About Us
Step by Step Ministry Hope Project is a grassroots 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with headquarters nestled in the urban hub of the westside of town in upstate Greenville, South Carolina. The reentry project is adjacent to this well-known community once dubbed a blighted drug and crime infested neighborhood. The misconceptions stigmatized this neighborhood and those who lived there who were plagued by trauma and substance abuse disproportionately for many years. Although the neighborhood occupied predominately black and brown people; there were a few working-class white families. Neighbors were supportive of each other, cared for neighboring children and lived modestly. The families thrived, making enough income for their children to complete a college education and land a good career.
However, in early 1980, drugs crept into the West Greenville neighborhood and prevailed against those it had targeted. The black and brown young people were disproportionately under a social caste system that was formulated to not only target, but marginalized, and ultimately destroy through criminalization. When you get locked up, you get locked out of your community and society. The lives of those who participated themselves not only addicted, but also incarcerated. The drug despair of those who committed crimes to support a chronic habit were treated like animals in a cage, as crime rates exploded in the black community and so did mass incarceration. Prison was not a solution then, and is not the solution today.
Step by Step Hope Project exists not only to be a support system for those reentering back into society, but to advocate for minority persons who are struck down by the prison system in America today.
Locations
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Mailing Address
Step by Step
P.O. Box 553
Greenville, SC 20602
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Main Office
Step by Step
1225 Pendleton St., Suite 6
Greenville, SC 29611
Meet Our Founder
In 2002, Founder and CEO Angela Hurks was in the turn of her life after twelve years of substance abuse and incarceration. Her marriage was over. Her relationship with her children was close yet estranged and domestic violence was her fear. However, that did not stop her. She did not allow what had happened to her or surrounding the breakup to alienate or separate her from the love of her children, their love for her, or their future.
Hurks became a mover and shaker of her community. She completed the transcript for what is now Step By Step Ministry Hope Project, a reentry program for formerly incarcerated and homeless women. Her dream has become a reality over the last 12 years: that vulnerable, formerly incarcerated women and their children could have a place to receive life transitioning help with resources of case management, peer support and wrap around support services to return home to their community.
Vice President Kamala Harris met with Step By Step's founder, Angela Hurks, regarding criminal justice reform and to better understand the challenges that Step By Step experiences to provide needed support to both the homeless and formerly incarcerated women in the upstate of South Carolina. Kamala commits on assisting reentry programs across the nation, prison reform, and homelessness that should not be treated as a crime.
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Board Membership
Step By Step Ministry Hope Project is accepting applications for its Board of Directors. We are looking for activists, advocates, and allies with skills to bring to the table and a passion for our mission.
For more information, please email angela@sbshopeproject.org.
Our Advocacy Efforts
Early on, we realized that changing the lives of formerly incarcerated individuals is not enough — we also have to seek change at a systemic level. Our goal is the full restoration of civil and human rights for people with convictions. Our team works toward changing state and local laws, policies and regulations through advocacy and community organizing around issues such as bail reform and the reinstatement of jury duty. We also believe our power is in our voices, and what better way to use that power than by voting? Step by Step does voter outreach in our communities and jails, registering our neighbors to vote, helping voters understand complex ballot propositions, and holding forums to bring candidates and voters together. We also do voter inreach, ensuring that people being held in local county jails are registered and aware of their right to vote.
Annual Report
We have a responsibility to our community and our donors and work hard to ensure long-term sustainability of the organization. Our annual report is available online for our investors and stakeholders who are vested in our impact of transforming the lives of the people who are helped with the revenue and expense cost invested in our community. If you would like to make a donation, please click here.