Who We Are
Yeshua's House is an 18-month transitional home program with a built-in network of support for single women and mothers who find themselves in transition, financial or otherwise, as they break free from abusive relationships and seek a path to self-sufficiency. Our fully furnished home is located in a quiet residential Petersburg area close to a bus stop.
Since opening our doors in 2012, a total of 81 women and 53 children have called Yeshua’s House their home. After breaking free of their abuser, they were able to rebuild their lives and achieve a successful outcome that otherwise would not have been possible. Several earned degrees or licenses, many of them started a new job or got a promotion, some of them worked on getting a driver’s license or a car, and many of them transitioned into apartments or rental homes. The needs and goals of the ladies who come to us vary, but one thing remains the same. They all need a safe place to call home while they transition to independence and a life free of abuse.
Our monthly program fee includes all utilities, washer and dryer, and wi-fi.
Single woman --$575
Mother with child in one room-- $675
Inspiration for Yeshua's House
as told by founder, Angela Brown
Yeshua’s House came to fruition because I realized a great need for women escaping abuse to have a safe place to call home. Emergency shelters offer a stay of 30 to 90 days, and this simply is not enough time to allow for healing and transition to self-sufficiency. Statistics indicate that women return to their
abusers an average of 7 times. Emotional, psychological, physical, and financial ties are real
and can be difficult to break. Without long-term stability, women often return to their abusive situation, perhaps at the cost of their lives.
The seed of Yeshua's House was planted in September 1917 when a father of 5 - angry,
bitter, cruel, jealous - lashed out at his pregnant wife of nine years and brutally beat her on a public sidewalk. Their neighbors closed their blinds rather than view the sight.
The man was my grandfather. He became an outcast in the tightly intertwined Slovenian community, and his five children became a community burden. My mother and her four siblings
were dispatched from one home to another.
My mom said in her memoir, "We were always running away trying to find each other."
Years later, my Uncle Tony, the only son, went to the old neighborhood, and a gentleman asked
him if he was a Faletic. "Yes." And then, "We didn't think any of you had survived."
Mom related the experience of those early years.
"We were ashamed of our clothes, ashamed of our lunch, ashamed of our father. They thought they could shame him into taking care of us kids. They threw cans at him when he walked down the street. Then he walked the back alleys and stopped going to church because they wouldn't let him be. Sometimes he came to get one or more of us and we had to endure his drunkenness, his temper, and his bone soup - until another family stepped up to rescue us."
My mom and grandmother have been the true inspiration for this home.
Yeshua's House published my mother's story in 2019. The following is an excerpt from Mary Tells Her Story.
"A month after Mom passed [June 2004], I saw a For Sale sign on a house in Petersburg, Virginia. It was in that very moment the concept of Yeshua’s House was born. If a home had been available for
Grandmother Angela in 1917, her life and her children’s lives could have been very different.
With this concept came absolute faith that its establishment was as certain as the miracle of Mom’s life.
A lot of other things had to fall into place, but the means to purchase a good home was available.
Lawrence and Mary Faletic Bollman’s frugal living and financial legacy supplied the down payment for our first transitional home and its first year of mortgage payments."
Mary Tells Her Story is available on Amazon
On September 7, 1917 Angela Faletic was brutally beaten by her husband Anton. Days later Angela lay in her casket, cradling her stillborn child in her arms. Each of Angela’s 5 children, ranging in age from 2 to 7, was taken in by a different family. The 5-year-old daughter was Mary, and the trauma of her young mother’s death kept her awake at night,
even at the age of 93.
Anton and Angela Faletic, Grandparents of Angela Brown
One Angela's story; Another Angela's Inspiration
Lawrence and Mary Bollman,
Parents of Angela Brown, Founder of Yeshua's House
Every woman needs a nest she can protect
Our Mission
Yeshua's House is a home with a future! By providing a warm home, supportive counselors, and time, we are able to help these survivors of domestic violence and abuse release their pain and heal their wounds, obtain critical life skills and education, and achieve significant growth, which sets them on a path to reach financial and emotional independence.
Our Vision
Our program is designed to ensure the greatest degree of success. To that end, we offer a holistic approach to healing with wraparound services such as counseling sessions, financial education classes, support group, parenting classes for mothers,
one-on-one support, and so much more. We envision all the life and light that women and their children can enjoy when they are embraced by a caring community. When our ladies define their goals and pursue them, we have attained our goal.