JONESTOWN, Mississippi — Felisha Stevenson has lived her whole life in this all-Black town of 852 people where everybody knows everybody.
“My family, my mom, my cousin, my uncles, we’re just close,” the 40-year-old said. “In the neighborhood that I stay in right now, my sister is next door. My uncle is across the street.”
There’s limited industry in Jonestown, Mississippi. There’s no grocery or dollar stores. The median household income is $21,700, and more than 56% of people live below the poverty line.
Despite the challenges, Stevenson doesn’t want to leave because of the close proximity to her family. While she loves the close-knit community, she hasn’t found a place to call her own. The lack of housing in the area forces her to rent, delaying her dreams of building generational wealth and passing down a home to her daughter.
It’s a recipe that makes homeownership unattainable for people in Jonestown and other rural communities. Across rural America, particularly in places with extreme poverty like Jonestown, substandard housing is common, meaning homes can lack hot and cold water or even basic plumbing, according to the National Rural Housing Coalition.
Homes in rural areas are often overcrowded and their residents, about 50% of whom are poor, use half of their incomes toward housing. While fewer homes are being built nationwide, it’s worse in rural areas because of the lack of jobs and housing for workers. While there is federal support such as loans and grants through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service, some may not be eligible. Others say there’s a need for more urgent support.
One nonprofit is hoping to address the need: But God Ministries, a nonprofit that shares the love of Jesus Christ by building sustainable communities.
The organization is constructing a 10-home neighborhood. This project evolved out of yearslong work in the Jonestown community orchestrated by But God Ministries. Already, the organization has opened a dental clinic, launched an after-school program, and built the $3 million Hope Field, a state-of-the-art baseball/softball park in partnership that includes Major League Baseball and the league’s players association. It’s also a result of cultivating relationships with local officials such as the Coahoma County Board of Supervisors.
But, these efforts often get overshadowed by violent crime occurring in the town.
“I’m not saying that it’s OK, but I mean it’s going on everywhere,” said Jonestown Mayor Columbus Russell Jr., who is the youngest mayor in Mississippi. “We are trying to be better. We are on the way to be better. We’ve got some great people in our community, smart people, amazing people, and talented people.”
Still, others are suspicious of the efforts because it’s being funded by outsiders, said the Rev. Bennie Brown, who is a farmer and Jonestown native. He’s also the associate community manager for But God Ministries’ work in Jonestown.
“When they see this is happening, they really don’t believe that people are donating the way they are, especially when they don’t look like us,” he said. “They question, ‘Why do they want to come and help a Black community?’”
Brown responds, “What difference does it make? Whoever God is sending in to help, that’s what we pray for.”
He criticizes those who moved away, who don’t invest in their small town, or give back in small ways. He said he believes these efforts to work across racial lines in a state like Mississippi are “unique” and a part of the “healing process” that has never happened. His goal is to continue to pour into the next generation to raise up the next leaders.
Addressing community needs with little community support
Initially, Stevenson felt discouraged and didn’t plan to apply for the homes. She works as an educational talent search coordinator at the nearby Coahoma Community College, but didn’t think she’d get approved.
The houses, which have three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a two-car garage, are priced at $162,000. However, the median value of a home in Jonestown is $61,100, with median rent in the area at $277, according to Niche.
Her sister encouraged her, and now she’s one of six approved applicants. So far, 21 people have applied.
“It’s just going to be a bigger change for me and to know that my child — instead of her coming home to a rental home — she knows she’ll have an actual home that soon might be hers, that she would have,” Stevenson said.
Already, But God Ministries has installed a sewer and water system and raised $340,000 in private donations to jumpstart the project, said Stan Buckley, the group’s founder and executive. Once an applicant qualifies for a loan and is approved by Southern Bancorp, the house will be built.
“This is real simple. Somebody gets qualified for a loan. We build the house at a low cost, and they move in,” Buckley said. “The people are getting loans for $135,000 — that’s the most the banks will loan. So that’s a $27,000 gap, so we fill that gap through donated material, labor, or private donations. There’s no government money involved.”
But Stevenson is concerned with the financial change that will occur with the mortgage. She’ll pay $600 more a month on a mortgage, than she currently pays renting her home. She’s hoping to receive sponsorship from But God Ministries to help out.
“I don’t want to have to struggle trying to pay for this whole house note. I want to be able to be comfortable,” she said.
Stevenson is excited for the changes she’s seeing in her hometown. Directly across the street from the new neighborhood is a new gas station and the baseball park, which is the first in the area.
Billy Fields, the recreation director at the field and a retired firefighter, is expecting at least 150 kids from neighboring elementary schools to participate in programming this year. He wants to expose more young kids in the Mississippi Delta to the sport, but there’s a challenge with getting more community support.
“We just got to figure out a way to get these kids to get along,” Fields said. “I was supposed to [coach] high school baseball and girls softball [games], but they both canceled because of high schools going virtual” because of in-school violence.
Some parents don’t want their children involved because of how violence spreads from schools across the cities and towns throughout Coahoma County, where Jonestown is located.
For Stevenson, she hopes the progress shows the youth that great things can happen for them.
“If you put forth the work, if you work together as a community, you can see that progress can be made, and changes can be made as well,” Stevenson said.
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