Our Story

Our Name

The name comes from Proverbs 31, where a woman of strength is described as worth far more than rubies. That is the belief at the center of everything we do: every woman who comes to us — no matter what she has survived — carries immeasurable worth. Our work is simply to create the safety and support that let her rebuild a life equal to that worth.

“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” — Proverbs 31:25

Our Mission

More Precious Than Rubies provides women and children escaping domestic abuse with safe housing and the wraparound support they need to heal from trauma and build lasting independence. Our flagship effort, the Women’s Independence Village, brings all of that together in one secure community — so that a family doesn’t have to piece together safety, counseling, childcare, and job support from a dozen different places while in crisis.

A place to heal — concept rendering of the Village grounds.

The Problem We’re Answering

Survivors who find the courage to leave often face an impossible next step. Emergency shelters are full or limited to a few nights. Affordable housing has long waitlists. Without a safe place to land, many women are forced to choose between homelessness and returning to danger. The children in these families carry the weight too — changing schools, losing stability, and absorbing trauma that follows them for years.

On a single day in 2025, survivors made more than 13,000 requests for help that went unmet — and 58% of those were for housing and shelter. For most women, the barrier isn’t the willingness to leave; it’s having somewhere safe to go.

The Village is built to interrupt that cycle: not a quick stop, but a stable community where a family has the time and support to fully recover and prepare for independent life.

Our Approach

We believe recovery is not just a roof — it’s a whole ecosystem of support. At the Village, housing is the foundation, and around it we build:

Safety and stability — a secure campus and a home of one’s own
Trauma-informed counseling — for women and for children
Education and workforce development — the skills and credentials for real earning power
Financial empowerment — budgeting, saving, and credit-building toward independence
Community — neighbors, mentors, and staff who walk alongside each family
Optional pastoral care — prayer, spiritual support, and encouragement for those who want it, never required

A Message From Our Founder

Dear Friends, Donors, and Partners,

My name is Courtney B. Vann, and I am the founder of More Precious Than Rubies Women’s Independence Village, Inc. I am more than a founder and businesswoman — I am a survivor of domestic abuse. I know firsthand what it means to live in fear, to feel trapped, to lose pieces of yourself in the struggle to survive, and to long for a place where safety, dignity, and peace can exist again. This vision was born from pain, but it is sustained by faith — faith in a God who restores, redeems, and makes all things new.

For years, I carried wounds that were visible and invisible. I know the silence, the shame, the isolation, and the difficulty of rebuilding after trauma. I also know the power of hope, the strength that comes from God’s love, and the difference it makes when a hurting woman is given a safe place to heal. That is why More Precious Than Rubies exists — to become the refuge I once needed, and the refuge so many women and children still desperately need today.

We are building more than shelter. We are building a village of restoration — a place where survivors can receive safety, counseling, education, and practical support — along with optional pastoral care, prayer, Bible study, and spiritual support for those who want it — and the encouragement needed to begin again. We believe every woman and child deserves more than survival; they deserve healing, purpose, and a future filled with possibility. We believe God can take what was broken and bring forth beauty, strength, and testimony.

This mission is deeply personal to me, but it is not mine alone. It is a call to the faithful, the compassionate, and all who believe that restoration is possible. Your partnership helps us create a haven where lives can be rebuilt and generations can be changed. Thank you for believing in this vision, and for standing with us as we build a place where God’s healing love is made real.

“Talitha koum!” — “Little girl, arise.” (Mark 5:41)

With gratitude, faith, and hope,
Courtney B. Vann
Founder & President, More Precious Than Rubies Women’s Independence Village, Inc.

Leadership

Courtney B. Vann — Founder & President

Courtney B. Vann spent over two decades building housing. She is now building the community she once needed.

Courtney owned and operated a commercial construction company, delivering multifamily and affordable housing, governmental and institutional facilities, renovations, and public-sector work. She managed projects governed by HUD requirements and contracted through the SBA 8(a) and HUB programs, giving her direct experience in government procurement, estimating and budgeting, scheduling, subcontractor management, and regulatory compliance. From preconstruction through completion, she knows what it takes to turn a plan on paper into a place people call home.

She also knows what it takes to leave. As a survivor of domestic abuse, Courtney understands that escaping is not the end of the struggle but the beginning of another — finding safe housing, restoring financial footing, caring for children, returning to work, and learning to live independently again.

More Precious Than Rubies Women’s Independence Village grew out of both. As Founder and President, Courtney is developing a residential campus where women and their children can live safely while receiving counseling, children’s services, education, workforce development, financial literacy, and life-skills training — the support that stands between escaping abuse and lasting independence.

She knows the construction required to build the Village. She also knows the courage required to walk through its doors.

Brent Knipp — Vice President

More than 25 years of executive experience in real estate investment, finance, business development, and organizational leadership, having led complex acquisitions and multimillion-dollar transactions. As Vice President, Brent provides strategic leadership in organizational development, financial planning, fundraising, and long-term sustainability — with a commitment to accountability, transparency, and responsible stewardship.

Kelly Bodenhamer — Secretary

Kelly brings a combination of lived experience, business leadership, and a career in animal care and rescue. Having experienced domestic abuse herself, she understands that leaving is rarely as simple as walking away — not when children, finances, housing and fear are all in the balance.

Her professional background spans business ownership and management, veterinary and animal-welfare operations, and animal rescue. Through that work she has seen the strength of the bond between people and their animals, and how much harder a survivor’s choices become when her options do not account for it.

Kelly’s hope for the Village is a place where survivors regain control of their lives, rebuild financially and emotionally, and move forward with dignity. She joined the board to turn difficult experience into meaningful change for the women and children who come after her.

Board of Directors & Advisory Council

More Precious Than Rubies is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors responsible for setting strategy, approving budgets, and overseeing financial accountability. We are actively assembling our Board alongside a multidisciplinary Advisory Council — bringing expertise in domestic-violence services, mental health, workforce development, construction, finance, law, and philanthropy. Members are being seated now, and we will introduce them here as they are confirmed.

If you have the experience and the heart to help guide this work, we would love to hear from you.

Faith & Welcome

More Precious Than Rubies is founded on faith and rooted in compassion. Spiritual support is offered to anyone who wants it and is never a condition of receiving help. Women and children of every background and belief are welcomed here, exactly as they are.

See the Village We’re Building