Fresh Start Ministries Of Tampa Inc
Fresh Start Ministries Of Tampa Inc is a prison outreach and reentry organization that believes that a successful transition from incarceration into society begins INSIDE the prison walls. Recognizing that women are the most underserved population in reentry, they have dedicated their lives to helping incarcerated women transform their lives through trauma-informed healing workshops, life skills trainings and family reunification programming. They have logged over 2700 hours in prison classrooms bringing their transformative curriculums to over 1200 women. They've also served over 28,000 through their bi-weekly church services. The key component of their ministry is their one-on-one mentorship that begins while the women are incarcerated and continues indefinitely upon their release. Not a single woman (of the 20 that they have personally mentored) has returned to prison. Each of them are living productive, purpose-driven lives.
Pastors Charles and Betty Williams were from a small town outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where there was a large population of formerly incarcerated individuals. They noticed that many would come home only to return to prison within their first year. Through heartfelt conversations with these men and women, they recognized that the problem wasn't only a lack of resources and opportunities for these returning citizens upon their return to society. These men and women weren't given the tools and resources they needed for a successful reentry while INSIDE those walls. So, in 1991, they founded Fresh Start Ministries and began providing life skills trainings, trauma-informed healing workshops and educational programming to those inside the prisons. In 2002, they moved to Tampa, Florida and expanded their ministry to include Beyond the Gates Prison Ministry, BW Focus, and soon, Victory House Transformation Village with a focus on the most underserved prison population: women.
Programs
Focused EOS
Focused EOS (End of Sentence) is our 8-week transformational curriculum that provides incarcerated women with the opportunity to identify and heal from the trauma that caused their negative behaviors. It is our belief that we must get to the root of the problem before we can expect true rehabilitation. The topics covered in these 8 weeks include but are not limited to: How to Turn Your Pain Into Your Purpose, Knowing Your Worth, Your Journey from Guilt to Healthy Accountability, Healing From Your Past Trauma, What's Your Next?, Family Reunification and much more. The women who graduate this class, leave with a renewed focus on and hope in their futures.
Mentoring
This program is the heart of our ministry. We believe that a positive mentor-mentee relationship is key to a successful re-entry. Every 12 months, Pastors Charles and Betty Williams are assigned 2 women to personally mentor. Of the 20 women that have been released, not one has reoffended. All of them are now leading successful, purpose-driven lives. We have begun to recruit more volunteers for our mentoring program so that more women have access to a positive mentor to assist them in navigating through their transition from incarceration into freedom.
Volunteering + Events
Annual Bags of Love Event
One of our most beloved events! Once a year, the Florida Department of Corrections allows Fresh Start Ministries, along with our partners, to donate personal hygiene bags to the incarcerated women. Limited to one small bar of lye soap a week, these bags with "smell good" body wash and body lotion are greatly appreciated by the women. We also include items not given to the women for free (therefore unavailable to those without financial support of family and friends) like: deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, stationary items, hair ties and warm socks. The smiles (and often tears of joy) that we get from the women as they receive their bags are priceless. All bags are made possible by the generous donations we receive from individuals or bought with our personal funds.
Annual Christmas Toy Drive for Children of Incarcerated Mothers
We learned through our ministry that one of the hardest time for those incarcerated is the holidays. Mothers want to be with their children and children are feeling the absence of their mothers. We found a way to help ease that pain and fill that void. In 2021, we, alongside other ministry partners, launched our first annual Christmas Toy Drive for Mothers. With the support of individual donors as well as our personal funds, we were able to purchase gifts on behalf of the mother's incarcerated and deliver them to their children. So, these kids woke up with presents from their incarcerated mom under their tree! This initiative is part of our efforts to help mothers maintain a positive relationship with their children while incarcerated and help maintain that maternal bond that we know is necessary to break the generational curse of incarceration.