PINE BLUFF, Ark. — Abandoned homes that look worthless to most, look like hope to one pastor in Pine Bluff.
Pastor Matt Mosler with New Life Church, Pine Bluff has a goal of helping families transition from poverty to self-sufficiency through a new nonprofit organization, Home Again Pine Bluff.
"It’s something we’ve been praying about for a while and wondering how it’s going to happen," said 23-year-old Jawon Bradley who currently lives in a small Pine Bluff apartment with his wife and three kids.
“We need a home for our family,” Bradley said.
Bradley was just the kind of person Mosler had in mind when he started Home Again Pine Bluff.
"There’s a large percentage of people in this community who are tired of being trapped where they are and they can’t find a way out," Mosler said.
Mosler is leading the effort to restore old, low-value homes to rent to families.
“Poverty is not an economic or political condition, it’s a spiritual condition," Mosler said.
After repairing a home, they'll choose families with a parent who had a job for at least six months. They'll rent the home for about $500 a month with $50 of that going to their own savings account.
"It’s really the job of the church to build the family to get people out of this bondage into the freedom that they were created to live in," Mosler said.
After three to five years the family will then have the opportunity to purchase the home for $25,000 or for half the appraised value.
"We was like, ‘Wow, what?!’ So it was literally a prayer answered," Bradley said.
Home Again is partnered with New Life Church so everyone selected to rent a home will be required to attend financial and spiritual classes. The first home will be Bradley’s.
In each neighborhood, they want to restore five or six homes to build communities.
“So when you come in here, you now have a group of people who are your neighbors, who are going to inspire, motivate, encourage, hold you accountable, you’re all working together, we've just changed the culture," Mosler said.
It will help people like Bradley, whose goal is to become a pastor, build up a future of their own.
"It gives hope for myself and my family and I believe it’s going to do the same for many others," Bradley said.
Home Again is looking for community partners and donated material. While they do have professionals building the home, they're also using a lot of volunteers. To get in touch with Mosler, click here.