in anti-trafficking ministry.

As Director of Residential Ministries, Jenn oversees all of Hope Center Indy's residential programs, including Take Heart Residential, which provides comprehensive care for women who have been sexually trafficked, sexually exploited, or who carry sexual trauma. With a background in child development, years directing preschools, and experience ministering to women in strip clubs through Light in Darkness Ministry, Jenn brings both professional expertise and deep compassion to her role.

But this episode isn't just about programs, it's about calling. Jenn shares the emotional season of watching her three sons grow up and leave home, and how God met her in that transition during her first visit to Hope Center. That prayer brought peace to her heart and clarity to her next chapter: pouring into the lives of survivors and the staff who serve them.

One of Jenn's greatest joys is caring for her team, the front-line staff who carry the emotional weight of trauma-informed care every single day. She understands that to care well for residents, you must first care well for caregivers. Jenn talks about the importance of staff support, self-care, and creating space for her team to be their best in such high-stakes work.

This is a conversation about leadership, calling, and what it takes to provide hope for women rebuilding their lives after unimaginable trauma.

Learn more about residential programs: hopecenterindy.org/programs

This episode is sponsored by SBBC (School-Based Behavior Consultation). Visit schoolbehaviorconsultation.com or call 888-877-7ABA or 888-877-7222. info@schoolbehaviorconsultation.com

Subscribe, share, and support Hope Center Indy at hopecenterindy.org/donate.

What happens when a trafficking survivor quotes Scripture to her captors? For Carrie Jones, these moments of faith in the darkest place became the beginning of her freedom.

Over three years ago, Carrie entered Hope Center Indy's residential program as a survivor of sex trafficking. While Carrie shares her story honestly in this conversation, the focus is on hope, faith, and transformation. Her journey to healing required learning to trust again, confronting deep pain, and discovering that God had been with her every step, even in the darkness. Today, Carrie manages Redefined Boutique at Hope Center Indy, mentors other residents, and lives independently with her husband in their first home.

But Carrie's story isn't just about survival, it's about transformation through faith. She shares how crying out to God for forgiveness and deliverance led her to safety, and how prayer became her daily foundation for healing. In one of the most powerful moments of this conversation, Carrie recounts speaking truth and Scripture to her traffickers, stunning them with words that exposed the evil they were committing.

This episode is raw, hopeful, and deeply convicting. Carrie challenges listeners to recognize that trafficking isn't "somewhere else"—it's happening in your neighborhood. But she also offers hope: light exposes darkness, redemption is real, and Jesus meets people in their darkest moments.

Carrie's journey from pain to purpose, her conviction to love the Lord, and her desire to help others find freedom make this one of the most moving episodes of this season.

Visit Redefined Boutique at Hope Center Indy: hopecenterindy.org

This episode is sponsored by SBBC (School-Based Behavior Consultation). Visit schoolbehaviorconsultation.com or call 888-877-7ABA or 888-877-7222. info@schoolbehaviorconsultation.com

Subscribe, share, and support Hope Center Indy at hopecenterindy.org/donate.