Following their exclusion from receiving county funding related to treatment of opioid addition, members of Place of Grace Church remain persistent as they continue providing a new start to those recovering from drug addition.
During the most recent Richmond County Commission meeting, Wesley Jackson with Place of Grace invited Commissioners to tour the facility, which converted a defunct elementary school into a 24-hour care facility that also houses the homeless during winter months.
“I went to Place of Grace with him (a friend), and that is where he was living at the time. I walked in there, and I look over to my right and I look over to my right and there is a man, probably in his 30s, balling his eyes out. There is a 6-year-old and a 7-year-old patting him on the shoulder. I asked [Pastor Gary Richardson] after church that day ‘Who was that man?’” Jackson said. “He lived there, and he was battling methamphetamines. At that point, I never felt God move through a place the way God through that place. Since then, I’ve watched Place of Grace, I’ve been there. I’m on the board of directors, so I can see the money that flows in and the money that flows out. I’ve watched them affect so many lives and take in the least of our community with nothing. No funding, and the staff that is there working for free with Pastor Gary working for free many months.”
Place of Grace provides those looking to recover from drug addiction a place to live and improve him or herself during the recovery process. Last May, during an interview with Pastor Richardson, he said Place of Grace does not have a perfect record in terms of rehabilitating its disciples with only 50 percent of those who began the program seeing it to completion. However, those who take part in the program, along with daily classes, have access to clothing for work or job interviews, food, appliances and even toys for their children, with families sometimes entering the facility with nothing more than what they are wearing. When not studying or going on job interviews, the disciples at Place of Grace also engage in community service such as handing out free groceries to Richmond County’s needy families. Place of Grace also provides temporary shelter for area homeless during the winter months. Jackson told commissioners, without intervention, the facility may not be able to afford housing the homeless in the coming months.
“What I would like to do is invite you all out to Place of Grace. I can’t do enough pushups or raise enough money or find the funding to do that. We don’t have the funding. I would like to invite you to see Place of Grace, to see what we’re doing,” Jackson said. “… Maybe you would reconsider some sort of funding. I don’t know what kind of funding the government can give to that kind of facility, but we really need your help. Especially with winter coming and the cold weather shelter opening up, we don’t have the funding for it.”