Wingard Home is a long term transition home for the homeless and displaced of Jackson, Mississippi and the surrounding area. We are dedicated to keeping the family unit intact. Unlike the “shelters,” Wingard Home takes a holistic approach to solve the problems of homelessness! At the Jackson Campus, we house married couples and parents with children together as part of our commitment to the family values that are so much a part of American life. Our mission is to get men, women, children and families off the streets, out of the government welfare trap, and working toward independence and financial stability. We offer our residents alternatives to gang life and the drug culture, and provide options to dependence on food stamps and government bail-out programs.
Overview of Organization
Wingard Home has served the homeless men, women, children and families of Jackson, Mississippi and the surrounding area since 1990. We provide safe, secure and comfortable housing in a supportive Christian environment, as well as providing healthy meals and snacks, clothing, job, medical, social service referrals, and transportation.
Sustained solely by private donors, Wingard Home, Inc. is a state registered, non-profit organization with tax-exempt status under IRS 501(c)(3). We accept no contributions from city, state or federal government. Our work is completely contingent on the charity of individuals and foundations.
At Wingard Home, one of our primary goals is to get men and women on their feet and working at jobs, independent of government and community assistance. Our residents spend their days looking for work or at work or school, and and come home to a residence that is wholesome, clean, cool in the summer and warm in the winter. All meals and healthy snacks are provided by our staff through the donations of local businesses and restaurants. Residents who are employed are encouraged to save their money by packing brown bag lunches. All residents, young and old alike, are taught the value of an earned “dollar” by Biblical budgeting and financial skills to prepare them for independent living.
Wingard Home is accountable to a five member board of directors comprised of both clergy and lay men and women. All expenditures other than general operating expenses or funding for designated pre-approved projects require the approval of the board of directors. The daily operation of Wingard Home is administered by Pastors Roy and Charlotte Wingard, directors. As their witness, they are simply a couple who overcame poverty and homelessness themselves and opened their doors to the needy. Today, over twenty-four years later, the couple still operate under the same spirit of selflessness and the solid principle of lending a hand up rather than a hand out!
Geographical Area
Wingard Home, Inc. provides services to those included in, but not limited to metro Jackson, Mississippi and the surrounding area. However, Wingard Home closes its doors to no individual in need and has provided safe and comfortable housing to individuals and families throughout the State of Mississippi, in particular the Katrina devastated Gulf Coast region, and the entire Southeastern United States.
Population Served
Wingard Home, Inc. serves men, women, children and families from a broad cross- cultural and ethnic background. Although we are a faith-based organization, we do not discriminate in services provided on the basis of race, color, creed or religion. We serve battered women, children, pregnant teens, displaced war veterans and those with substance abuse problems. We are available to any who are able and willing to seek and maintain employment, follow a few simple housing rules, show a willingness to budget, save money and work toward financial stability and independence.
Number of Person Served on an Annual Basis
Wingard Home, Inc. can house up to 60 residents at any given time. We are a long-term transition facility with no set requirements for length of stay. Residents may remain in our home until they are emotionally and financially stable and ready for independent living. Despite the lack of frequent turnover at Wingard Home, Inc., during any yearly reporting period, residential services and referrals are made to well over 250 individuals.
With a plummeting economy and more Americans facing home foreclosures and poverty, the need for Wingard Home’s services has grown. Today, we are faced not only with providing safe, comfortable housing and a place to stay while one looks for work, but Wingard Home has made good use of other community outreach agencies to provide medical referrals, counseling, job skills and educational training, daycare and wholesome recreational activities for residents.
Resource Library
Looking for resources, documents and certificates pertaining to our ministry, please click the link below to view our resource library page.
