5 October 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – In 2019, Brandy Furlong was addicted to drugs and hopeless.
“I was on a mission to end my life. I didn’t want to live,” she said.
This is when she stumbled on Amazing Grace Discipleship Ministries.
“I was at a crossroads, you know? I finally hit my rock bottom,” Furlong recalled.
She met Rebecca Billups, the nonprofit’s founder, and she moved into their home within a couple of weeks.
“We offer a safe space for women to heal and find hope from trauma and also just start a new life in Christ,” Billups said.
Amazing Grace opens its doors to women battling addiction, coming out of sex trafficking, domestic violence situations, and other traumatic situations.
“Because if Jesus left the 99 to go after the one, then that’s our goal too,” Billups explained.
The home is filled with community and counseling.
“Whether it’s job skills, life skills, as well as just walking with them,” Billups said. “Our goal is to get to the root issue.”
The nonprofit’s resources focused on faith.
“It was hard trusting, you know, because I had been hurt, and I know that it was hard for the women in the program, too, because they had all been hurt. But the love was profound,” Furlong said.
That love pushed past tragedies.
“To see a woman in freedom for the first time makes all the difficult times we’ve gone through all worth it,” Billups said.
Amazing Grace turning trauma into testimony.
Amazing Grace also offers an outreach program to help women and their children who are not able to stay in their homes.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction, domestic violence, mental health, or homelessness, click here to find a list of local resources.