In the former J.C. Penney’s building on West Washington Street, thousands of people have found that one thing they needed, a helping hand. Jefferson County Community Ministries (JCCM) wants to meet more of the community this week to explain their work in the past and to demonstrate how a new facility and focus can bring comfort and a more stable life to those who are struggling.
“What I really hope for is dialogue,” said Brooke Grossman, who took over as executive director last October. “I want to understand their perceptions versus reality—of what we do, and of the challenges people in poverty are facing in this county.”
JCCM will be holding a “Meet & Greet” in the lower-level community room at 200 E. Washington Street, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. They are inviting community members, local business owners, their downtown partners and even some of the people they serve at their current building at 238 W. Washington Street.
“(Community members) see the bad days. They see the loud arguments, or the people who relapse, or the folks who walk around talking to themselves. They see the behavior, not the progress. But if they saw what we see—the small victories, the breakthroughs, the days someone finally smiles or finally showers or finally asks for help—they’d understand why this work matters,” said Grossman.
It makes a huge difference when people see beyond that first impression, that these are parents, brothers, sisters, grandchildren, who have faced the unspeakable and want to find a way to a better life, she said.
“I want Saturday to help bridge that gap. I want people to see the humanity behind the statistics and stereotypes. I want them to know that these folks—they’re not problems. They’re people. People who have been hurt, abandoned, traumatized, ignored. People who didn’t get the chances others had. People who have survived things most of us couldn’t imagine.”
Since arriving at JCCM, Grossman has not only been working on the day-to-day operations, but also planning the construction and move to a new facility in Ranson, that will not completely be occupied for several years. JCCM currently shelters 20 people in temporary housing, along with a food and clothing bank, medical attention, and workforce assistance for those who need employment.
One man, Rocky, who asked that his real name not be used, came to JCCM less than a month ago after being turned away by another facility because of a health issue.
“I never went to a shelter before, so I didn’t know what to expect,” said Rocky, 28, who is originally from New Jersey. “I thought originally they would just let me stay there and I’d have to work on my own—getting a job and everything. But I didn’t expect they would provide me with food, clothes, vouchers… even a haircut. I didn’t expect that at all.”
Rocky said his time at JCCM is giving him some time to plan his next move, something he did not think was possible if he was homeless. Living with the 19 other people in the shelter is a lot like being back with this family, he said.
“Being here gives me a lot of time to think—about what’s been going on, about doing things on my own. And the staff here are pretty cool, pretty chill, really nice,” he said. Rocky has interviewed for a job at a local restaurant and expects to be working soon.
“I found it really cool that they even had bikes for us to use, to help us get where we need to go. Transportation is a big thing for me right now, and that really does help.”
Grossman said the staff and volunteers at JCCM know that there is no cookie cutter solution for the people who come to them for help and that is why they need to offer a wide variety of help, which will hopefully expand when the new facility is completed.
“In a lot of places, even today, there still aren’t services like this. And if there are, everything is fragmented—this place does one thing, another place does another thing, and there are all these hoops to jump through. People in crisis don’t have the tools to navigate all that,” she said.
That’s why the vision here is to bring as many resources as possible under one roof. Reduce barriers. Make it more likely that someone can actually get help instead of giving up halfway through the process.
The more people feel integrated into the community, the more likely they are to find their way out of poverty. And that takes time—people don’t realize how long. The last Federal Reserve data I read said it takes seven years, minimum, to go from poverty and full reliance on assistance to true self‑sufficiency. Seven years. People don’t get that.
And when we finally get to the new building, with more space, more partners, more resources, I truly believe we can do even more. Not just crisis response, but real growth. Real transformation. And that makes everything we’re doing now—the frustration, the long days, the setbacks—worth it.”
Brooke Grossman, JCCM exec. dir.
Pre-JCCM