A Giving Community Housing program offers clients a way to replace the cycle of addiction with a constructive alternative
The heart of Women Walking in Victory and Empowered Men Service Center (WWIV & EMSC) is its no-cost housing program, built upon a foundation of giving. Provided with housing and the essentials for living, women and men at WWIV & EMSC are enabled to provide for one another, and for the community at large. Donations from Holy Ghost Headquarters Revival Center and the community in Philadelphia have fueled the program since its grassroots origin in 2000, when founder and CEO Renee Payton handed out food, clothing and blankets to the homeless in front of the church. In the following years, participants started to receive housing in a program that has grown to its current state of 13 houses, providing food, shelter and clothing for up to 200 people at any given time. Their basic needs met, Payton says residents are able to give to one another, providing support and wisdom through their shared stories and experiences. Meanwhile, they participate in more tangible acts of charity by sorting donations and keeping the homes in pristine order.The giving isn’t limited to inside the program. Women and men at WWIV & EMSC volunteer their time and skills through community-based service projects to help out the community helping them.
“It’s like they’re in a cocoon when they get here, and when they come out they’re like a butterfly.” – Renee Payton, Founder and CEO
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