27 July 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — “I didn’t want to keep him,” said Jamesia Ellis after becoming a mother for the fourth time.
She had just given birth to a baby boy and needed help.
“I have been in so many programs that they told me that they were going to do stuff for me but don’t. I just don’t want to go through that again,” she said.
Despite initial hesitancy, a friendship between Ellis and Faith Builders’ founder, Andrea Dixon, started with a phone call.
“‘When you get out of the hospital, you call me, and I’ll come see you. Do you need anything?'” Ellis recalled Dixon saying. “I was like, “What do you mean?”
Dixon showed up with diapers and support.
“Sometimes people get to a position, and there’s not a way out,” Dixon said. “They can’t fathom what it would look like to get back to where they were.”
She started Faith Builders in 2012. In their warehouse, they give the essentials, including free furniture, no questions asked.
“When Jesus fed the 5,000 … he didn’t say if you have proof of ID, you get fish, and if you have proof of address, you get bread,” Dixon said. “He just trusted that there would be enough to meet the need, and there was.”
The non-profit also offers mentoring and therapy.
“The need has grown so much,” Dixon said.
“I was very depressed like, I feel like if I didn’t get into therapy when I did, I would have like killed myself,” Ellis said.
Her life has done a complete 180.
“I have a car now. I mean, I work full-time. Before I got into her program, I wasn’t working. I was on assistance. Now, I have two jobs. I take care of my kids,” Ellis said.
Five children complete the tribe of six, and Ellis is grateful to call Dixon her family.
The warehouse is at 1855 S. Rock Road, Suite 149, in Wichita. It is open Tuesdays and Fridays from 1 to 3 p.m.