IRMO, SC (WIS) -
Mary Briggs is overwhelmed with gratitude.
"Joy just builds up in me every time I think about what these people did to help me to get everything back together for me and my family," she says.
She has good reason. In 2011, an uninvited guest nearly took over her house in Irmo.
"I had mold in my house."
It was so bad, she says her six grandchildren had to be taken from the home.
"I had to watch them leave because of the mold," says Briggs.
Briggs says a friend told her about a faith-based program called Community Assistance Mentoring Program, a non-profit group that funds home repairs for those in need.
Briggs applied for assistance.
"They said they would be able to help me and it was a prayer being answered," she says.
Briggs says CAMP solved her $3000 mold problem.
"The entire bathroom is new."
She says they installed new doors and fixed her water heater.
Joe Jackson has run CAMP since 2007 through his church, Prayer and Faith Temple Apostolic Ministry.
"My heart is to help low income families and their needs," says Jackson. "I'm not just concerned about their soul. But if we can meet their needs the better we can minister the word of God to them."
Jackson says each year he receives two state grants and two out-of-state grants to pay for each homeowner's repair. Each home can qualify to receive up to $20,000 in repairs.
He says they rehabbed nearly 100 homes last year.
This year his team is helping Willie Johnson repair damaged wood under her roof. She just received a new bathroom sink and CAMP installed a tub rail at her request.
"I got in there one day and could get out," says Johnson. "I'm just grateful."
"Thanks to camp, they just took the burden off," says Briggs.
To contact CAMP:
Joe Jackson, Sr. Executive Director
3031 Scotsman Rd.
Suite 5 &6
Columbia, SC 29223
803-661-0110
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Joe Jackson runs CAMP through Prayer and Faith Temple Apostolic Ministry
