Jessie’s Place
To all who knew her, Jimmie Hale’s wife Jessie was an incredible woman of faith who exemplified strong female leadership and an unwavering commitment to serving those in need. Since opening in 1998 in downtown Birmingham, Jessie’s Place has been a refuge of peace and restoration where women and their children come to overcome life’s struggles. Offering individual family rooms, Jessie’s Place can accommodate up to 30 women and children in its comprehensive residential program.
Designed to serve the complex needs of women and children, the Back to Life Program at Jessie’s Place provides a holistic approach to healing from trauma, instability, and dangerous circumstances. The women and children we serve often come from chaotic and desperate places before they find the safety and security of Jessie’s Place. Our Christ-centered, clinically-structured program provides the environment where fear becomes confidence, despair becomes hope, sorrow becomes joy, and powerlessness becomes ability. Children can relax and feel safe. Women can heal.
All women at Jessie’s Place receive much needed medical, dental, and mental health care, legal assistance, spiritual care, education remediation including GED and literacy classes, life skills education including parenting classes, and work readiness training. Children also receive medical, dental and vision care, as well as educational tutoring and spiritual care. Most impactfully, children learn that they are the precious children of God who loves them.
As women approach graduation from our initial 16-week Back to Life Program, they work with our career coordinator to enter suitable employment. Women are encouraged to continue in our Continuum of Care or “CoC” Program after they graduate from the Back to Life Program. In CoC, women and their children continue to live at Jessie’s Place and begin to work full time or enroll in college and work part time while they continue to receive weekly counseling, financial management coaching, and spiritual support. Our housing coordinator works with our clients to find affordable housing when they are ready to move off campus. Timelines are not absolute as individuals progress along different paths; however, most women are ready to be stable members of the community in nine to twelve months. Through the blessings we receive from our generous community all of the services at Jessie’s Place are provided free of charge!
