A Columbus organization focused on helping non-violent felons and their families has a new building to call its own.
SILO — Supporting Inmates and their Loved Ones — is moving into a former youth ministry building at 516 Military Road.
“We are very excited about it,” Quincy Brooks, who founded the non-profit in 2013, said.
Brooks and other board members gathered Saturday to begin cleaning out the building. It was a daunting task — the space had been out-of-use since 2011. Electrical work needs to be done. SILO organizers focused on removing items left behind.
In a trailer behind the building, board members and volunteers had stacked up a drumset, multiple refrigerators, three filing cabinets, chairs, desks, table, a computer monitor, a chalkboard and boxes and boxes of Bibles and books.
Brooks founded SILO two years ago, but the organization began growing in earnest this year. The eight-member board now includes Lowndes County Constable Sonny Sanders, Artesia Mayor Jimmie Sanders, Columbus Municipal Judge Nicole Clinkscales and Lowndes County Chancery Clerk Lisa Younger Neese, according to Brooks.
Sonny Sanders, who was helping with cleanup Saturday morning, said he joined the board two months ago.
“I think everybody needs a second chance in life,” Sanders said. “People get caught up in mistakes when they’re young that can really hurt them.”
Board member Nancy Weeks, a retired educator who taught at West Lowndes Elementary Schools, came to help Saturday.
“We have a need in this area and I think everyone deserves a second chance,” Weeks said. “This organization is designed to help.”
Preparing the new base of operations will be hard work, but Brooks said they intend to move quickly. She wants to be able to use the space by the end of June.
As SILO expands its home, it is also looking to branch out in the community. Brooks said she has partnered with WIN Job Center, the Greater Columbus Learning Center and Belaluh Grove Full Gospel Baptist Church.
“We want to partner with anyone interested in recidivism reduction,” Brooks said.
Decreasing the population of America’s prisons has become a hot button issue in economics and politics. The U.S. leads the world in incarcerated persons per capita, housing 25 percent of the world’s prisoners with just five percent of the world’s population.
In Mississippi, approximately 21,390 — that’s one of every 140 people — are serving time. That’s the second highest per capita rate in the U.S.
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