H.O.M.E. Celebrates Changed Lives at 9th Gala
House of Mercy Enterprises celebrated another year of changed lives and second chances during its ninth annual gala on Saturday, Sept. 12, at The Refuge.
Director Preston Crow and his crew smoked brisket and sausage and served the meal with beans, coleslaw, cornbread and cobbler to a room filled with the nonprofit’s supporters and donors.
The annual gala allows the House of Mercy to thank the community members who help sustain its work while raising money for another year of operations. Although the faith-based organization receives grants, it also relies on donations and fundraisers such as the gala.
The evening included a silent auction of donated items, a 50-50 drawing and a raffle for two rifles. But the most moving moments came as current residents and graduates described the lives they lived before arriving at the House of Mercy — and the new lives they are building.
Graduate Todd Thorsen said the yearlong program gave him relationships, stability and a renewed faith.
“God has blessed me with positive relationships, a good job, and given me my son, Wade, and the love of my life,” Mr. Thorsen said, as his wife, Arah, stood by his side. “This year-long program has changed my life, and I have God to thank. And I want to also thank the House of Mercy and Preston and Trina Crow for that.”
His wife, Arah Thorsen, said she arrived at the House of Mercy in 2023 after years of addiction and self-sabotage. She had not grown up studying the Bible and had long wondered about her purpose in life.
“I was greeted with open arms,” Ms. Thorsen said. “I started listening in class and reading the Bible on my own, and it didn’t take long before I knew what my purpose in life was.”
She said the program taught her how to love herself and others again. She and Todd married in 2024 and continue to study the Bible together and visit the House of Mercy.
“We regularly visit the House of Mercy and enjoy seeing how God is working in others’ lives,” she said.
Board member Harrell Braddock Jr., pastor at United Methodist Church of Olney, said the close relationships formed among residents, volunteers and community supporters are at the heart of the program.
“They come looking for a new life and acceptance, and that’s what we give them,” Mr. Braddock said.
The hardest part, he said, is watching residents leave after completing the 12-month program.
“You get attached, and then they graduate and they leave,” he said. “That’s a good thing. That’s what we want. But we’ve already got a place in our heart for them.”
Mr. Braddock said the House of Mercy becomes a family where residents live, eat, worship and study together.
“You have that bond, that Christian bond,” he said. “I think that’s the major difference.”
The evening also included a surprise tribute to Carla Perry, one of the House of Mercy’s founders and most steadfast supporters. Mr. Crow presented Ms. Perry with a plaque from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Lindsey Unit in Jacksboro recognizing her support for returning offenders who need a safe place to rebuild their lives after incarceration.
Ms. Perry humbly credited God for allowing her to help, saying she “had extra funds” through His grace and that all things are possible through God.
For the residents and graduates who spoke Saturday night, that support has meant far more than a bed or a year-long program. It has meant a home, a family and the chance to begin again.