For many years a small Church in the Charlotte area had a vision to help the many people in troubled neighborhoods to overcome the horrors of substance abuse. The Church, Gather Up The Fragments, finally decided to activate their vision and three years ago they formed Second Adam Ministry with Bishop James Cardell Houston as Program Director and Mary Elizabeth Houston as Executive Director.
James has a number of unique qualifications for this ministry. He is the husband of the Pastor and Founder of Gather Up The Fragments, Mary Elizabeth, and he is a recovered drug addict. Indeed James ruined his first marriage through the use of drugs. Now through his deep Christian faith and the love and support of Mary Elizabeth, he is able to use his own experience and knowledge to help other people extract themselves from the mire of substance abuse.
Over the last three years the ministry has grown such that thirteen apartments are now being rented by Second Adam Ministry and sub-let to recovering substance abusers. These apartments used to be notorious drug hangouts. Neighbors were scared to go out at night and there was constant police activity. Now the neighbors are becoming a community again. Compliments have been made about the impact of Second Adam Ministry by neighbors and county agencies. Second Adam Ministry is already making a difference in the community and the lives of the people they are helping.
Our goal is to be able to serve 50 people, currently we are able to serve 25 people. We have been offered to purchase the duplexes we are currently using as our facility. However, we will need to assemble a body of volunteers to assist in a massive fundraising effort to meet this most exceptional offer. This will be an annual fundraiser for the organization. Currently Our financial support comes from the Second A.D.A.M program, donations.
In addition, we plan to apply for grants to help support our administrative needs.
