Meet Our Founder

Before it became Hannah's Haven, this house was already part of Missy Bell's story. It was here, within these very walls, that she experienced some of the hardest days of her life. Today, the same place that once witnessed her struggles is being prepared to welcome women who are fighting battles of their own. For Missy, this is much more than opening a home. It is an opportunity to offer others the hope she found in Jesus Christ.

Missy grew up in Missouri before moving to Waynesville, North Carolina, during her high school years. Today, she calls Clayton home and is the proud mother of three children, two daughters and a son. She is intelligent, funny, artistic, and hardworking, with a personality that can brighten an entire room. She loves her family and friends fiercely, gives generously of herself, and has a remarkable way of making people feel important. Beneath her joyful spirit is a woman of tremendous compassion, someone who understands that loving people sometimes means standing beside them when life is anything but beautiful.

That understanding comes from experience. Missy has faced addiction, endured painful circumstances, and known what it means to rebuild a life that once seemed beyond repair. Through Jesus Christ, she found freedom and a purpose greater than anything she could have imagined during those difficult years. Her relationship with Him is the most important part of her life, shaping the way she loves her family, serves her community, and cares for women who are struggling.

Missy also knows the heartbreak of losing someone she loves. Her sister, Hannah, died as a result of addiction. Hannah was deeply loved, and her life was worth far more than the struggle that ultimately took it. Losing her sister left a grief that Missy will always carry, but it also deepened her compassion for women facing similar battles. Hannah's memory, together with Missy's own experiences, became part of a growing desire to create a place where women could find the help, understanding, and spiritual guidance they need.

During her own recovery, Missy was surrounded by women who took the time to love and encourage her. They offered more than advice. They shared their lives with her and reminded her, through their actions, that she was worth helping. Today, Missy extends that same compassion through her church, faith-based recovery communities, and personal mentorship. She understands that meaningful change takes patience, honest accountability, and people who care enough to remain present through the difficult parts.

Hannah's Haven is the expression of that love. Missy wants it to be a genuine home, a place where women feel safe enough to be honest about their struggles and supported as they begin building a different life. She believes that recovery and spiritual growth belong together, and that discipleship provides something lasting beyond the immediate circumstances that bring a woman through the door. Her hope is that each resident will come to understand her worth in Christ, develop a strong foundation of faith, and discover the woman God created her to be.

What Missy looks forward to most is seeing the light come on in someone's life. Watching a woman begin to smile again without forcing it. Seeing peace replace the constant weight of fear and uncertainty. Witnessing that quiet moment when someone who had nearly given up begins to believe that her life matters. Missy understands the significance of those changes because she remembers what it was like to need them herself.

If there is one truth she wants every woman to know, it is this:

Above all, Missy's prayer is that every woman who comes to Hannah's Haven will experience redemption and salvation through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. She wants them to leave knowing they are loved by Him, prepared to live with purpose, and eager to share that same love with others.

Nothing Missy accomplishes through Hannah's Haven can bring her sister back, and she would never pretend otherwise. But Hannah's name will live on in a home where women are welcomed, encouraged, and reminded that their lives are precious. The same grace that carried Missy through her own struggles now gives her the opportunity to walk alongside others. In that, she has found a deeply personal way to honor her sister while serving the women who still need someone to believe in them.

Because the place where your life nearly fell apart can become the very place where God helps someone else put theirs back together.