SafeHouse Ministries

SafeHouse Ministries began by recognizing and meeting the unmet needs of vulnerable communities in Columbus. The ministry was birthed in 2009 to meet the spiritual needs of inmates where less than 1/3 of the inmates in the Muscogee County Jail had access to religious services or a minister.

 

As the jail ministry grew, the ministry became involved in re-entry programming to assist inmates in their desire to get out and stay out.  G.E.D., Fatherhood, Veterans Programming and Faith-Based Recovery programs were started that reduced the return rate by almost 50%.  As some inmates faced difficult odds after release, it became clear that support on the outside was critical to their success.  SafeHouse opened across the street from the jail in an old shotgun house in 2010.

 

This location was the beginning of the SafeHouse - a safe place for people experiencing homelessness to find refuge. The ministry quickly realized that those experiencing homelessness, transitioning from incarceration and seeking recovery needed access to emergency resources and tools to transition successfully back into the community. In January 2014, SafeHouse moved to Rose Hill Methodist Church, to provide additional space for serving a growing number of clients and programs. 

 

In 2011, SafeHouse leaders realized Columbus did not have temporary housing for women and children.  Members prayed about this and joined with Trinity Episcopal Church of Columbus to open, Trinity House, a 24-bed facility for disadvantaged women and children. By God’s grace, Fort Benning provided all the furniture SafeHouse would need in advance and McCarley Moving and Storage boxed it and stored it until we were ready to open. God opened the doors for donations of beds, sheets, pillows, blankets, dressers, night stands, love seats, end tables, entertainment centers, student desks with chairs, washers, and dryers, refrigerators, microwaves, stoves/ovens - AMAZING.

 

No transitional facilities existed for men when SafeHouse began. While emergency shelters were in operation, they did not meet the need for men in need of transitional housing. So leaders started praying. God eventually led SafeHouse to an abandoned apartment complex in Beallwood. This property had been stripped of copper and anything of value by the time we acquired it. By God’s grace, we renovated it and opened in December of 2014.

 

In 2017 we opened our case management center that allows us to work with our shelter clients to successfully move into permanent housing and stay in touch for 6 months after moving into permanent housing to maintain their success. Tomorrow’s Hope, our intensive outpatient substance abuse program was opened in 2017 providing FREE drug and alcohol treatment to anyone wishing to end their addictions.

 

SafeHouse Ministries has grown to incorporate programs that aid clients in Christ-centered recovery, worship opportunities, education, art expression, clothing, transitional housing, and more. This ministry continues to meet the emergent needs of homeless, addicted, and incarcerated members of this community while seeking to identify more long term solutions. 

 

The mission of SafeHouse seeks to follow the will of God in its endeavors. The organization sees God renew broken lives and restore relationships with God and loved ones while rejoicing with our community as love grows one life at a time.