ABOUT
THOR

Located in Columbus, Ohio, The House of Redemption (THOR) received its State of Ohio Certification as a non-profit on December 12, 2013, and its federal 501(c)(3) status on September 4, 2014. Since its establishment, THOR has operated under the leadership of its Founder and Executive Director, Rev. Dr. Cynthia F. Burse. From August 2012-January 2021, THOR was governed by its Executive Board, and from January 2021-present by its Trustee Board.

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​THOR was developed in response to Dr. Burse's graduate study thesis which sought to establish the primacy of 'home' over the reentry 'housing' model in successful prison-to-community transitions.

Home is much more than just a physical shelter for the body or place to eat and store one's things. It is, even more importantly, that place inside each of us where we yearn to feel rooted, safe and to belong. This understanding of home as both a physical place and an internal human condition is the founding principle upon which THOR's work and mission rest.

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THOR’s primary mission is to serve as a stepping stone for individual returning citizens who are in pursuit of a meaningful and productive life by helping to address their long-term residential needs, in two meaningful ways. First, by providing residence for a period of three years in a home having a housing-cost-burden of no greater than 20 percent (the national burden is anywhere from 50 to 80 percent), and second, by promoting a simplistic style of living, toward the larger goal of mind transformation. We emphasize to residents the importance of learning to give up what they no longer need or want in order to obtain, keep and achieve what they do. THOR partners with like-minded community colleagues and business partners to provide any supplemental services that may be needed, such as jobs, health care or mental support.  

 

Reentry work is typically performed using the restorative justice model, which emphasizes reparation, reconciliation and one's responsibility to repair the harm caused by an individual's criminal behavior.

THOR, however, approaches reentry work from the position of transformative justice, defined by us as "the doing of justice in such a way that it leads to a productive change in the thinking, speech, behavior and actions of both the individuals reentering our communities and the community members themselves. THOR's work is guided by the principle of hesed, which is a type of covenant love that cannot be broken by either those who cannot forgive, or those who have caused harm to others and cannot restore what was lost.

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THOR strives to promote economic freedom for our residents, defined as "the opportunity to choose from a larger set of choices", even as we provide homes rather than housing, toward the goal of transforming minds, hearts and lives.