M-POWER MINISTRIES

It was the late 1990s. A number of organizations in the Birmingham area provided help for people in need. These organizations concentrated on specific individuals: men released from prison, women escaping domestic violence, people with addictions. But there was a gap. No one was there for the individuals who were struggling day-to-day to secure a decent job, provide for their children, and find quality healthcare. M-POWER was created by area churches to meet those basic needs in the Avondale and Woodlawn areas.

Over the years, M-POWER has evolved from its roots as a community-devloped organization into a broad-based entity, serving the entire city of Birmingham. M-POWER seeks to help our neighbors escape the cycle of poverty.

Although the actual number of people living in poverty is staggering, it doesn't tell the real story. It doesn't tell the story of the father or mother who can't read a bedtime story to their son or daughter. It doesn't tell the story of a father who can't find a job because he doesn't have a high school diploma or GED certificate. It doesn't tell the story of a woman who can't afford to take her blood pressure medicine, so she lives in fear of having a stroke. M-POWER doesn't just deal with numbers. They help real people who need help, desperately.

M-POWER meets real needs by tackling the two major causes of poverty: lack of education and lack of access to health care. As a result, they help thousands in the Birmingham community through their Education Center, which operates adult literacy, GED, and Career-Readiness programs, and their Health Center, the only free walk-in and primary care clinic in Jefferson County.