Hephzibah House closes after eight years of helping women

Koni Bunse seemed to be choking back tears as she described what’s happening with a beloved local recovery house.

“When the board of directors met (on Jan. 29), we decided to close the house permanently,” Bunse said of the recovery home for women that has served the Newton area since 2007. “We tried to find a church or another organization to financially support it, but we just couldn’t do it.”

Bunse said another complicating factor were resignations among board members, including her own. Bunse said she has a great deal going on in her life that caused her to resign her position as board president, and between those issues and the financial hardships of trying to run a faith-based recovery home for women, it was too overwhelming.

The house, 721 E. Fourth St. N. in Newton, is now for sale. It had beds for six, and a social media announcement about the closure brought out eight years worth of gratitude from Newton women from multiple generations and their families about the positive efforts of Hephzibah House.

Bunse said the house was primarily for women who struggle with substance-abuse issues, but the comprehensive counseling program there also benefited women with other types of life struggles.

“It was for women who needed to figure out what their lives look like,” Bunse said.

Fortunately, Bunse said, there was only one woman living at the house when the board made its Jan. 29 decision, and she has found suitable living arrangements. The long-term programs in the area that are the closest to what Hephzibah House offered, in her opinion, are Clearview Recovery in Prairie City and Teen Challenge in Colfax.

Bunse said the recovery classes that were offered at the house can still be taken from the same types of instructors at other locations, but it was convenient to have the classes at the house, in one place.

Hephzibah is a Biblical name that, according to Smith’s Bible Dictionary, means “my delight in her.” She is, according to a passage in 2 Kings, the queen of King Hezekiah and the mother of Manasseh.

Bunse said she is a strong supporter of recovery programs that put “Jesus at the forefront,” and encourage women to take charge of their lives using positive means. She said she’s disappointed in cuts to release-preparation and skill-building programs in correctional facilities.

“A heavy sadness” is how Bunse describes how she feels about the opportunities that might not be there for women in need in the future. However, she’s also happy Hephzibah House was able to help women for nearly eight years when the Newton area really needed its services.

“The ones who graduated from the house, they just about all made good citizens,” she said.

Amber Rogers, a Newton-area resident, said the house impacted the lives of many women, including her.

“I applied for Hephzibah House when I was serving a six-month sentence in Jasper County Jail,” Rogers said. “I didn’t know what I wanted from life, but I knew I needed something different. The staff from Hephzibah house came and visited the jail every weekend and provided us with a church service. This was all volunteer work.”

Rogers said the program classes included “Boundaries”, “A Purpose-Driven Life”, Beth Moore’s study “From Ashes to Beauty”, cooking classes, and volunteer work on a local level.

“No longer drug users, criminals, or worse, we were transformed into women of God,” Rogers said

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com