The Plain People's Podcast

The Plain People's Podcast
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Underbelly survivor stories of abuse, struggle, and triumph told by Amish, Mennonite, and Anabaptist current and former members.

  1. 2D AGO

    Meet K

    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

    1h 29m

  2. MAR 15

    People Helpers and Plain Run Facilities

    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

    1h 10m
  3. Why is Amish Crime Happening?

    MAR 8

    Why is Amish Crime Happening?

    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

    53 min

  4. MAR 2

    WE ARE SO BACK

    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

    15 min

  5. 01/14/2022

    The Liberty Ridge Lawsuit

    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.

    1 hr

  6. 06/08/2021

    Breaking Amish with Dawn Martin

    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.

    33 min

  7. 06/01/2021

    Behind Blue Curtains with Lizzie Hershberger

    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.

    42 min

  8. 05/24/2021

    Deb's Story, Pt 2

    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.

    48 min
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Underbelly survivor stories of abuse, struggle, and triumph told by Amish, Mennonite, and Anabaptist current and former members.

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