Denise Ridgley and her husband, James Ridgley, have always wanted to have a positive impact in their community. In 2016, they decided to purchase and renovate a vacant building located at 441 W. Pascagoula Street in order to help people in need. They worked closely with their son Jonathan Ridgley and was able to rehab the building into a functioning space for those in need.

The building was vacant for 5 years and needed a lot of work. The Ridgley family replaced all the floors, installed air conditioning, replaced all the windows, ceiling tiles, and painted the entire building.

James Ridgley said, “It was not easy, but the community really saw our vision and helped us complete the renovation. After people saw what we were doing, they began to help.” He remembers a homeless man named Cliff would come by everyday and ask if there was anything he could do and the Ridgley’s would pay him for his service.

Mr. Shambini Watts, owner of Watts Marine on 815 South Gallitin Street, wanted to help so he donated all the windows and carpet for the building.

The Ridgley’s envision the space being a place for people in need to come and get job skills training, food, and clothing. They want to focus their services on women and children.

For more information, please call Jonathan Ridgley at 601-573-8946.

Please see before and after photos of the transformation below.