Rebecca Davis
AFA Journal staff writer
April 2016 – Morgan Heilman lost her job and her home. Her marriage was over and her children gone. She was on the inside now, her face pressed against cold steel bars.
“I had turned into the person I always said I would never be,” Heilman told AFA Journal.
Her longtime battle with codependency, depression, and other related issues led her to abuse prescription drugs. To put it plainly, “I had become a drug addict,” she said.
And when her children were taken from her, it led to deeper depression and more drug abuse. She landed in jail for failure to pay child support because her drug addiction demanded her every penny.
Then Heilman’s family discovered Leah’s House, a restoration home for women who want to make positive changes in their lives.
“I agreed to go,” she admitted, “but I never knew that it would change my life the way it did.”
Finding Jesus
Leah’s House, located in the Southeast, is named after Rachel’s sister Leah (the “unwanted” sister in Genesis 29). It was founded in 2013 as a Scripture- focused discipleship ministry to women struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, depression, and abuse. Leah’s House helps women identify the causes of their issues and find lasting solutions in God’s Word.
“Our purpose at Leah’s House is to help women discover the truth of who Jesus is and what He did for each of us,” RaMona Callahan, vice president of Leah’s House, told AFA Journal. “Jesus will always be the center and the foundation of everything we offer.”
Leah’s House is not a typical halfway house but functions in a private home where residents share bedrooms and all the responsibilities of running a household under the direction of a house manager. There is no medical detox, so residents must be clean and sober to enter, pass drug screening and TB tests, come voluntarily, and agree to the requirements and curriculum of the program. Each resident is assessed every three months and encouraged to complete the length of stay recommended at intake and accomplish the work, classes, and goals that lead to “graduation.”
“All phases of curriculum, goals, and activities are designed to support biblical discipleship and problem resolution through restoration in relationships, beginning with a relationship with Jesus and then following in relationships with other residents and family members outside the program,” Callahan said.
Finding purpose
She explained how a sense of purpose is crucial to the women’s healing, and such purpose comes through relationships.
“Our clear purpose for existence was and is to be in relationship with the Father,” she added. “Our goal is that every woman who comes to Leah’s House will understand that God has a purpose and a reason for her life and that He knows her past, present, and future, and He gives them meaning.”
Heilman found relationship, restoration, and purpose at Leah’s House. She was met with truth, love, and grace. She is now employed and will be two years sober this June. She has custody of her children and is engaged to be married.
“God has grace for those so undeserving,” she said. “People like me. … His grace is what saved my life.” And Leah’s House changed it forever. 
There is no cost to residents of Leah’s House. The ministry does accept government grants, but it relies heavily on donations of all sorts. Basic needs include:
▶ Prayer, financial support, and volunteers
▶ Plumbing, electrical, transportation, educational, and professional medical services
▶ Laundry and cleaning supplies, journals, notebooks, writing utensils, and gas cards
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For more information:
▶ rachelssister.com
▶ 662-703-9806
