“But they didn’t give up on me. The Mission gave me a chance to sit down, detox and get my mind right.”
Raised by his grandmother in a tight-knit neighborhood, Jay had plenty of love and attention. But without the presence of a father figure, he strayed into dangerous territory. As he reached his midtwenties, he’d survived substance abuse, prison and even a shooting. But what truly shook him wasn’t a jail cell or a bullet – it was losing the one place he thought he could always go: his family’s home. That’s when Jay hit rock bottom… and a new life brought him hope.
Jay grew up on Jacksonville’s West Side. His father was incarcerated, and his young mother struggled with her responsibilities. His grandma stepped in to care for him. Now surrounded by an extended family of cousins, uncles and aunties, Jay became immersed in community traditions, a dangerous path that finally led to prison. Released four years later, he was ready for a new beginning. But old patterns were hard to break. “The neighborhood, the habits, the friends – they pulled me back in.” Even when a bullet nearly ended his life, he still wasn’t done. But his family was. In an act of tough love, they no longer welcomed him in their homes, hoping it would be the wake-up call he needed. Shunned by those who had always been there for him, he knew he had reached rock bottom. Then his son was born, and that changed everything. “I realized it wasn’t just about me anymore.” Jay prayed for help to turn his life around and felt God guiding him to the Mission. “My son’s watching everything I do now,” Jay says. “And I want to be the kind of father I never had. I’m doing this for God, for my son… and for me.” like church, cookouts, and football.
“My son’s watching everything I do now,” Jay says. “And I want to be the kind of father I never had. I’m doing this for God, for my son… and for me.”
Despite the family environment, he had few boundaries. “There was a lot of love – but not a lot of supervision,” he recalls. At age 15, without proper structure and guidance, he drifted into the wrong crowd.
When a cousin he looked up to was killed, Jay was devastated. He hardened his heart and numbed his pain however he could. “It started with parties,” he says. Then he adopted the habits of those around him, including substance abuse and criminal activities.
While still a teenager, Jay found himself facing charges. Although he didn’t serve time, he didn’t heed the warning. He continued down a dangerous path that finally led to prison. Released four years later, he was ready for a new beginning. But old patterns were hard to break. “The neighborhood, the habits, the friends – they pulled me back in.”
Even when a bullet nearly ended his life, he still wasn’t done. But his family was. In an act of tough love, they no longer welcomed him in their homes, hoping it would be the wake-up call he needed. Shunned by those who had always been there for him, he knew he had reached rock bottom.
Then his son was born, and that changed everything. “I realized it wasn’t just about me anymore.” Jay prayed for help to turn his life around and felt God guiding him to the Mission.
Jay was cautious at first. After all he had been through – violence, danger, survival – trust didn’t come easily. “But they didn’t give up on me. The Mission gave me a chance to sit down, detox and get my mind right.”
In our Christ-centered LifeBuilders Program, Jay found structure, support and a new sense of purpose. Through Bible study, education, life-skills development and work readiness, we guide individuals like Jay to become self-sufficient and productive members of their communities. As he strengthened his walk with God, the anger and defensiveness he once used as protection gave way to patience, humility and faith. “They helped me learn to forgive, to take accountability, to grow.”
When he leaves our care, Jay has plans to attend college and study computer technology. He also wants to develop a Christian-based YouTube channel to encourage others facing hard times, like he once did. And he hopes to return to the prison system – not as an inmate, but as a mentor, sharing his testimony with those preparing for life after incarceration. “I want to reach people – young people, homeless people, anyone struggling – and let them know: you can make it.”