© WYFF 4 Soteria Community Development CorporationA new organization that helps men and women released from prison is working to rebuild, but has faced some obstacles
Over the summer, a fire destroyed the Soteria Community Development Corporation workshop that housed his carpentry business.
Sign up for our newsletter"We completely gutted our wood shop," said CEO Jerry Blassingheim. "We were able to raise some funds to purchase equipment and hopefully replace our wood shop."
Soteria is a full-time re-enrollment program for men and women. Provides transitional housing, job training, financial education, counseling and many other vital skills and resources.
The men and women of the Soteria project work in their workshops to work with wood and make furniture for sale in the community. When the workshop burned down, it limited their work.
When Blasingame realized they couldn't rebuild his mill, he set his sights on the cotton warehouse at Brandon Mill.
"Our work in Soteria is a vocational training program, so we will bring a vocational training program to the area," he said. “And the building is big enough that we can expand it. We can have a store where people can buy furniture and help the economic base of this community. It's a win-win."
The Greenville Creative Arts Center currently occupies the Cotton Warehouse, which is adjacent to the GCCA building and apartment complex.
"Jerry Blasingame and Soteria contacted GCCA to request the purchase of an abandoned cotton building that we own but is located in Brandon Mills," said GCCA Executive Director Jess Burgess. “The GCCA Board of Directors and staff are unanimous in their support of Soteria joining the community and occupying this space. We faced some problems to get the necessary support from the neighboring apartment owners. However, we hope to be able to reach and finalize an agreement... Building sale to Jerry Blasingame and Soteria. Soteria's mission and vision are extremely important and valuable to our community members, and GCCA is proud to support them in any way we can."
Blessingame says the backlash they are facing comes from the owners of Brandon Mills.
“We have owned Brandon Mills since 2018 and have had a great partnership with the community and GCCA over the years. As for Soteria, we're big fans of what they're doing and they're doing great work for the community,” said Will Milligan of Brookline Investment Group. “As we've said, our primary concern is the safety and well-being of our Brandon Mill residents and community. Prior to our acquisition, all Brandon Mills had CC&Rs prohibiting this type of recommended use. When he donated the cotton warehouse to the GCCA, it was also put to this, which appears to be a non-permissible use. Prior to donating the building, GCCA provided evidence of funding that would allow GCCA to expand, and we are disappointed that they cannot expand at this time. We will continue to work here. partnership with GCCA to see the cotton compound activated.”
"One thing they've told us is they're concerned about the safety of their residents, and that doesn't make sense to me," Blasingham said. “We've been in Greenville for 23 years. Everyone knows who we are, not just in South Carolina, but across the country.”
Blasingame said the warehouse would only be a place for software work and training, not housing. He said that they also discussed the possibility of entering the warehouse without disturbing the residents of the adjacent apartment complex.
"When a big company comes in and does that, it's gentrification at best," Blasingham said. "Most of the people living around this mill probably cannot afford to live in apartments. We want mixed-income neighborhoods, but we don't want people coming to Greenville to say you can't do business here."
Blasingame said Soteria's mission is to create jobs and support public safety.
"Our recidivism rate is now only 4%, which means 96% of people who enter our program do not return to prison," Blasingham said.
He says that the cotton warehouse is very important for Sateria and for him.
“It will be a new home where we can put all our new machinery and train people, but secondly for me personally as an African-American, for a leading African-American company that will have a piece of textile history in Greenville. it's going to be huge,” he said. Punish me.
WYFF reached out to the original owners of Brandon Mill to find out what the above CC&Rs and guidelines mean and if they can be changed or revised.
The best WYFF stories.
An athletic trainer performs CPR for 10 minutes when an elderly athlete's heart stops during a game
The Murdoch trial. new video evidence casts doubt on Alex Murdoch's alibi
Man arrested after emergency responders say he threatened motorists with gun, authorities say
An upper-class man used sex and illegal drugs to lure the teenager out of his home, officials said.
AG: Upstate man secretly records teens and teenage girls for 6 days using spy cameras
Read in full. An organization that helps ex-prisoners is having trouble finding a new job
Watch WYFF. Get the latest news and weather in Greenville. Greenville, SC is home to live, local and breaking news from WYFF.
