Thursday, September 26, 2024
With over 80,000 people a year traveling to Gatesville prisons to visit their incarcerated loved ones, the Central Texas Hospitality House makes it their mission to provide support and to become a bridge of trust between prisoners and their families, as well as to the churches of the community.
The Central Texas Hospitality House was first established in 2014 with inspirations from the late Charlie Wise and his wife Mary Alice Wise, who still volunteers her time and donates to this day.
“How it all happened was a miracle, and, if you believe in miracles, then I’ve never seen one like this,” Mary Alice said.
Many years ago, when the Board of Directors first began searching for a building to provide a hospitality house to the area, Mary Alice recalled when she received a phone call from a local pastor at Grace Bible Church. The pastor informed her that the church unanimously voted to donate their land to the hospitality house.
When Grace Bible Church donated their land, it paved the way for the hospitality house to finally begin their journey in constructing their new facility.
“This whole house is a miracle and everything in it is, too,” Mary Alice said. “It started out having nothing.”
Kay McCleary, a member of the board of directors, said that each piece of furniture in the house has been donated. She also mentioned that a friend of Charlie Wise’s had three to four estates for sale, and the directors were able to go through and pick out whatever they wanted for the hospitality house at no charge.
Once the hospitality house was finished being furnished and built, a ribbon cutting was held in September of 2014.
The current directors are Pat and Charles Howard, who began their journey in June of 2023. Pat expressed that she believes being involved with the hospitality house is important.
“When you help families stay in touch with their imprisoned loved ones, it helps keep the family bond strong,” she said.
She mentioned that the house is able to hold up to 22 people and provides 10 bedrooms.
There are two rooms with queen-size beds, one room with two full-size beds, and the rest of the rooms have half-size beds. Located on one side of the building there are four bedrooms, with two of the rooms each connected with a door for large families traveling together.
Each room in the house is themed based on the life of an incarcerated individual or their family, an inspirational quote, or a Bible verse.
There is one room that was specially designed to honor the life of Karla Faye Tucker, who was incarcerated for 14 years at the Mountain View Unit. Before her execution in 1998, she found the Lord and was also able to personally touch Mary Alice’s heart, which led to the room being recognized in her name.
“Everybody in the United States knew about her because she got interviewed, and it was a new thing that a woman was going to be executed,” Mary Alice said. “I was one of the ones that got to go in and be with her and see her; Charlie and I both did.”
“You would be surprised how the Lord worked through all of that, and it helped us because Karla had no fear at all,” she said. “She knew that she would become a Christian even though she had been about the worst person before.”
Within the house, there are various signs displayed with uplifting Bible verses on the walls, which were made by past board member Trae Kendrick; this is just one of the ways the hospitality house tries to make their visitors feel at home.
“When the guests come and stay here, everything is provided for them,” Board Director and Public Relations Liaison Helen Munday said. “Seventy-five percent of the visitors that come to the prisons are children, and they are the silent victims of their parents’ mistakes.”
Various volunteers visit the house each Monday to help with housekeeping or to donate meals for the weekend.
Many of the members of the Board of Directors, including Munday and McCleary, take time out of their day to volunteer at the hospitality house as well, whether that be to do laundry, wash dishes, sweep and mop, or take out the trash.
The hospitality house will typically have visitors every weekend throughout each month, only housing guests on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Each week, the Howard’s begin preparing the house early on Friday mornings and are present throughout the weekend to make sure their visitors have everything they need.
“This is a good mission, and I love being around people and taking care of people,” Pat said.
One of the only requirements for prisoners’ families to stay at the hospitality house is that they must live at least 250 miles away from the facility.
McCleary expressed that a lot of people who come to visit their loved ones in prison tell her that if they did not have the hospitality house then they would be staying at the park inside of their car.
“A lot of people in the free world ostracize them because they have a family member in prison, but you don’t get that here. Even people who have a lot of money who can afford a hotel room will stay here for that reason, and they will get the love and support they need,” she said. “It’s rewarding to be here, and I hope they get a sense of understanding, love, and acceptance.”
Munday mentioned that there is a specific Bible verse which the members of the house live by. “For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me; I was in prison and you came to visit me,” Matthew 25:35-36.
Since the Central Texas Hospitality House is run on donations only and has no outside funding, the facility accepts donations such as food, beverages, cleaning supplies, or children’s toys, as well as monetary donations. To donate, contact the Central Texas Hospitality House at 254-404-2260.
