Mary Margaret Andrews was recently promoted to Executive Director at Doors of Hope Transition Ministries in Oxford.

For Andrews, it’s an opportunity to use her marketing background in a way that’s beneficial to the LOU community.

“I think that everybody thinks that Oxford is this quaint, beautiful little town – and it is, but I don’t think people realize that there are people in need in our community,” Andrews said. “There are a lot of people out there who are trying to live on minimum wage jobs, and they’re essentially one car repair away from being homeless. That’s the people that we serve, and it’s very rewarding work.”

Doors of Hope serves families in need through a four-to-six-month program to attain financial stability. In order to qualify, those in need must be a Lafayette County resident for at least one year, have a steady job and fill out an application on their website.

Families can live in a Doors of Hope shelter or in their own home, thanks to the housing in place program established in 2017. The program isn’t easy, Andrews said, but it requires clients to adhere to a strict budget and attend courses to become financially literate. At the end of the program, families will have saved enough money to become sustainably independent and support themselves in a residence of their own.

“There has to be a willingness to work our program, because we’re giving you a free place to stay. It’s a serious thing,” Andrews said. “We also have an after program they can come to for support, so they can continue to have that same group of people who are in the same boat and are learning and thriving.”

Andrews said her main goal in this new role is to continue telling Doors of Hope’s story and raise awareness in the community. Because the ministry is privately funded, she said, they are largely dependent on the generosity of others.

The organization currently receives funding from United Way and also has a grant from Move on Up, Mississippi to establish a nutrition program, but nothing compares to community involvement and donations, she said.

To learn more about Doors of Hope Transition Ministries, visit their website at https://doorsofhopeoxford.org.