Rhonda Bear - a podcast by Her Story Speaks

Rhonda Bear spent years running from police. Wanted on drug charges in several states, Rhonda could not put down her addiction, even when threatened with the loss of her children. But behind bars, she renewed her commitment to Christ, completed drug counseling, and met a volunteer who invited her to participate in a Stand in the Gap spiritual family. Rhonda regained custody of her children and is now an attentive and involved mother and grandmother.



Today, Rhonda is back in prison. But this time, she is a Department of Corrections-approved volunteer, teaching Stand in the Gap’s Women in Transition curriculum to female inmates across the state of Oklahoma. Upon her students’ release, Rhonda matches them with transitional living facilities and pairs women with Stand in the Gap small groups of mentors. Rhonda leads a team of Women in Transition course facilitators and volunteers who work hard to empower women to live healthy, whole lives beyond bars.



In addition to her work at Stand in the Gap, Rhonda is also the founder of SheBrews Coffee House in Claremore, OK.  SheBrews provides opportunities for employment  for women reentering into society after being released from prison. Rhonda explains that She Brews Coffee House is "intended to give back what was given to me.  I feel like people invested in me, and now what I tell them all the time is it's earning interest, because I am now investing in the lives of other women."

Rhonda also founded and directs  His House Outreach Ministries, a faith-based transitional home in Claremore.  Women who are regaining their lives at His House are given the opportunity to work at She Brews to gain responsibility, leadership, trustworthiness, and social skills. Her life experiences allow her to relate to incarcerated women in a way that few other volunteers can.



Rhonda graduated from Northeastern State University with a bachelor’s degree in social work. She has been honored and recognized as “Volunteer of the Year” by Eddie Warrior Correctional Center, as one of the YWCA’s “Women of the Year” and named one of six “Leading Ladies of Claremore” by the Claremore Chamber of Commerce. For women in prison, Rhonda’s story opens the door to immeasurable hope.

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