Sallie Swanigan is on a mission from God.
The 72-year-old Columbus native felt she was being called to assist young women trying to reconstruct their lives after serving time in jail. But there wasn”t much she could do on a $700 monthly Social Security check.
Then the house came along.
In August, Columbus attorney David Owen, owner of Sharp Properties LLC, spoke with Swanigan and learned of her plans.
“She said she needed it for a worthy cause,” Owen recalls.
So Owen helped Swanigan by giving her a house he”d owned since 2002 and received a tax credit for his donation.
“It was a win-win,” he says.
Swanigan became the proud owner of 817 14th St. N., a beat up, three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with sagging floors and cracked walls.
The house may look like a lost cause to some, but to Swanigan it looks like an opportunity. Albeit an expensive one.
Swanigan hopes to provide a warm, safe home to six female former prisoners who are interested in growing in their faith. But before that vision can be realized, a thorough renovation of the house, complete with central heat and air, will set her back an estimated $108,000.
Furthermore, Swanigan owes $300 in taxes on the property by Feb. 2 — another $300 she doesn”t have.
But through her faith in God, Swanigan refuses to panic. She pressed forward in establishing a 501(c)(3) nonprofit — All The Way With Jesus Ministries — and took her story to the streets and the airwaves, appearing three times on local television shows.
Her message is simple and direct: She needs money to bring this ministry to life. And she feels it”s success is just a matter of time and faith.
She dodged one bullet just forming her nonprofit. Joanne Richardson of Richardson Writing Service in Darling, agreed to file the application free of charge to assist Swanigan”s mission.
The next break came after more than 100 letters were mailed to notify local businesses and residents of Swanigan”s intentions. She appeared before the Columbus Planning and Zoning Commission and Columbus City Council in September to face any objections to the halfway house, but none were voiced.
The rest of the story is being written right now.
Nobody cared you would be housing ex-inmates in this neighborhood?
Nobody came to say we don”t want a halfway house in this area because of what I said in court. I said, ”Listen, this is not going to be a hoe house, this is going to be a holy house.”
These women have gotten saved because they want to continue to be saved, and I want to help them do that. I don”t want them to be repeaters. … I”m tired of these places that drug people up and let them be in the corner somewhere. These women want to be productive citizens.
What brought this on?
The ladies that were getting out of jail 30 years ago when I got saved right over here at 15th Street Church of God in Christ.
I was on Seventh Avenue partying every day, but I worked at Ruth”s 30 years. But I was still drinking and cussing and lying. I was on the streets partying like most folks do. They don”t think nothing”s wrong with it and I didn”t either.
But when I got saved in 1979 I went back on Seventh Avenue and got people saved. I got joints closed down by preaching the word in those joints.
(After moving to Atlanta and North Carolina until 2008) I came back and moved in Cypress Park and got right back in that same church. The Lord kept saying ”Get your 501(c)(3).” When I got it I said, ”OK, God. No money out of my pocket. This is you doing it.”
Talk for a second about the female prisoners.
My ministry is street ministry. When I meet these ladies they say, ”You ministered to me and I got saved, but I messed up.” … That”s when the Lord kept saying ”I”ve been telling you to get a halfway house for these ladies who want to live right.”
I put an ad in The Packet that said I want dope pushers, I want mafia, I want teachers, professors, lawyers, millionaires to send me money every month so that I can help someone who can”t help themselves.
Mrs. Alfreda Outlaw (a Starkville-based alcohol and drug outreach coordinator with the Mississippi Department of Corrections) said let her know a criteria, what you expect from these women. So when they get out she”ll let me know and say, ”How many can you take?”
What is All The Way With Jesus Ministries?
It means you”re going all the way with Him. It”s a halfway house. The idea came from God.
Will you be living here with the ladies?
I”ll be here with them part time, and I”ll have other volunteers from other churches that will be able to spend time. We”ll have seven days a week covered.
Do you have any training in counseling?
No, I have counselors standing by. They are Christian counselors from Prairie Opportunity (a nonprofit servicing Choctaw, Clay, Leake, Noxubee, Oktibbeha and Webster counties), and Maranatha Faith Center (in Columbus).
You want these women to be productive members of society. What does that mean to you?
Those who already have (high school diplomas or college degrees) will be refreshed. They will not be on drugs anymore.
I talked to the Columbus Learning Center for those who don”t have GEDs. I talked to WIN (Job Centers), they will send me letters (announcing job opportunities).
(The ex-prisoners) will have counselors for finances and even how to take care of their children. We”ve got a whole lot of plans because the next house is going to be for mothers placed with their children so they can learn to fix proper meals for them.
We”ll be teaching them everything, but mostly spiritual. When the spiritual mind is hooked up to God, you”re hungry for the rest. You want to live. And some of (these women) are so down they want to die.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
