Captive Hearts recovery services‘ roots date back to the mid-1990s when founder and Chaplain Judy Boen started a ministry at the San Luis Obispo County women’s jail.
Though Boen left for Shawnee, Oklahoma, last year to open another branch of Captive Hearts and assist more women facing trauma, the group’s co-CEO and Executive Program Director LeeAnn Smith remembers the early days.
“I started going into the jail with her in her second week. Then it just evolved. She [Boen] was sitting in her car with a lady in the rain that had gotten out of jail and didn’t have a place to go. Judy couldn’t stand it and felt we had to do something,” Smith said.
It was the germination of Captive Hearts—a faith-based restorative six- to 12-month program that helps female survivors of domestic abuse and human trafficking overcome anguish and subsequent addictions. While Captive Hearts officially launched in 2001, Boen, Smith, and other specialists started organizing meetings and lunches at different homes, which were open to the public.
Smith and Cyd Sebring—co-CEOs and executive program directors—are both licensed addiction specialists who received domestic violence support training. Through such skills along with Bible studies, the group helps women address relapse prevention, difficult childhoods, grief recovery, and compulsive relationships, among other issues.
“California has been identified by the FBI as one of the nation’s four top states for traffic victims. San Luis Obispo County is a natural corridor between LA and San Francisco, and also the valley in the Central Coast. So, there’s a tremendous amount of traffic activities in our county that people aren’t aware of,” Smith said.
Though Captive Hearts describes itself as a “Christ-centered 12-step ministry,” Smith told New Times that religion isn’t a prerequisite for eligibility.
“People don’t have to confess or believe anything when they come in. They do have to be OK with it though, because it permeates everything we do.
The nation has a success rate of about 20 percent, maybe,” she said. “Captive Hearts has at least 50 percent for those that complete it. We really make an effort to create a family dynamic because a lot of the women have not experienced that. We put the bread on the table and we want them to have the opportunity to find out who God really is. Once they find that out, it is very life changing.”
The program is run on goodwill, too. Smith mentioned that they rely on private donations, grant writing, and small business ventures for funds. Those dollars help volunteers work with and provide transportation for survivors to county Behavioral Health Services, medical doctors, psychologists, court, and other services. Captive Hearts also works with the SLO County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force to strengthen resources and community connections.
Another source of funding for Captive Hearts: two neighboring Grover Beach-based boutiques named Second Chances. Community members donate used furniture, clothes, and housewares, and the stores sell them to raise revenue.
Currently, Captive Hearts is hoping to raise $500,000 to match a donation of the same amount so that the group can buy a restorative home. Survivors would spend the final weeks of the program there, and receive vocational training through weekly computer classes at the Grover Beach headquarters.
Captive Hearts graduate Elaine Holquin now works as the general manager of Second Chances.
“They helped me get some major emotional and spiritual healing. I got to work through a lot of trauma with my counselors. We also read the Bible every day and get together as women. That was a major factor in my healing,” Holquin said.
Fast fact
• Outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy a docent-led hike to the Point Sal overlook on July 10. Dunes Center Community Hike Leader Ray Segovia will inform hikers about the wildlife and flora surrounding the northern Santa Barbara coastline. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to noon. Visit the Dunes Center events page to register. Δ
Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jul 7-17, 2022.