From the Desk of the President Greetings, New Way Mississippi, Inc. (NWMI) has been providing transitional services to individuals and families for the past 25 years. We realized early on that the problem of homelessness in Mississippi was only going to get worse if something new and different wasn’t done. New Way Mississippi was born as a “new way” of providing services that would close the gap in services for individuals who are being released from prisons and other shelters & institutions coupled with the supportive services which would give them the training and assistance needed in order to be successful in reentering the mainstream of society. In 1998 NWMI started providing services with one residential facility which only housed 4 individuals at a time, since then God has blessed us to expand this ministry to 2 residential facilities, 3 commercial facilities ( with the capacity to house 60 men), access to 100 acres of land, and an agricultural facility to provide services to families and youth (training, hiking, horseback riding, fishing gardening, livestock/cattle exhibits and more). We have engaged in a partnership with the city of Jackson, Mississippi to provide paying job opportunities through our litter removal contract. Our Simpson County facility currently is designated to house 15 veterans (Victory Veterans Home). Mississippi currently has the number one incarceration rate in the world, per 100,000 population Mississippi incarcerated 1,031 people; the United States incarcerates 664 people per 100,000 population, followed by the United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, France, and Belgium. If we are going to break this trend, we must invest in more grassroots programs such as NWMI. I am appealing to the communities to get behind us so that we can continue to fight this problem; our future and the future of the next generations are at stake if we sit idly by and do nothing. Your support and encouragement can make a difference. On May 18, 2023, from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM, NWMI will host our 25-year Anniversary at the ‘Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Museum’ located in Lakeland Dr. Jackson, MS. There are approximately 3 million people in the state of Mississippi if we had 1,000 people to donate $100.00 this would have a tremendous impact on our annual budget as a non-profit organization; Would you be one of those donors to make a difference? Sincerely, Larry Perry — President, and CEO, New Way Mississippi Inc. Partnerships that keep on givingWe are excited to announce our renewed Funding from Oxfam Foundation The Agreement was signed and implemented in September 2022 and ends August 2023. Since 2018 New Way Mississippi has received Funding from OXFAM Foundation to provide Employment Training and Job Skills to our Returning Citizens. Since this partnership we have successfully trained and employed over 500 returning citizens over a 5 year period. In 2022 New Way entered into an Agreement with the City of Jackson MS to provide Debris and trash removal from local streets and thoroughfares. Since the Program started in January 2021 we have employed 80 returning citizens in the Program. We have a two-man crew for a total of 20 clients who work daily with the City of Jackson. As people leave the program we are able to hire new clients on the crews. Due to this partnership with the City of Jackson other employers are taking note. Now our trainees are a more viable applicant for employers because they have experience in maintaining and performing on a job. This has opened the door for other employment opportunities. The litter removal agreement is an initiative that provides pathways to creating the dignity economy that Mayor Lumumba so passionately envisions for the City. We have learned that partnering with agencies like OXFAM and the City of Jackson has given us the leverage we needed to develop capacity in our employment training program. We are also partnering with the Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) to provide jobs for this disadvantaged population. We started providing soft skills training, but we are now ready to tackle a more robust program by providing additional skillsets that demand higher wage-paying jobs. We have learned the art and significance of Storytelling and how it can provide the exposure we need to move forward with this program. We have also learned that having relationships with key stakeholders like the Oxfam Foundation, City of Jackson, Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES), and Mississippi Department of Corrections has assisted us in providing Returning Citizens with not only employment training, but also livable wage-earning jobs. Other Donors who make what we do possible: CDBG Funding City of Jackson, Damascus Baptist Church, Church Women United in Jackson, Nine Iron Golf Club, Crossgates United Methodist Church, Pine Grove Missionary Baptist Church, Mr. James Cullins, Ms. Karen Quay, Mr. & Mrs. Williams Beachman, Naomi Perry, Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence Magee, CC Ranch Inc, Mr. & Mrs. John White, Mr. & Mrs. Bentley Washington, Ms. Barbara Vanduser, Ms. Sharon Robins, Mr. Earl Mounger, Legacy Secure Properties, LLC. Program UpdatesGreetings from the Programmatic staff! 2023 is off to a solid start here at New Way Mississippi. We finished 2022 off by touching a total of 303 lives that transitioned through our program and of those 303, 87 of them came to us in 2022 alone. We are continuously working to insure this season of their lives is one that will forever change the trajectory of their lives. It is very important for my staff and I to pour into them and build them up and show them that their lives have worth and by doing this it is our hope that they will begin to believe in themselves in a way that not only improves their way of thinking but it changes their lives and the lives of those they encounter. We currently have the capability to serve an additional 24 clients in conjunction with the 18 clients we are serving in transitional housing.
Over the past 2 years, we have been working to provide our clients with Transitional Employment opportunities. These opportunities serve not only the returning citizens in our program but also those in the community that have employment challenges. We have solidified a contract with the City of Jackson that provide jobs to those that are in need of transitional employment options. They are receiving coaching and on-the-job training that will build their capacity for other opportunities. We are hopeful that as we are committed to serving the homeless population in the capacity of transitional housing and employment, we will help improve our community and our state with each life we have the opportunity to serve.
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