Many individuals with a criminal background encounter homelessness as a result of various barriers, including a lack of access to employment assistance, social security benefits, and other services that aid in supporting reentry into society. A criminal background also makes renting inaccessible to many families.

In fact, a 2023 report from the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute found that even after one
incidence of incarceration, people who are formerly incarcerated are more likely than the general public to experience homelessness. This study also found that in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, people with a prior history of homelessness were 22 times more likely to experience homelessness after incarceration than those without, even after controlling for factors such as race, gender, age and charge type.

Freedom Fighting Missionaries works to support those who were formerly incarcerated or impacted by the criminal justice system by offering reentry services and programs that help prepare these individuals to become self-sufficient and better able to rejoin society.

Kenneth Robinson knows the story well. He was released from federal prison in 2012, and he faced countless employment rejections. Without employment, Kenneth didn’t have the foundation to return to society and to his role as a provider for his children. A mix of perseverance, the help of the nonprofit community, and a hiring manager who said yes set Kenneth on his journey to self-sufficiency. His experience planted the seed to help others in similar situations, and he became recognized in the community for assisting others facing employment barriers. 

Eight years later, Kenneth turned his passion into his job and founded Freedom Fighting Missionaries. He sought funding to create affordable housing opportunities for the organization’s program recipients while giving them resources to better their lives and provide for their families. 

Now serving as executive director of FFM, Kenneth, his staff, and a volunteer board of directors work tirelessly to provide useful, accessible programs. Those programs allow participants to learn applicable information about many of life’s factors after incarceration or justice system experiences, empowering self-sufficiency through employment, health care, and identification.

Freedom Fighting Missionaries launched on January 1, 2020. A few months later, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a surge in need, and FFM joined the fight to care for a broader community of Mecklenburg County residents.

Thanks to funding from Mecklenburg County and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Freedom Fighting Missionaries is making a difference. With this ARPA funding, they are completing two campaigns to fight against inaccessibility to housing. The Morningside Project was created to reduce housing instability and homelessness by providing emergency and temporary housing support, employment assistance, identification support, and access to health care for individuals involved in the justice system. During the first fiscal year, the program assisted more than 150 participants in obtaining their critical identifications (birth certificate, Social Security card, driver license, etc), connected more than 150 participants to job training and employment resources, provided emergency housing to more than 100 participants, and assisted more than 36 participants in obtaining free health care services.

FFM also received $1.25 million to develop two affordable housing projects for the Second Chance Project. Second Chance is designed to help clients with permanent housing after completing other parts of the organization’s programming services. The funding will establish two rentable housing properties in east Charlotte, beginning with Missionary Grove, which will comprise 16 townhomes and support women and children awaiting permanent housing placement after exiting prison.

The housing project aims to not only prevent homelessness but also prepare residents for homeownership. Residents will have supportive services available to them, including financial literacy workshops, credit repair, and homeownership counseling, to make homeownership more attainable for families. Construction is expected to take around 18 months, with families moving in by late 2025. Families can apply for the Housing Support Grant through the organization. Freedom Fighting Missionaries has committed to keeping these townhomes affordable for the next 30 years. 

Freedom Fighting Missionaries is one of 75 organizations supporting our community’s needs with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and distributed by Mecklenburg County.

If you or someone you know need a second chance after incarceration? Visit Freedom Fighting Missionaries’ website to find support.