Grace House is a subsidiary of the National Teen Challenge organization, which was founded in 1958 by David Wilkerson, a young pastor from Pennsylvania who relocated to the inner-city area of New York City to fulfill God's call of his life to serve troubled, inner-city youth. He soon became very much aware of the life-controlling issues infiltrating the lives of youth, and their consequences...a 12 year old boy murdered by his youger brother, a teenage mother with he baby on her lap begging for food and shelter. What he saw was  an unforgiving world bearing down on these young people, limiting their choices and destroying their chances for success and happiness in life. In response, Pastor Wilkerson mobilized an inner-city community and garnered support to establish the very first Teen Challenge Center in New York City. 

While Teen Challenge began as a minstry to youth, it has expanded to also serve adult men and women struggling with life-controlling addictions. Today, Teen Challenge is a network of over 400 recovery centers on six continents, including over 170 centers across the U.S. The state office of Indiana was founded in 1965, and Grace House was founded in Evansville in January 2005.     

Our Mission

The mission of Grace House is to evangelize people who have life-controlling problems and initiate the discipleship process to the point where the student can function in society applying spiritually motivated biblical principles to relationships their families, local churhes, chosen vocations, and communities. Grace House endeavors to help women become mentally sound, emotionally balanced, socially adjusted, physically well and spiritually alive.  

While our ministry offers a direct benefit to the Evansville community, our work contributes to a collaborative effort among thousands of other organizations nationwide  that share a common goal...to rid our nation of substance abuse and to permanently restore the lives of those who have been affected by life controlling addictions. How big is the problem?

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), "there were 9.6 million people aged 12 or older (3.9%) who were current users of illicit drugs other than marijuana in 2006." According to the National Substance Abuse Index, Indiana remains an active drug transportation and distribution area with cocaine readily available throughout the state. Couple that with the continuing abuse of marijuana and the rising availabilty of "Meth"...we are faced with a significant problem. 

Addiction and substance abuse has many causes including emotional distress, physical abuse, peer pressure, social acceptance, death or sickness, identity crisis and financial burdens. According to research by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, "women begin abusing alcohol and drugs for different reasons than men do and may have more situations in their lives that trigger substance abuse." In the book Women Under the Influence, a 10-year analysis of substance abuse among girls and women found that, "girls and young women are likelier than boys and young men to abuse substances  in order to lose weight, relieve stress or boredom, improve their mood, reduce sexual inhibitions, self-medicate depression, and increase confidence." 

Of equal importance is that Americans are finding it difficult to access effective treatment and prevention services.  According to SAMHSA, "In 2006, 21.1 million of the 23.6 million people needing treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem did not receive treatment. Of the 21.1 million, only 940,000 reported that they felt they needed treatment for their drug or alcohol use problem, including 314,000 people who knew they needed treatment, but were unable to find care."

Substance abuse and addiction continues to put thousands of lives at stake, which is why we need your help. Together we can save lives right here in our own community by giving women who come to Grace House a real chance for a future filled with hope and promise. You can do that by becoming a "Friend of Grace House" partner. With over 53 women helped so far since April 2005, you can be sure that you are sowing into good soil. A "Friend of Grace House" pledges to pray for the needs of these ladies regularly and also to provide financial support to this facility, monthly, in whatever amount the Lord leads you to give. $5, $10, $50...a month goes a long way in providing stability to a much needed facility located in the heart of Evansville.