Remnants of Montgomery County Elementary School remain in what’s now God’s House of Hope of Kilmichael. The walls are still painted yellow with art work depicting the solar system and the importance of reading and math. There are still cards hanging near the front door with information about the Kilmichael Group Home and the Eudora Welty Museum. A bulletin board in the hallway features the journey between the pages of a book, and the library is filled with books. The names of former teachers are still on the doors to classrooms.
However, the building that built the foundation of so many of Montgomery County’s children, will now build the spirits and strength of adults overcoming addiction.
“When we first came here, we couldn’t move through here. It was packed out. There were desks and chairs in the hallway, just different things in the halls. It was packed out. If it wasn’t for Stanley [Guess], we couldn’t have done all of this. We couldn’t have done it without him,” Amy Coyle, co-founder and director of God’s House of Hope, said.
God’s House of Hope recently purchased the former Montgomery County Elementary School building with the intention of creating a second center for the faith-based drug and alcohol treatment center. Coyle said the response the organization has received from the Kilmichael community has been overwhelming.
Stanley Guess said he was given time-off his job at Greenlee’s Shoprite to help Coyle, her co-founder Jennifer Sprayberry, and their crew at the school. Coyle said since people have learned of the opening of God’s House of Hope, the outpouring of support from the Kilmichael community has been enormous.
“I did it without hesitation. My spirit led me to do it, and I just went all in,” Guess said.
Coyle said Guess will stay until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. at night cleaning up and doing whatever they need him to do.
She said many people have come out and volunteered their time and their services to a worthy cause.
“We didn’t know anyone from here. We didn’t know anything about Kilmichael, but the response the community has given has been overwhelming. Anything we’ve needed, Stanley knew someone who had it. You name it, we’ve gotten it. If we needed a tractor to overturn garbage, he knew where we could get one. And Mayor Bobby Howell has been so helpful. He brought us a dumpster down here so we could clean up. It’s been overwhelming.”
She said Dorothy Woods and many others have also been a tremendous help to her as they work to clean out all of the remaining desk, chairs, books and move on to Phase II and III of the project.
Coyle said in Phase II, they will start working on housing for the staff, who move in on Oct. 1, and then they will focus their attention back on the main housing. She said there will be one wing for men and one wing for women.
She said the next phase will be the renovation of the old gymnasium, turning it into their worship center. Coyle said later, they are going renovate a wing for a battered women’s shelter to help women who have been involved in sex trafficking or abusive relationships get back on their feet.
Coyle attributes her obedience to the Lord for the pace opening the center has taken. Coyle said they have 50 beds donated by Stanley Huddleston and 50 mattresses donated by Capital Bedding in Verona.
Jimmy and Kay Cason, who purchased the Nettleton God’s House of Hope facility, are also helping at the Kilmichael facility.
“My wife, Kay, went out to the place (in Nettleton) and talked with Amy and Jennifer, and she told me the Holy Spirit told her to buy the building for them. I told her I wasn’t going to argue with the Holy Spirit, and she said ‘Let’s get the money together to do this.’”
Cason said at first, he didn’t see the overwhelming need for a facility like God’s House of Hope, but now he knows its importance.
“I didn’t know there was such a bad problem with drugs until I got involved with God’s House of Hope. It’s bad, and there are a lot of people who need our services who can’t afford them. And [our services are] free. There’s a big need for this.”
He said those who are dealing with substance and alcohol abuse can get the help they need through God’s House of Hope, but they have to be committed and want to help themselves.
“If you want the help, this is your opportunity to get the help you need. If you want to change your life, you can change it. It all depends on what’s in you,” Cason said.
Guess enlisted the help of his sister, Jean Coleman, and his nephew, Larry Blackmon, who both said they did not need convincing to lend a hand.
Monday afternoon, Guess and a crew of men worked as they cleared out classrooms that will be converted into staff housing and the main housing for residents.
Guess works at Greenlee’s Shoprite, where he said he does just about everything.
“You name it. I’m in the meat department. I’m everywhere,” he said.
Guess said when he learned about God’s House of Hope purchasing the school, the Spirit led him to help, and his boss allowed him to with no hesitation.
He, his sister Jean and his nephew Larry all said the same thing. They wanted to be sure that whoever purchased the old elementary school would put it to good use.
“That’s what everyone has said. They [the community of Kilmichael] wanted to be sure that whoever bought the building would put it to good use,” Coyle said.
“We definitely need it around here,” Guess, Blackmon and Coleman said in unison.
“It’s bad around here. People are just throwing their life away because of substance abuse. Young people are starting to look old because of it,” Coleman said.
She said she attended Montgomery County Vocational High School, which was later turned into Montgomery County Elementary School, after the consolidation of Kilmichael and Duck Hill schools. Coleman said in 1971, she finished her last semester as a senior at Kilmichael High School after integration happened.
“There’s not a lot of jobs or things for people to do around here, and they’re idle. That’s how the substance abuse starts,” she said. “[The facility] is good for the area. Winona, Eupora, Stewart, Grenada, it’s needed around here.”
Coyle said she works with the sheriff, courts, and those with the Mississippi Department of Corrections to offer an alternative for those who have pending possession charges.
“I can bond them out of jail, and they can come to the program,” she said.
Coyle said those from around the area who enter the program will be sent to Nettleton, and those close to the Tupelo area will be sent to Kilmichael, because the further away from distractions and their vices they are, the better the opportunity to succeed.
Coyle said when God told her she would have a facility that helps people with substance abuse. he told her that it would be bigger than she ever imagined. But, to see it come to life, the reality is better than she could have ever imagined.
“It’s more to come,” she said. “The Bible said, ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish.’ We wouldn’t be where we’re at today without vision. We have to believe the vision and see where He will take us.”
