The Plain People's Podcast

Picking back up where we left off in the last recording, I sat down with a law enforcement officer out of Ohio to hear his perspective on The Amish Restoration Team. You'll hear his real-time reactions to the answers the RT has been giving Amish women within their communities—and what that actually looks like from the outside looking in. Law enforcement often gets a bad reputation in these conversations, accused of not doing enough to address abuse. But the question we have to ask is… how much can they do if the barriers put in place by the church prevent them from even knowing what's happening? If you want to follow along with this work, access additional research, and support these stories being told, you can find more on Substack at The Plain People's Project, and follow along on Instagram at The Plain People's Podcast.

Last year, over 300 abuse cases were documented by what is known as the "Restoration Team" in Holmes and Wayne County, Ohio. Fewer than 10 of those cases ever made it to the Wayne County Sheriff's Office. So what's happening in between? In this episode, Jasper brings you into the beginning of her investigation into the Restoration Team—an Amish-led intervention group presented to churches as a safe haven for handling abuse within the community. What unfolds is not a simple system, but a layered and complex structure involving steering committees, church authority, and internal processes that shape how—and if—abuse cases move forward. These recordings capture conversations with Amish women in real time, as they describe the barriers they face when trying to report abuse, seek help, and pursue justice. This episode is intentionally left as it was originally recorded, allowing listeners to follow the learning process as it happened—before later developments and deeper understanding came to light. In the next episode, we expand on this conversation with insight from Ohio law enforcement and revisit a case referenced here, including new developments. This is where the conversation begins. Links & Resources: Substack: ⁠The Plain People's Project⁠ Website: ⁠theplainpeoplespodcast.com⁠ Instagram: ⁠The Plain People's Podcast⁠

In this episode of The Plain People's Podcast, we continue our look into Amish and Mennonite mental health systems—specifically, what are known as "the facilities," or residential treatment centers for those struggling within plain communities. This episode focuses on Hoffnung Heim, a facility widely known among the Amish as a trusted place for women to receive help. But what is the reality inside these treatment centers? Our guest shares her firsthand experience at Hoffnung Heim after growing up in a violent and abusive Amish home. Through her story, we explore the structure of Amish support systems, including church-appointed support groups—a system designed to guide individuals in crisis, but one that often requires full transparency, compliance, and submission to authority. Many survivors are now asking: Are these systems truly helping—or are they protecting the church? This episode also introduces a unique recording approach. A portable recording device was left in Ohio, allowing Amish women to share their stories privately, in their own homes. While the audio quality may vary, the goal remains the same: to document real experiences directly from Amish women. These are Amish voices, speaking about abuse, mental health, religious control, and the barriers to seeking help. This is part of an ongoing series uncovering: Amish mental health treatment centers Religious trauma in Amish and Mennonite communities Abuse and systemic barriers within plain communities Survivor stories and lived experiences — These are Amish women speaking. — For more research, resources, and ongoing work: Substack: The Plain People's Project Website: www.theplainpeoplespodcast.com Instagram: The Plain People's Podcast

For years, Mennonite and Amish women have quietly spoken about "the facilities" — residential programs where church members are sent for restoration, discipline, or mental health support. But what exactly are these places? In this episode of The Plain People's Podcast, Jasper Hoffman begins unpacking one of the most complex and hidden barriers facing Amish and Anabaptist survivors: a network of unlicensed and unregistered residential treatment facilities operating across multiple states. This series features Amish women speaking in their own words about their experiences inside these programs and the pressure they faced when being sent away. Drawing on years of investigation, survivor interviews, and newly obtained documents — including an updated Mental Health Facility Research Guide issued by the Amish Steering Committee — Jasper explores how these facilities are organized, how they avoid oversight, and how families are guided to select programs based on theology, obedience to ministry leadership, and views on reporting abuse. Many women who enter these facilities are described as "choosing" to go. But as one Amish woman told Jasper: "If no is not an option, then yes is not a choice." Over the next several weeks, we will examine the role these facilities play within a larger system involving ministry leadership, restoration teams, tourism economies, and community power structures. Before crimes can be solved, they first have to be seen. Topics discussed in this episode: Amish communities, Amish women, Amish abuse, Amish mental health, residential treatment facilities, unlicensed treatment centers, religious trauma, Anabaptist communities, cult recovery, investigative journalism, and survivor advocacy. Support & Resources This investigation is made possible by listeners and supporters who help fund continued research and reporting. To learn more, read additional research, and support this work: Website: www.plainpeoplespodcast.com Substack: The Plain People's Project https://plainpeoplesproject.substack.com

For years, conversations about abuse in Amish and other plain communities began with denial. Survivors, advocates, and researchers were forced to answer the same basic question again and again: is abuse actually happening? But something has shifted. In this episode, Jasper shares recordings that began in August of 2023 after a group of current Amish women from Holmes County, Ohio reached out asking for help. They wanted to bring attention to the barriers they were facing while trying to report abuse and seek protection within their communities. Holmes County sits at the center of Ohio's Amish Country and is home to the largest concentration of Amish residents in the United States, with roughly 40% of the county's population belonging to Amish communities. The region also attracts millions of tourists each year, drawn by the image of a simpler way of life. But the conversations in this episode reveal a much more complicated reality. These interviews were originally recorded before the Ruth Miller trial and before the Ivan Miller homicides brought national attention to crime within Amish communities. Since then, the public conversation has shifted. The question is no longer whether abuse exists. Now the question is why it continues. Through these recordings, listeners follow Jasper's own evolving understanding as the investigation moves beyond documenting abuse to exploring the systems, structures, and cultural dynamics that allow it to persist. This episode of The Plain People's Podcast explores abuse, advocacy, and accountability within Amish and other plain communities, with a focus on Holmes County, Ohio, home to the largest Amish population in the United States. The discussion touches on topics including Amish culture, barriers to reporting abuse, religious communities and crime, Amish women seeking help, and the systems that allow abuse to persist in insular communities. Learn More For additional research, writing, and ongoing reporting related to this work: The Plain People's Project (Substack) https://plainpeoplesproject.substack.com Website https://www.plainpeoplespodcast.com

The Ruth Miller trial begins in Ohio this week, and I'm heading there for full bench trial coverage. Before we get into courtroom testimony, this episode lays some groundwork — the work happening quietly inside Amish and Mennonite (Plain) communities, the barriers women face when trying to seek help, and the ongoing conversations with local and federal agencies who are often navigating cultural nuances from the outside. I also read a letter sent to the Ohio Attorney General's Office by women from the community where Ruth was living. And while Ruth was not involved in writing the letter, nor does it tie into her trial in any way, it reflects broader concerns from women in the community as a whole — many describing feeling unseen and unheard. While Ruth's case is the current focus, there are many voices and lived experiences that give context to what's unfolding in the communities around. Much of that context hasn't been publicly heard until now. Follow ongoing reporting at: The Plain People's Project on Substack: https://substack.com/@theplainpeoplesproject www.theplainpeoplespodcast.com

Renee Franchi and Nathanial Foote from Andreozzi & Foote are currently representing two former Mennonite men suing the Eastern PA Mennonite Church, Martin Nelson doing business as Liberty Ridge Farm. Together they sit down with Jasper to discuss labor trafficking, the Liberty Ridge case and how Amish and Mennonites are not above the law.

From Groffdale Conference Mennonite to Black Bumper (Horning) to Breaking Amish season 5, Dawn has been on a momentous journey. We were fortunate to sit down and spend some time talking about what is real in the process of shooting reality tv and find out where she is today.

Lizzie Hershberger is a former Swartzentruber Amish member , which is largest and most conservative subgroups of Old Order Amish. Her recent memoir titled Behind Blue Curtains was published this spring and she sits down with us to talk about what it is like to write, and walk within, your trauma story.

Last week we introduced you to the incredible Deb....also known as Moxie. This week we pick back up in the story and learn how Deb hiked the entire Appalachian Trail and the fierce tenacity that drove her to finish.

Deb, who fondly goes by Moxie, grew up in the Beachy Amish church, but never quite fit in. In this two part story series, she opens up about her great adventure of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail, and who she became along the way. All music featured in these episodes are played for you by Deb.

In February of this year Mennonite Abuse Prevention published an investigation into the ''ministerial sexual misconduct" of co-pastor at Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church, Tom Harder. Dr. Stephanie Krehbiel, executive director of IntoAccount.org prepared the analysis for MAP's post, and spoke with us about her findings. To read the MAP post, click here. https://www.themaplist.org/the-map-list/tom-harder/ To access full transcripts of messages and emails used as evidence in this case, click here. https://www.themaplist.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Tom-Harder-Transcript-of-Facebook-and-email-conversation-between-Tom-Harder-and-student-S-redacted.pdf

Following along from last week's conversation with Anna Mae, she and Jasper talk more about what it's like to be labeled a bad girl by the church, as well as the differences between their own church upbringings as ex-Amish and ex-Mennonite.

Anna Mae grew up within the Old Order Amish community, where therapy was not even a concept. After leaving the church and wrestling with depression, she decided to Google for the "best therapist in Nashville", which lead her to Chris Hancock, LCSW, ACMHP. As the owner of Therapy Outside The Box, Chris opens up about his experience working with Anna Mae, and Anna Mae shares how therapy has helped her become the woman she is today. You can find Chris at https://www.therapyoutsidethebox.com/

"This is where I spent most of my Sundays the past three years. This was my home. And I fully believed that I had to be here or I would go to hell. It was beautiful. It was spiritual. It was also misery. It was repressive. It was legalistic. And I am so proud to say that I am free now. Free to be me. Free to worship the way I choose. You never know true freedom until you've been constrained. I love you, Lincoln County Mennonite Church. And I wish you the best. But I must go." www.theplainpeoplespodcast.com

In early 2019, shortly after sharing what we then believed to be the entirely of Audrey's horrific abuse story, the floodgates opened when it was discovered that her ex husband had brutally sexually assaulted her children for years. Through yet another battle of unbelievable odds, Audrey was back in court, but not with just her ex-husband, but her ex-father in law, an Amish Bishop. But whatever for? Surely not those letters so many of us tossed in the trash after we left our church. Or was it......

Tighten your Hushpuppies and lay out the Sunday Pfaltzgraft, because we are back with a bang for our first episode of Season Five. DeLite sits down with Jasper and Marc and opens a can of worms by sharing her first hand experience with "wife swapping".... better known as non consensual swinging. Did you know the Plain People have their own phone sex line? Jasper didn't, but quickly posed the question...is this how young women are being trafficked? What do you think? Write in and tell us your thoughts! www.theplainpeoplespodcast.com https://www.facebook.com/theplainpeoplespodcast patreon.com/theplainpeoplespodcast

Laura shares her experience adjusting to life outside of her family and where she is today.