We could tell better stories if we broke these rules. We won't.
Most ministries in this space bury their privacy practices in a one-line photo caption or a volunteer's confidentiality form. We're stating ours plainly, in public, because the women we serve deserve to know exactly how we'll handle their story before they ever walk through the door.
Our rules, and why they exist
We never publish a current resident's story or photo.
Every story on this site comes from a graduate — a woman who has completed the program — never from someone currently living at Mercy Manor. A woman in the middle of recovery should never have to wonder if her hardest season is being used to raise money.
We never publish the facility's exact address, aerial photos, or floor plan.
Texas law makes it a criminal offense to publicize the location of a family-violence or human-trafficking shelter with intent to threaten resident safety (Texas Penal Code §42.075). Mercy Manor's primary program is addiction recovery, but many of the women we serve also carry histories of abuse or exploitation — so we hold ourselves to that same line. Publicly, we say "Granbury, Texas — Hood County." The exact location is shared only by phone, and only with someone who has a real reason to know it — a referring pastor, caseworker, or family member helping a woman get here.
Every graduate story is her story, told her way.
Before anything is published, the woman herself reviews and approves the final language and any photo. Names may be changed, and identifying details — hometown, workplace, number or ages of children — may be adjusted, because even small details can identify someone in a small community. She has a standing, no-questions-asked right to ask us to take her story down at any time, for any reason.
We never use "rescue" language.
You won't find "we saved her" or "a voice for the voiceless" on this site. That language centers Mercy Manor instead of the woman who did the work of changing her own life. We use "support," "walk alongside," and "help her rebuild" instead — she is the one who recovers; we are the ones who help make it possible.
We don't use dehumanizing imagery.
No chains, handcuffs, price tags, or images that reduce a woman to the worst moment of her life. If we can't show her with dignity, we don't show her at all — which is why so much of this site's photography is about place, light, and small domestic detail rather than faces.
These rules come from real law, not just good manners
Federal confidentiality protections for survivors of domestic violence and trafficking (the VAWA/FVPSA confidentiality provision) require this kind of discretion. So do federal patient-confidentiality protections for people in substance-use treatment (42 CFR Part 2), and Texas state law protecting the identity and location of family-violence and trafficking shelters. We hold to this standard even where it may not be strictly required by statute, because it is the right way to treat the women who trust us.
Questions about how we handle your information?
Contact us. For questions specifically about how this website handles data — cookies, forms, analytics — see our Website Privacy Policy.