Values and Beliefs

• We are grounded in core values such as integrity, compassion, excellence, innovation, collaboration, respect, accountability, service, sustainability, and equity. These principles guide our approach to serving and supporting our community.

• We strongly believe in maintaining a secular foundation to help bridge cultural gaps between the Amish, Mennonite, and other Plain communities and the English world. We welcome all faiths and backgrounds, and believe that wherever you are in life, there are meaningful resources available to support you.

• We strive to be a welcoming and safe place for the LGBTQIA community and all marginalized groups. This includes honoring diverse identities, fostering a sense of belonging, and upholding the values of equity, inclusion, and respect in our actions.

• We recognize the urgent need for anti-racist education and inclusive support, especially for people of color who have been adopted into, joined, or left the Amish and Plain communities.

• We are committed to being a safe, empowering space for people with disabilities. As our understanding of ableism deepens, we strive to amplify the voices and leadership of individuals with lived experiences.

Meet The Team

Mary Byler

Founder/Vice-Chair

Byler grew up in five different Amish settlements. Since 2004, they have actively pursued writing, painting, and other diverse experiences. As an educator and advocate for Amish children, They collaborate with other organizations and agencies to provide research-supported and evidence-base resources for Amish, Mennonite, and other Plain communities and survivors. A medical coder by profession, Byler also holds a Master's certificate in life coaching and other certificates in trauma awareness and specializes in working with survivors of cults and other conservative sectarian religious groups. They produces audio and video recordings of Amish/Plain survivor stories, focusing on LGBTQ experiences.

Linda Beiler

Chair

Beiler serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for The Misfit Amish. Born and raised in the Old Order Amish community of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, she has dedicated her life to supporting survivors of child sexual abuse, religious trauma, and other crimes within Amish, Mennonite, and similar conservative communities. As a child abuse survivor, Linda brings profound empathy and a strong commitment to her advocacy work. With background in psychology, she remains trauma-informed and currently serves as a Direct Support Professional for children with autism and other disabilities. She also has over a decade of experience in guest services and retail management, which she now applies to her mission of justice, awareness, and healing for survivors.

Kay Rose

Secretary

Kay Rose serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for The Misfit Amish. A survivor of child sexual abuse, domestic violence, and religious control, she understands the complex challenges survivors face — especially within Plain communities where silence often surrounds abuse. After leaving an ultra-conservative Mennonite background, Kay turned her story into a source of advocacy and hope. Through her writing and her work with The Misfit Amish, she helps bring awareness to hidden forms of abuse and supports efforts to create safe spaces where survivors can find understanding, community, and healing.

Mel Jones

Treasurer

Mel Jones serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors for The Misfit Amish. Having grown up attending Mennonite churches and as the daughter of a parent raised Amish, Mel brings a personal understanding of Plain community dynamics to her work. She is currently pursuing a graduate degree in sociology, with her research centered on intimate partner violence (IPV) within the LGBTQ community—a focus shaped by her own lived experiences with trauma, including IPV and stalking. Mel is deeply committed to advancing awareness, education, and healing, believing that understanding both self and society is essential to recovery for trauma survivors.

Samuel Miller

Advisor

Miller serves as an Advisor on the Board of Directors for The Misfit Amish, bringing valuable insights and expertise to the organization. Raised in the Swartzentruber Amish settlement in Peoli, Ohio,

With a background as a truck driver, he has cultivated strong work ethic and resilience. As a survivor child sexual abuse at the age of eleven, Samuel is dedicated to using his personal experiences to support advocate for other survivors of abuse and religious trauma. He particularly focuses on those from Amish, Mennonite, Plain and conservative communities, striving to create a safe space for healing and empowerment through his work with The Misfit Amish. Samuel's commitment to advocacy and support makes him an invaluable asset to the organization.

James Schwartz

Art Ambassador

James was adopted by his paternal Amish grandparents and raised by them in an environment conformity, silence, and simplicity were highly valued. Leaving that world wasn’t easy, but it marked the start of their journey to discover their true self. Becoming part of the LGBTQIA+ community felt like stepping into a world of vibrant colors after years of living in black and white. Art became James's voice when words weren't enough. Each piece they create carries the story of their origins and the freedom of who they've become. As an Art Ambassador for The Misfit Amish, James uses creativity to bridge different worlds, showing that healing, authenticity, and connection can blossom even from the most unexpected places. Their story is one of leaving and returning—this time, with paint-stained hands and an open heart.

Our Mission statement

"Amish, Mennonite, and other Plain children and adults will have resources and education to combat crimes in their communities. We bridge the gaps between Amish/Plain Communities and Dominant culture."

Our board of directors are required to pass a criminal background and participate in ongoing training of Ethics for serving Victims and Survivors of Crimes.

Vision statement:

Our vision is a world where religious trauma and interpersonal violence will no longer exist.

Signs:

Plain people are not above the law

Child sex abuse is a crime

Plain children deserve an education on consent.

Literature:

Child abuse is a problem in plain communities: a list of names of public cases

Informational literature about rights, how to report abuse, define abuse, and discuss trauma

Solutions:

Educate yourself on Plain people's abuse by listening to The Plain People's Podcast and/or The Misfit Amish or watching Sins of the Amish.

Write your lawmaker (congressman/senator)

If you see something, say something (whether the person or child is Amish, Plain, or from dominant culture).

How we aim to achieve these goals:

Awareness:

Educating the world to the lack of bodily autonomy, freedom, and education within the Amish and Plain culture.

Education to help everyone understand Amish and Plain culture issues like sexuality, education, and personal freedom.

Education so people understand English is a second language for many Plain people, and they might not have the vocabulary to explain what kinds of abuse they suffered.

Education that Plain people are not above the law. If you see something, say something.

Create a nonprofit geared towards this:

I dream that future generations of plain children will be taught safe touch/nonsafe touch, Amish religious leadership will be held accountable for failing to report sexual crimes, and victims will not be labelled, blamed, or shamed by the church.

Donate here to support further efforts to require education: (have a website with information/nonprofit to offset costs of running the website and raising awareness etc)

Engagement: what can you do?

By the combination of the issues at hand from former plain people and others, we will stand together, and we will change the issue of child sex abuse in plain communities.

Engage our lawmakers by writing them together.

petition

Raise engagement by participating in the distribution of flyers in public spaces alongside other causes.

The result:

Plain people and children will have words to communicate that they are being abused when they are questioned by social workers.

Plain people and children will be able to understand when their rights are violated.

Dominant culture people will understand how to contact translators for Plain people.

Dominant culture people will have a better understanding of the cultural barriers.

Civil authorities will hold Plain people who commit crimes accountable, regardless of their Plain status.

Plain people will gain autonomy to find their personhood.

Plain people will have the resources they need to report crimes committed against them or their community members.

Plain people will have a voice in their own story. They will have freedom of expression.

We created a safe community for Plain people to connect, share their stories, and initiate the healing process.

We collaborate with agencies already established to support Amish abuse survivors.

Crimes amongst Amish and Plain settlements will be investigated and prosecuted.