Posture & Purpose With Dr. Michelle Carr Frank
Welcome to Posture and Purpose where both healing and community come together! An inside look into Carr Chiropractic and Dr. Michelle Carr Frank.
Posture & Purpose With Dr. Michelle Carr Frank
From Shelter to Strength: How Faith House Helps Survivors Heal and Thrive
What does healing really look like when a survivor is believed, safe, and supported? We sit down with Faith House’s executive director to trace the path from crisis to stability for women and children experiencing domestic violence, and we unpack the practical steps that turn safety into long-term independence. From the first confidential call to counseling, legal navigation, children’s services, and financial coaching, we walk through a comprehensive model that meets people where they are and moves at the pace of trust.
You’ll hear the origin story of Faith House—from a late-1970s response to homelessness to a focused mission on domestic violence—and how the organization now serves seven parishes with shelters, non-residential offices, transitional housing, and a Family Justice Center. We tackle persistent myths head-on: abuse is not limited to any one demographic, leaving is not always the safest option, and children carry trauma even when violence isn’t directed at them. A powerful story from a former child resident shows how a safe playground and steady care can redirect a life toward college, career, and joy.
If you’re a friend or family member trying to help, we share clear, humane guidance: avoid ultimatums, don’t cut off contact, and connect your loved one with trained advocates who can safety-plan and navigate courts with them. For those asking how to support, the answer is both simple and vital—donate household essentials like paper towels, toiletries, and cleaning supplies, volunteer your skills, and keep sharing accurate resources. Healing isn’t instant, but with consistent support, survivors don’t just get out; they rebuild with dignity.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, and share this episode with someone who needs a path to safety. If the conversation moved you, leave a review—it helps more people find these life-saving resources.
Tell me what healing looks like for women and children. You've you've seen all sides of it. So what does healing truly look like?
SPEAKER_01:So that it's incredible. I mean, it is absolutely incredible to watch someone come in at the lowest point in their life and just completely rebuild themselves, flourish, and become an amazing human being.
SPEAKER_00:Welcome to Posture and Purpose, where both healing and community come together. Make sure to subscribe on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. Let's get into this episode with Dr. Michelle Car Frank.
SPEAKER_02:Welcome to Posture and Purpose, where health healing and community come together. Today we have Miss Billy Lacombe, the Executive Director at Faith House here in Lafayette, Louisiana. So welcome. Thank you for having me. Thank you for being here. It's really dear to my heart. This is a wonderful cause, and I'm so glad to have you here. Tell us, tell our listeners, what is the mission behind Faith House?
SPEAKER_01:So Faith House's mission is very simple. It's to provide safety, first of all, shelter, and services to survivors of domestic violence and their children.
SPEAKER_02:That is wonderful. And we know I know a lot of the things that you work with. How many departments or how many areas in Lafayette or in Louisiana are involved with Faith House?
SPEAKER_01:So Faith House has grown tremendously over the past 20 years. We now serve seven parishes in Acadiana and Central Louisiana. And in those parishes, we have non-residential offices. We have two shelter locations, one here in Lafayette and one in the Marksville area, along with our transitional shelter and our Family Justice Center. And through all of those locations, survivors or victims of domestic violence and child abuse and assault can come in and receive very comprehensive services to address the specific needs that they have as victims of violence and abuse.
SPEAKER_02:It is so important the mission that you guys have there. And it's really inspired me personally, I know to get to know you over the years through the mission. But what originally was behind the creation of Faith House? What brought that about?
SPEAKER_01:So it we have a very unique history. Faith House was started in the late 70s by a group of concerned citizens led by a Catholic nun named Sister Mary Thomas. And Sister Mary Thomas just had a heart for the people in the community. And she, we in Lafayette had a high number of women and children that were homeless. And so they got together, they created the organization, they bought a house, and they started to shelter people there. And as they began sheltering, they noticed that the individuals, the families that were coming in were not just homeless, they were fleeing abusive homes. They were leaving homes where they were being, you know, severely abused. And so in 1987, the mission of the organization changed and it became focused on domestic violence exclusively. And since that time we've operated, you know, with our volunteer and the direction of our volunteer board. And lots and lots and lots of wonderful community support here in Acadiana.
SPEAKER_02:And what services do you guys now provide? I know it started off, like you said, treating and helping the homeless. Now it's women and children. But what services do you all provide? I know it's not just a shelter or a home. I don't want to diminish what y'all do because what you do is quite a lot. So can you share those services with us?
SPEAKER_01:Yes. So you know, it's kind of almost easier to say what don't we do? Whatever you're thinking about. I don't know. You guys are busy. Yes, very much. So, you know, domestic violence and abuse has it has severe impacts on a person's whole entire being, on their health, on their mental health, on their financial status, just lots of different areas. So our program is when I say comprehensive, very comprehensive. We work to address all of those areas, providing counseling, providing support group to build a community so that they can confidently move into their own empowerment. We provide comprehensive legal assistance, help with that whole system, civil, legal, and criminal, because they're often involved in both aspects as they're trying to get it to break free from their abuser. We provide children's services, working with children, helping them to navigate the trauma that they have experienced by living in a home with domestic violence and often experiencing abuse as well. In addition to that, we do have healthcare services in our shelter for survivors. We have financial planning, programming to assist them in learning how to budget, how to do all the things that you need to do in order, again, to be independent of someone that maybe had control of the finances. Just trying to address all of those different arenas within their lives, our program is able to provide, to provide those things. And the best part of all of what we do is that they pay nothing. Our services are completely free.
SPEAKER_02:How wonderful.
SPEAKER_01:They're completely confidential and protected so that they can feel comfortable coming to us to receive what they need.
SPEAKER_02:How wonderful. And it takes a team. It's not, and I I don't want to diminish it, but it's not just Faith House, it's community involvement, um, giving of their time and their concern to make sure that Lafayette and Louisiana as a whole is protected and you know healthier.
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_02:Um for sure. So many people don't realize, you know, uh domestic violence is a very um uh touchy subject because abuse comes in so many different forms. So uh how do you guys deal with that um uh when someone comes to you and they've been abused in uh unfortunately very different forms? How do you approach that um you know right away?
SPEAKER_01:So I I think the uh biggest part of it is just making uh a person comfortable to talk about it because that's that that is the most um sinister part of abuse and domestic violence is that it's a secret, it's quiet, and there's so much shame surrounding it. So um getting someone to open up to talk about it and to begin to recognize that it's not their fault, that um they are believed, um, and that someone cares about what's happening to them and letting them know that it's not okay. You don't deserve that, you know. So just putting those messages in place, walking with the survivor through a healing, it's a healing process.
SPEAKER_02:And I imagine trusting as well, because that would be hard for anyone here. Trust the stranger, tell them everything that's happened to you. That has to be difficult.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, yeah. That's that's one of my favorite um tactics whenever I'm I'm training is to ask the audience, people that may have never experienced abuse before, um, what would they do if everything was taken away from them in a moment at a moment's notice, and that you know, you had to go and find somewhere to live, food to eat for you and your children, transportation, and you have nothing, absolutely nothing. And you've just been abused or hurt, you know, right before that. What would you do in that situation? I don't know what I would do. I you know, that would be very difficult for me. Stop and ask yourself that.
SPEAKER_02:And I think that's um I think that's very important for all of us to realize.
SPEAKER_01:It is, it is.
SPEAKER_02:And what does the process look like when someone first comes to you? I know I know a little bit about what you guys do, uh, but it can be in the middle of the night. It can be in uh maybe even a hospital setting because they needed emergent care. Um how does that process, if there's someone listening possibly that is in an abusive relationship, what would be their first step if they are slowly and carefully seeking help and guidance?
SPEAKER_01:So the first step is to give us a call. We uh screen every survivor through our phone system. So they would call us and talk with an advocate and um get the situation so that we understand what the needs are, and then we would begin to let them know what we can provide to them. So it starts with a simple conversation.
SPEAKER_02:And do you have a specific story while protecting privacy that you could share with us? Um, an enlightening story, perhaps, that you will never forget because you saw start to finish how it changed someone's life or a family's life.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, so I have so many. Good. One of my favorites, though, is um this young man who was in our shelter um when he I maybe was five years old, five, five or six, somewhere around there. Um, and the family lived in our shelter, had you know, very severe abuse in the home, and um came, lived with us for several months while mom struggled to kind of get um to get on her own, but they were able to. And then um, you know, things happened. Mom had another abusive relationship, they returned years later. So I encountered this young man two or three times within his developmental phase. And um you uh we always worry and wonder about what's gonna happen to our kids.
SPEAKER_02:Um bring some of that home with you too.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. Um met him one day in a store somewhere, and he ran up to me and said, because we never approach anyone in public. If I see you and and I know you from the shelter, I will never talk to you in public. Um, but he approached me and just said, you know, I want you to know that you your shelter saved my life and that it changed the direction that my life could have taken. And he would had we gone on to college, become a you know, successful professional. But he said he remembered playing in the playground at the shelter as one of his happiest childhood memories. Now, can you imagine living in a shelter being part of a happiest childhood memory? I can't imagine that, but that's this was this young man's truth. This is what what it was, and it just it touched me so deeply.
SPEAKER_02:Makes it all worthwhile, all the hard days that those stories that you know we hear about, thank goodness, have changed lives. Uh for me personally, I know one day I was in Rouse's and I must have had something on because you know, I with Faith House, or I had something possibly with the Junior League of Lafayette because we've done some work with you guys as well. And someone that was there came up to me and told me that their time at Faith House they encountered the junior league and the the correspondence there and that it changed their lives. And you know, we're so busy. I'm a chiropractor. I get up, I come to work, I do my thing, I try to do my part in the community. But that honestly made me stop in my tracks and realize what's really important in life. And we can all do something, even it's a if it's a small part of either making a donation of what their needs are, or spending some time reading books to children or teaching them how to cook something or something fun like that. It can truly change lives. So I know you must have so many heartwarming stories, but for me personally, that made all the difference in the world. But with that being said, what do you feel are some of the common misconceptions about domestic violence or what you've seen personally?
SPEAKER_01:So you know, I think uh there are many. I think that people believe that it only happens to certain types of people, which is definitely statistically not true. Um it is a very non-discriminatory uh crime that occurs. Um that's number one. Um number two, I think is that it's the victim's fault because they stay. And so there's that's a very, very complicated statement because sometimes in domestic violence it is not safe to leave. So even though they're being beaten and abused at home, they could be killed if they leave in some situations. So you really have to look at um look at it as a whole and know that that person is trying to make the best decision that they possibly can for their lives. So that's definitely a misconception. They're not always safer when they leave. Um, and then the last one is about the children. Um, so I think one very common misconception is that violent and abusive fathers or persons in the home can be a good parent. I just don't think that that will ever be true. And we know from statistics, from proof, evidence, I've seen family after family come into our shelter lots of times, multiple families from the same abuser. If they do it to one victim, they're going to do it to the next victim. And we have to remember that those children are seeing, witnessing, and experiencing this one time after the other. So we've got to learn to protect our children better in these homes with abusive families.
SPEAKER_02:What's more important? The future. That's our future. That's right. So for friends or family members that may uh possibly suspect that someone they know is in an abusive relationship, what can someone do if they truly care but they don't want to cause harm?
SPEAKER_01:Yes. So um it's very delicate with families. I would urge anyone to refer them to meet with an advocate. That would be your number one. Um do not tell them what to do. That is the worst thing, is is to impress your own opinions about the situation onto the victim and the quickest way to make them shut down. Um and also don't cut off access because I think families, it's exhausting. This is a very, very difficult thing for families to deal with, and it happens again and again and again, and a lot of family members will just cut ties with that person, and that disconnects them from any safety net that they may have. So hang in there with them, be non-judgmental, show them love, let them know that you care, and then offer them resources like Faith House or a program that may be able to help them.
SPEAKER_02:And do you guys, I know you work with several community advocates, but what about mental health? Do you have certain um, without naming anyone, I'm sure you have certain counselors and systems set in place to deal with certain issues?
SPEAKER_01:Yes, so we have our own on staff, which is great because they are very uh specifically trained in domestic violence and experience. So they can access professional therapeutic counseling through Faith House for free, so no charge again. Um, or if we're unable to assist them for some reason, then we can give referrals to partners in the community.
SPEAKER_02:So tell me what uh we've been through the domestic violence, unfortunately. Tell me what healing looks like for women and children. You've you've seen all sides of it. So what does healing truly look like?
SPEAKER_01:So that it's incredible. I mean, it is absolutely incredible to watch someone come in at the lowest point in their life and just completely rebuild themselves, flourish, and become an amazing human being. I mean, it it's really incredible to be.
SPEAKER_02:And it can happen for people who might be listening that whether it's a friend or family member or whether it's yourself, hang in there.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, it's worth it. It's a lot of hard work. It's a you know, sometimes it takes a while. Um, but I have seen so, so many people just flourish in the community, become, you know, their true selves and enjoy a happy life. That's what we deserve. Everyone deserves peace in their home, happiness, and the ability, you know, to function in the world as they wish.
SPEAKER_02:And get on the other side of it, you know. So if um you had one takeaway from our conversation today, what would be the one thing that you would really like to get across to our listeners? One message.
SPEAKER_01:So I I I really think and and appreciate you so much for all of your your support, is that anyone can help in some way, in whatever small, as small as you may think it may be, whether it be you know sending a small donation or volunteering your time or joining a group or an organization that helps Faith House? Um, everyone can be a part of this change. It you can really make a real impact on people in our community that think that they are alone. We can let them know that they're not by standing together, joining together, and you know, just becoming a part of the solution to this issue.
SPEAKER_02:And what are your most common needs?
SPEAKER_01:Um, so household needs, things we use every day in our house, um, paper towels, toilet paper, toothpaste, shampoo, just cleaning supplies, those sorts of things we go through very quickly within our programs. So those are always needed.
SPEAKER_02:Because I know on social media and whatnot, I'll hear or I'll see people say, Oh, I have these old clothes to donate. Let's bring them to Faith House or whatnot. And that's wonderful. We want, you know, donations of those kinds, but I don't really think people understand the need for paper towels, toilet paper, everything you use in your home, hygienic wise, um, comfort-wise, that's a great donation. Yes. And if anyone doesn't know where to go or has any questions about that, they're welcome to drop off any donation donations at Car Chiropractic Clinic because we have a working relationship with Faith House, and it's, like I said before, very, very um dear uh to my heart. And my last question, and I like to hear this from each guest because it's uh very important and it's very enlightening. So, how do you maintain your posture while pursuing your purpose in life?
SPEAKER_01:So I I think it's very important. It's taken me a long time to learn this, to be very to be grounded in in yourself and to know when um when you've had enough, to know when you need a break. So important. Yes, and to know, you know, um know when to speak up, know when to be silent, know when to, you know, just being being aware, being grounded helps, helps me to maintain um myself within this work. And and it's sustained me. I've been doing this for a long time. I plan to do this for a long time. How long have you been with Faith House? Uh 25 years this year. Wow. So I'm hoping to, I'm working on 50. Hopefully, I can stay 50.
SPEAKER_02:And they are so fortunate to have you and thank you for everything you do for our community and uh the people at Faith House. And it's just a blessing to know you. So thank you for everything you do. Thank you. And until next time, sit up straight, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay adjusted.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks for listening to the Posture and Purpose Podcast with Dr. Michelle Car Frank. Make sure to subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Until next time.