Helping women who are hurting through prayer and encouragement is the mission of Tenacious Grace ministry of Florence. The non-profit is ran by all women, and it is half-traditional ministry and half-jail ministry.
Six months after launching in 2014, the women decided that helping female inmates was something they wanted to do. As a result, they joined the Florence County Detention Center ministry where they offer inmates church services on Sunday.
The women get the chance to enter the pods and build relationships with the prisoners. For Executive Director Cookie Cawthon, it was a chance to do more than offering prayer and hope.
“What we found is that as much as these ladies need resources, and they need a system to help them, they also need people who are on their side, so we are building relationships when we get to go in there,” Cawthon said.
But, the bonds they are building aren’t limited to the jail pods. Cawthon and the other ladies of Tenacious Grace are also helping women adjust to life after prison.
The moment female inmates are set free, Tenacious Grace gives them a release bag with basic neccessities to restart their lives. According to Cawthon, “it’s a bag of resources.” The bags include a list of community agencies and their phone numbers, feminine hygiene items, a meal card, and more.
Former Florence County Detention Center inmate, Lakeisha Buard, said meeting Tenacious Grace was the biggest blessing she could have received.The organization helped her while she was incarcerated but has also stayed connected with her afterwards.
“While I was incarcerated, I lost everything, my place to stay, clothes, shoes, she was like, don’t worry about it, I’m going to contact the ladies of Tenacious Grace, and we’re going to get together and figure this out,” Buard said.
Tenacious Grace helped Buard get back on her feet, and they’re even looking to find her a car. Since being released, Buard found a job and is attending phlebotomy school. She said she owes her new life to her mom and Tenacious Grace.
“They didn’t look at us as bad people. They knew we were in jail, but at the end of the day they knew we still needed God in our lives, and that’s what she brought to us.”
To help former inmates and other women who are struggling, Tenacious Grace depends on donations from their followers on social media and their community. They also host a women’s yearly retreat called, Tandem, where they get donations and resources.
Currently, the organization is raising funds for a two-year recovery residence for women who are survivors of abuse, addiction, poverty and prostitution in the Pee Dee.
Individuals wanting to contact Tenacious Grace or who want to learn more about their mission can do so on their website.
