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Alexandrea Ward -
The Chosen House Board of Directors stands before the new location currently under construction. They are Ginny Fowble, chairman of the board; Ashlea Guthrie, secretary; Bonnie Walkingstick; Debbie Collins; Lorenzo Jacobs; Lettie Green; and Larry Freeman. Not pictured is John Collins, treasurer. Photo/Emily Kalka
In 2015, Alexandrea Ward was struggling with addiction.
She had been through so much mental and emotional abuse in her life that she thought she would never be anything or have anything.
And then she was ordered to go to The Chosen House through drug court. She said while she was made to go there, it was exactly what she needed.
“Kim and Mari had so much faith in me. It started a spark,” Ward said. “They went out of their way to help me find a job and to make sure I got back and forth.”
The founders, Mari and Kim Battle, put out word to a woman who donated furniture to The Chosen House that Ward was handy. She was offered a job doing maintenance at West Gate Apartments. This eventually became a full-time position. Later, the same woman offered Ward an apartment there.
“For the first time in
my whole life, I was independent,” she said.
Ward no longer lives in Chandler, but said she continues many of the habits she picked up during her time at The Chosen House, including daily Bible studies which she said keep her grounded and did more for her than any AA or NA group.
Regina Cox made some bad choices in her life and wanted to make a better one for herself and her kids. This is what led her to The Chosen House where she lived from March 1, 2020, to July 1, 2021.
She said Mari and Kim taught her how to budget and gave her a safe place to live and spend time with her children. During her time there, she was able to pay off fines by getting a job a Hiland and even saved up $10,000 to buy her first house.
Today, Cox is five and half years sober and has kept her job at Hiland for three and a half years. She said she has a good, healthy relationship with all her children.
“Lessons I carry is my integrity and value and, most importantly, to rely on God through the good and bad times,” she said. “I strive to set a good example for the girls that come through The Chosen House so I can pay it forward.”
Valerie Crary was able to find her true purpose because of her time at The Chosen House.
Crary found herself at the home from February 2021 to November 2021 after experiencing substance abuse, mental illness and homelessness.
She said she learned through Mari and Kim that everything she ever needed, she had it in herself the whole time. She is now a peer recovery support specialist in Oklahoma City “doing street outreach to our unhoused friends and some of our most vulnerable in society.”
“I know had I not gone to The Chosen House, I don’t think I would be so for sure about who I am and what I’m doing,” Crary said.
The Chosen House has helped over 200 women since it opened 16 years ago, according to founders and sisters Mari and Kim Battle.
They hope to help many more with the new opportunities they’re pursuing.
A new house that can accommodate up to eight women - three more than the current house - is under construction. Mari and Kim said they also plan to add more workshops, specifically the After Care Program. It will provide the women a space to mingle, meet, and learn self-care.
Additionally, The Chosen House will build three to four low-cost rental properties over the next five years that will be available to women who are finished with their program at the home, according to the sisters. They currently have one located near the current Chosen House.
“And I’ll be honest, we see that five-year plan, we’re making it reasonable, but we know we’ll have that done before five years,” Mari said. “With how God’s worked… He’s got this.”