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We caught up with Bobbi-Jo at the office of Healing House in Kansas City last June. She’s been a friend of Reach UP, giving away thousands of magazines throughout each year to women in her community. This time we were there to ask about the documentary made about her amazing story, Bobbi-Jo: Under the Influence that was just released in 2021.
Reach UP: What would you have said if someone told you a movie would be made about your life?
Bobbi-Jo: Hah! I didn’t think I even had a future, let alone a story that anyone would listen to.
RU: When you were struggling to get your life together, did you ever think hundreds of people would line up to honor and give credit to your love and God’s help for turning their lives around?
BJ: No. I was just going to help ten women.
RU: There was a tearful time in the movie when you talk about being raped and getting pregnant and the decision to have an abortion. Did that solve your problem?
BJ: No. It was an awful, awful painful experience. I got deeper into the drugs and alcohol.
RU: You said you became an “It.” Why would you think that?
BJ: I was invisible. I felt like no one saw me, the real me. With addiction, you keep falling farther and farther into this deep hole, and it almost becomes acceptable. You think that is how it is.
RU: You went into detox. What happened there that changed the course of your life?
BJ: I found out that even in detox, that when I kept busy and helped people, I did better. It became the next “right thing” to do. So, after a series of events, (find out the details in the movie) I made up my mind that if I could help ten women in a year, I’d be doing good. Just help ten women and stay sober every year.
RU: God had good plans for your life?
BJ: I cried out to God. The Holy Spirit took up residence in me. For the first time in my life, the fear was gone, and I knew I was going to be okay. It’s a new kind of being “under the influence.”
RU: So. you began Healing House to help other women, which bring us up to today.
BJ: Today Healing House actually has fourteen houses, four apartment buildings, our Recovery Community Center, training labs/on-site businesses, a huge family Bible Study on Friday nights and more things going on than you’ll have room to list.
RU: How many men and women who have walked through the doors of Healing House have been helped?
BJ: Since 2002 about 10,000 men and women have been welcomed to a new life.
RU: What message do you want our readers to remember?
BJ: Never give up on yourself! And I always add on, there’s hope as long as you are breathing! If I can make it, anyone can make it.
RU: What is your favorite part in the Bible?
BJ: Proverbs 31. I love the wife of noble character. She picks out a field and buys it.
RU: That describes you now!
BJ: It’s not so much about the “wife” part, but the kind of person I want to be.
While we were interviewing Bobbi-Jo, a staff member came up to show her a listing of two houses that the owners wanted Healing House to buy. She took the time to consider the offer and told him what he should do next. Then she looked at us and replied.
BJ: So many men and women want to get their lives together that Healing House has to grow.
In the film, you’ll find out just how involved Bobbi-Jo is in all the details of the houses and the training the residents receive.
RU: While walking with you, we noticed that everyone here at Healing House calls you, “Mom” or “Mama.”
BJ: Yes. that’s because we are family. That’s what I tell them. And when they join the program, we say, “Welcome Home.”
RU: You do know what’s going on with each one, don’t you?
BJ: I try to. The hardest moments are when someone has begged to stay and go through the program, but quits because they can’t stick with the house rules. Sometimes they come back hurting more than before — Bobbi-Jo’s voice dropped in sadness — and sometimes they never do.
Proverbs 31 verses from The MSG
“She looks over a field and buys it,
then, with money she’s put aside, plants a garden.
First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,
rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.
She senses the worth of her work,
is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.
She’s skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,
diligent in homemaking.
She’s quick to assist anyone in need,
reaches out to help the poor.”
She always faces tomorrow with a smile.
When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,
and she always says it kindly.
She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,
and keeps them all busy and productive.
Her children respect and bless her
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Purchase your own copy of BOBBI-JO, Under the Influence at https://www.thebobbijomovie.com
