A safe place for women to come find hope, healing and freedom

By Joan Janzen

It’s amazing what happens when someone follows through with an idea and takes that first step. Shelley Boyes took the first step to help create what is now Choose Life Ministry, based out of southeast Saskatchewan.

“We are probably one of the best-kept secrets in the province, so I like to go out and spread the word at speaking engagements. I don’t mind travelling,” Boyes said.

She tells and shares with her audience how the ministry provides a safe, faith-based place for women ages 18-29 to find freedom from life-altering challenges. There, the women deal with the much-needed mental and emotional health side of life.

PHOTOS SUBMITTED

The beautifully renovated home known as The Homestead for Hope

Founder Shelley Boyes.

The facility, located in a rural setting near Carnduff, Sask., houses six girls at a time for a six-month period. Boyes said they don’t like to disclose their location for security reasons. They have girls coming from all over Canada who find out about the ministry through word of mouth, hospitals, counsellors and churches.

The girls’ problems include everything from addictions to depression, anxiety, eating disorders, unplanned pregnancy, trauma, and abuse. “You would be shocked at the number of self-harm issues we deal with,” Boyes said. “That seems to be a really big issue.” However, she said they know if they can get to the root cause of the problem, the symptoms will begin to dissipate. “The symptoms are just a way to escape, cover up or medicate the pain,” she explained.

The girls apply to attend. After being interviewed and accepted, their choice to stay is entirely voluntary. “The program itself is free, but we ask that they contribute to their room and board,” Boyes said, but they would never turn anyone away if they were unable to contribute.

The young women go through an intense program that causes them to walk through many things they would rather not deal with. The girls enrol in a 12-step program and an authentic living plan for building a new future, which includes counselling, nutrition, fitness, healthy living, practical life skills, and educational opportunities. Throughout the six-month stay, they are constantly reassured of God’s love for them as they realize their true identity, renew their minds and learn how to forgive and become free.

Staff at the facility handle the daily operations, including the program, activities and food preparation. “We contract counsellors outside the program,” Boyes said. Graduates share their success stories at their grad ceremony. “I have a lot of success stories,” Boyes said. “Some of the girls come back to help; we have two on staff at the moment.”

Boyes’ dream of starting a type of mercy home began after 2006 when her oldest daughter was killed in a car accident, causing her two younger teenage daughters to begin a downward spiral into alcohol and drugs. “I couldn’t get away from the idea, but I wasn’t sure I was willing to take it on,” she explained.

She shared her dream with a few people. “Our first fundraising event was in the fall of 2012. We had a banquet, a really fancy affair with waiters, valet parking and entertainment,” she said. She would lay awake at night wondering if they would make enough to pay the comedian. “We ended up raising $12,000, so we kept going from there,” she said. “It’s been quite a journey.”

Along with a board of directors, Boyes designed the program and started operating out of an old, stone home that had not been lived in for 25 years. “It’s a sixth-generation homestead for my family and a heritage property in Saskatchewan,” Boyes explained. “It was abandoned and in disrepair but was structurally sound and needed cosmetic work.”

Although Boyes opposed the idea, the board got an engineer and stone mason to look at the building. “When it came to a vote, I was the only one opposed,” she said. So instead of waiting to accumulate enough funds to construct a large facility, they were able to begin the work much sooner, with the first group of young women moving into the building.

Until 2014, the ministry relied solely on donations for support, and then someone suggested opening a thrift store to help cover costs. “Now we operate five thrift stores that help with the expenses of the ministry and have 30 paid staff,” Boyes explained. The stores are located in Estevan, Carlyle, Fort Qu’Appelle, Carnduff and Moose Jaw. “We call them our thrift boutiques. They are very upscale, well-maintained displays. It’s a pleasure to shop there.”

“I’m in awe of everything God has done, and all I did was take the first step,” Boyes said. A note on their Facebook page says, “You can still make a beautiful life for yourself even if you think you’ve lost years to trauma, mental health struggles or abuse.”

It is very appropriate that the beautifully restored heritage building, whose restoration looked impossible, is now home to young women who conquer their own seemingly impossible obstacles. The building was restored, much like the lives of the young women who enter its doors.

Boyes said Choose Life Ministries can give the girls the tools they need, but the graduates also realize their need to continually rely on God. “We really believe it is the key to true change,” Boyes concluded.