"Our prayers now are things like, Thank you for my bed. Thank you for our house. The kids are grateful for what that we have," Hartman says. "But they can also see that there are some people who don't have those things." 

Each week, the family travels to the shelter to help with lunch service. They prep the food, wipe down the tables, talk to the guests in line, and have a chance to lead the dining room in prayer. One day after the family returned home from serving, Hartman’s daughter, Scout, had a specific, heartbreaking prayer request.  

“When we got home, she just said, Let’s pray for that one lady that walked through,” Hartman says.  

Scout was referring to a new guest they’d encountered that afternoon, one who bore on her body the physical marks of the violence she’d endured before finding shelter at The Spring. Scout noticed her, and she wanted to know what she could do to help.  

“That was a sad moment for me, because she was really upset,” Hartman remembers. “But Scout, she wanted to pray for her.”  

The real benefit the Hartmans have seen from coming to The Spring each week is that it’s not a one-sided experience — the’ve been changed and blessed by their interactions with the guests. Britta is particularly grateful for the way her kids have bought into the family’s weekly ministry, taking the time to play with the children living at the shelter and make connections.  

“Scout and the others, they love on those little kids,” Hartman says. “They’re doing this just as much as me and my husband are. Maybe more.”  

 “It’s amazing to come in here and see people at the very beginning, right when they get here, and then a month later. They just lighten up. They brighten up. Their whole face changes.”  

A Wonderful Place 

Hartman has a simple, powerful mission statement for her life: "I love to teach.” 

She’s been in the classroom for eleven years, teaching kindergarten, first grade, and fourth grade. She currently serves at Pratt Elementary in Sand Springs, and in February was named the Sand Springs Public School Teacher of the Year.  

But it doesn’t stop there. Hartman also teaches Sunday School classes each week at her church, Broadway Baptist. During the summer, she took on a slate of Vacation Bible School classes. How about adjunct classes at Tulsa Community College? Yes. Teaching English online to Chinese students? That too.  

Add all this teaching roles to the time it takes to be married and raise four children, and it begs the question: why on earth would Hartman and her family add another item, like serving lunch every week at The Spring, to a packed schedule?  

The short answer is that Hartman feels called to the work. Two years ago, representatives from The Spring came to speak at her church to look for volunteers. For Hartman, a heart connection to the work The Spring was doing was instantaneous.  

“You know that these issues, domestic violence and human trafficking, are out there, and especially so in Oklahoma. But when you see it, it’s different,” she says. “The shelter is a support that is needed. I had a support system growing up – my church, my home, supportive grandparents on both sides. I felt safe, but not everyone has that. To be part of supporting these families as they get back on their feet is wonderful. We’re just grateful that we get to be here at all.”

When she showed up to volunteer for the first time, Hartman was shocked by how different The Spring is from what someone might imagine a “shelter” to be.  

“You don’t expect what a warm and happy place this is every time you come in. It’s clean, it smells nice, and the people are happy,” she says. “You have this picture in your mind, but then you come here – you see the smiling pictures on the wall, and you hear the Christian music coming from the chapel, and everyone comes in and says hey and gives you a hug. It’s a wonderful place, and it’s wonderful to be able to be a part of it.”  

And, she stresses, the opportunities to get involved are varied – even if the work might be outside your area of expertise.  

“I just help with the food, you know? And that is not my strength,” she chuckles. “But you can help in any capacity. You can help with food, you can bring clothes, you can paint, you can do the floors. You can organize the coat closet or come in and take the trash out. You can sweep the floor and wipe the tables. You can help in any way that you feel comfortable.”  

“You have this picture in your mind, but then you come here – you see the smiling pictures on the wall, and you hear the Christian music coming from the chapel, and everyone comes in and says hey and they give you a hug. It’s a wonderful place.”

Creating Connections 

One particularly rewarding aspect of Hartman’s time at The Spring has been seeing her two communities come together. Last December, she organized a volunteer outing for her fourth graders. Her students made crafts with the children staying at the shelter, and the group helped decorate for the Christmas season — they put up the tree, decorated it with ornaments, and helped make the shelter feel a little bit more like home for the holidays.

“Since that event, I’ve had moms from my class volunteer their time at the shelter,” she says. “Some have just brought clothes by for the women and their children, but it’s something. More people are aware of it.”

These simple personal connections serve a vital purpose in The Spring’s mission to create communities free from abuse and trafficking. Spreading the word about service providers for victims of domestic violence and human trafficking can provide an avenue of hope to someone in an unsafe situation that they may not otherwise know about.

“It’s so much more than just clothes and a bed here,” Hartman says. “They set these families up for success so that when they’re safe and they feel ready to leave, they can be successful. They help them with counseling, they help them with getting a job, getting work clothes, getting their kids to school.”  

So, yes — Britta Hartman and her family are busy. But seeing guests make real, sustainable life change is what keeps her coming back week after week.  

“It’s amazing to come in here and see people at the very beginning, right when they get here, and then a month later,” she says. “They just lighten up. They brighten up. Their whole face changes.”