Hephzibah House in Indiana: Abuse Still Going On, Over 30 Years Later

It’s hard to try to explain the daily schedule at Hephzibah House.  Daily life was about so much more than just school and chores.  Each day was like a journey; you never knew which way the wind was going to blow.  It might be your lucky day, and the staff ladies would all be in good spirits, chores would be done successfully, and we would get a decent meal.  But on the other hand, the staff could be in a bad mood, none of your chores would pass inspection, and it would be the same dinner yet again (not that you would even get to eat it if your chores didn’t pass).  [Click here for full article]. 

In 1974, Ron Williams began Hephzibah House as a home that would provide “live-in rehabilitation and discipleship for women and girls.”     Being an independant fundamental seperatist Baptist means that Williams probably has vastly different ideas than you do about what constitutes rehabilitation and discipleship. 

The dictionary defines rehabilitate as, ”to restore to a former state.”  One must wonder what “former state” is Williams and his staff discipling girls into?  For example, former Student, Susan Grotte, writes:

 My name is Susan Grotte. I am writing to state officially that I was abused at Hephzibah House from February, 1981, to July, 1983. I realize that this is far in the past, and nothing can be done. However it has come to my attention that girls are suffering under the same cruel conditions right now.

The state of Indiana investigated while I was a student at Hephzibah House, but we were hidden in a dark church while they came through. A few girls who were coached and intimidated were allowed to stay and speak to the investigators.

 I was beaten with a paddle until I was black and blue. My skirt was pulled up, and I was laid out on the flour. One adult sat on my back and tightly held my arms, while another sat on my feet to keep me from kicking… A third wielded a paddle and beat me. I was beaten nearly every day for the first three to four months when I was there. After that time, I was sufficiently broken and docile, thus only receiving two to three per month. These beating were so severe that they left blisters, hurt my back and twice I fainted. I still smell that carpet and feel it against my face.

 I was so hungry all the time. The Williams ate very well, while they denied the girls sufficient, healthy food especially considering the energy we expended. I lost nearly 40 lbs in four months– dropping from a normal 128 pounds to a mere 88. This in spite of the fact that we were not allowed to turn down any food offered.

I was menstruating normally before arriving at Hephzibah House, but ceased until I left in 1983.

 I did heavy, back breaking labor. There was emotional abuse in the form of humiliation and isolation. Hephzibah House denied any form of contact with the outside world including media and notice of my grandmother’s death, as well as censoring letters from my parents. The rare phone calls from home were tightly monitored. Communication with other students was supervised and very limited.The saddest part is that the Hephzibah House staff managed to convince me that they loved me. They taught us that we would go to hell if we ever would betray them, or “rise up against God’s man.”

 Williams recently contacted me. I was shaking when I heard his voice. He asked me to write a letter to his lawyer stating that I was never abused, nor had witnessed any abuse while I was a resident. He was asking me to lie for him. I step forward now to defend these poor girls who cannot defend themselves.Hundreds of girls have suffered because I did not have the courage to speak up then. This clear violation of normal human rights should not still be happening, 25 years later, in America.

 

It is important to point out that I had never shown any aggressive or violent behavior, had never experimented with drugs or alcohol, never been with a boy. My crime was never disclosed to me. I never had a trial, I never had a voice. I was 15.

 In Christ alone,
–Susan Grotte

 

 This is a typical story.  Some are even worse, if you can believe it, such as the girl who wrote about being forced to eat her vomit, when she threw-up her dinner (which she was forced to eat, despite being sick with the flu) and was treated as if she was in rebellion for doing so.  Obedience without question.  Prompt.  Swift.  Perfect. 

Ron William’s strong views on how to attain salvation and correct wrong behaviour for young people, infants through young adults, certainly affects the flavor of life at the Hephzibah House, and from this sermon of advice to parents, it’s fairly easy to see what such advice promotes: 

Many parents in using the rod of correction on their child do so with an obvious lack of vigor and often stop short of the child’s will being completely broken. Manifestation of this error is illustrated in countless homes as a child gets up from his session of correction still spouting rebellious words and giving willful looks at his discouraged parent. The parent has no one to blame but himself for this problem since he did not completely break the will of the child during the session of correction. A child who is still willing to resist the authority of his parent after having received the rod of correction is still in need of more of that same rod.

Both my wife and I have often remarked that it is good that one of our children was not our firstborn. This particular child who came along later in our family was extremely willful and rebellious toward our authority and would often require sessions of correction lasting from one to two hours in length before the will would finally be broken! Had this child been our first, we may well have been tempted to despair of the grace of God.

…To put it another way, the one who does not Biblically beat his child, in a loving and consistent way, in a very real sense predisposes that child for hell and even has a direct part in sending him there!   

…  When should a parent start using the rod of correction on a child that the Lord has brought into the family? There is no clear and specific answer to this very good question. However, it is my opinion that the correction of children should start as soon as the need for that correction is made manifest. Every discerning parent who has been blessed with a little child in his home realizes that his initial impression of the sweetness and the innocence of the child is in reality an illusion. A child very quickly demonstrates his fallen, depraved nature and reveals  himself to be a selfish little beast in manifold ways. As soon as the child begins to express his own self-will (and this occurs early in life) that child needs to receive correction.

My wife and I have a general goal of making sure that each of our children has his will broken by the time he reaches the age of one year. To do this, a child must receive correction when he is a small infant. Every parent recognizes that this self-will begins early as he has witnessed his child stiffen his back and boldly demonstrate his rebellion and self-will even though he has been fed, diapered, and cared for in every other physical way.      [Click here for article in full]

 It’s hard to believe that the Hepzibah House is alive and kicking after years of abusing young women, but it is and has been since 1974, despite an investigation here and there.   As you read this blog post, there are girls at the House at this very moment, experiencing “rehabilitation” treatment like Susan’s.  After reading story upon story from girls who survived this hellish “home,” I want to do my small part to see it’s doors shut for good.  If you would care to join me, here is some contact information provided by Gabby, a former Hepzibah prisoner. 

Randy Bowman and Paul Schmitt
Winona Lake Police Department
http://www.winonalake.net (574) 267-8622
***they are currently our contact people, but i don’t have much confidence in either of these two men.***

http://www.guidestar.org
copies of HH tax returns
(i found the last 5 years of HH returns on this site)!!! you can see the millions they make each year in donations (which is separate from the monies that the parents send monthly).

Mayor Ernie Wiggins (Warsaw, Indiana)
ewiggins@kconline.com (his direct e mail)
(574) 372-9595 (you will initially get his assistant Michelle)

State Rep. David Wolkins
Statehouse: (800) 382-9841 In District: (574) 269-2639
***He is from Winona Lake, Indiana***

Governor Mitch Daniels
Phone: 317-232-4567
http://www.in.gov/apps/afss/afss2
the web address is the contact page if you want to send the governor an e mail

Hepzibah House has 2 addresses that they use, so it is kind of confusing b/c all the officials seem to want to pass the buck and say HH is not in their jurisdiction.
508 school street…winona lake, indiana
is the addy that they advertise with; however, this is a residence that they own and it is the office for Hepzibah House.   2277 E. Pierceton Rd. Warsaw, Indiana
is the actual address of where the girls are held. These 2 addresses are literally 5 minutes apart, but they are in different towns.  The church is on the same property as where the girls are kept.

Gabby recently sent this email to State lawmakers, and attached this article of Ron Williams to her email.  I am planning on contacting these people as well, but think it would be helpful to get ahold of some media, too.  Since I’m in Alaska, far from Indiana (obviously), I am not sure which direction to go in regards to media.  Anyone have any ideas and/or numbers and addresses?     

Hat Tips: I would like to thank True Womanhood blog and the post, Parenting Models in the Church, that allowed a conversation about Hepzibah House to take place, and Cynthia Gee, of Common Sense blog, for bringing it up in the first place.  But even more than that, I would like to applaud former Hepzibah House inmates for having the guts to step forward and tell their stories, and to encourage them to keep on speaking out.