Stewpot Community Services
Gene Corbin, Executive Director
Charles Dowdy, Youth Services
1100 W. Capitol St.
Jackson, Miss. 39203
(601) 353-2759

What started as a simple soup kitchen sponsored jointly by seven urban congregations in 1981 has grown into something far more ambitious. On the basis of its soup kitchen alone, Stewpot Community Services stands out, with support from an ecumenical roster of churches that's grown to more than 50. But this program goes far beyond lunch to provide a broad array of services that address both short-term emergency needs and supporting people as they grow toward self-reliance.

The Community Kitchen, serving hot lunch to some 100 to 150 individuals every single day of the year, depends heavily on volunteers, who serve meals prepared by a cook and staff on weekdays; volunteers take over entirely on weekends, with local organizations taking turns to purchase, prepare and serve Saturday and Sunday's meals. Not limited to poor and homeless people alone, the Stewpot Community Kitchen is open to all members of the community, who are invited to come, dine, pay whatever they can afford, and get to know people they might not otherwise meet.

Other assistance services include a clothing closet, open weekdays to distributed donated clothes items during the lunch hour; a food pantry, stocked by food drives and contributions, that provides a monthly four-day supply of groceries to some 800 people; free medical and legal clinics staffed by volunteers; and general counseling and assistance tailored to individual needs.

Moving into self-reliance programs, Stewpot has sponsored a summer recreation camp for the past four years, and this seasonal program has now grown into an all-year after-school program for neighborhood children, who get homework help, mentoring and support in a safe setting after school.

Finally, three transitional-housing programs provide safe accommodations and support for homeless people as they move back into the community: Sims House offers an intensive three-month program for women with children, helping them improve life skills, get jobs and save money toward permanent housing; the Billy Brumfield Shelter houses 42 men, providing not only shelter and meals but job counseling and drug-and-alcohol counseling; and Matt's House Emergency Shelter, offering shorter-term shelter and support for homeless women with children.

The mission here is to provide a combination of "compassionate assistance, challenge and empowerment." Operating out of the Central Urban Ministries Center, a large red-brick church building owned by the Presbyterian Church USA, which now houses a Mennonite congregation as well as Stewpot's ministries and other non-profits, Stewpot does a remarkable job of mobilizing community resources and bringing them to bear on Jackson's homeless and hungry people.

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