In Saint Louis, Missouri, Shawntelle Fisher’s redemption story is currently being written, with plot twists and turns rivaling a suspenseful and riveting Hollywood screenplay.
We’re well past the introduction of the story, where naïve and impressionable Shawntelle made bad choices and as a young mother ended up in trouble with the law at age 17.
We’re also through the unbelievably difficult part where she spent most of the next 20 years of her life in jail or prison. In these long and lonely years, Shawntelle ultimately became disgusted with herself, and while rehabilitating in her cell met Jesus Christ.
Discovering her new value and identity in Him, she drafted plans to completely transform her life when she was finally released in 2011.
From that point forward, and over the next seven years, immersed in secondary education, she attended community college, universities, and more colleges, and at a lightning pace received seven degrees, all with“A” grades and/or honors.
Shawntelle holds both a Bachelor of Educational Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Media Studies from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
She earned dual master’s degrees in social work and divinity from Washington University and Eden Theological Seminary. She is also a Licensed Master Social Worker and was the founding board president for the Riverview Gardens Education Foundation.
Shawntelle Fisher, Red and Gold Day, UMSL
A class project in 2012 sparked the idea and beginning of what became The SoulFisher Ministries.
With a mission very close to her heart, she laid the foundation. She got to work to help children of incarcerated parents and to offer restorative justice to currently imprisoned and returning citizens.
In the decade since receiving her 501c3, The SoulFisher Ministries (TSM) has grown to have a $2.5M+ operating budget and serves more than 400 students and 600 system-impacted people annually.
Through quality after-school programming for at-risk students and students with an incarcerated parent, the Educate Now to Achieve Later(ENAL) program provides after-school tutoring and enrichment for students who have an incarcerated parent and/or students performing 2-3 grade levels below Grade Level Expectations (GLEs), at six locations in the urban-Ferguson area during the school year, and two summer ENAL programs.
Staff provide tutoring in math, reading, and English Language Arts (ELA), and a host of enrichments (Science Center, Bricks4Kidz, Girls on the Run, Let Me Run, Chess, etc.). Using a holistic approach, they ensure not only are the students excelling academically, but socially and emotionally as well. They provide nutritious meals to ensure students can learn at their best.
Their evidence-based programs and services for justice-involved people, the Adult General Achievement Program of Education (AGAPE) program, offer pre-and-post reentry programs and services.
AGAPE also serves justice-involved women, holistically meeting the needs of the whole woman while providing quality and compassionate case management.
Program staff provide pre-release financial literacy classes, and post-release workforce development, and case management. Reentry programs and services include Identity classes, financial literacy and workforce development classes, and outpatient substance abuse classes. Currently AGAPE houses 26 people in Saint Louis-area neighborhoods, in their two transitional homes and additional permanent living apartments.
Recently The SoulFisher Ministries purchased and outright owns, a third commercially and residentially zoned property in a sleepy, out-of-the-way part of a town called Pagedale, which they intend to fully renovate and use for reentry services and programs.
They have funding lined up and are ready to go but work has been stalled. Unable to receive construction permits since the mayor learned who was moving in and stated they do not want “ex-felons” in their community, Shawntelle has reached out to many in the area for guidance with no resolution. This fluid situation reflects the politics and pushback many organizations providing housing face when attempting to place reentering residents.
Shawntelle’s plea to the city’s Board of Directors was featured as part of a recent local news broadcast, and the sentiment she expresses is truly at the heart of the mission of her work:
“This is important because 97 percent of people who go to prison will transition back into our communities. It’s up to us to decide how we want them to transition back into the community.
They can transition back the same way that they left and cause more harm and damage in the community, or they can come back home to a community that has the support and resources available to help them be successful and help them remain in the community and remain vital members in their community.”
As founder of The SoulFisher Ministries, Shawntelle has been honored to receive numerous awards for her distinguished and outstanding achievements, including a scholarship named after her at the Saint Louis Community College (STLCC) which clearly launched her on the education path.
She is also a dynamic public speaker and adjunct professor, an advocate for restorative justice, including in her own life and she speaks on behalf of her thousands of clients.
The redemptive outreach and focus of Shawntelle’s work continues and she eagerly encourages her clients and community as she works to expand the school and reentry programs.
To show support for TheSoulFisher Ministries, and to keep up with their expansive work, please like and follow The SoulFisher Ministries on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFisherMinistries/
Comments