Greenwood Pathway House is celebrating its 14th birthday on March 14, 2025.
What started as a seasonal cold weather shelter run by volunteers, has grown into a full service ministry that helps local people overcome homelessness permanently.
It has been an exciting 14 years, and we wanted to share the highlights of our story.
In 2009, local churches and nonprofits were struggling to find help for the large number of homeless people in Greenwood. A group of concerned citizens formed a Homelessness Think Tank that began to explore the problem.
By February of 2010, the Think Tank had developed options for a homeless project in Greenwood and started working to make it a reality.
In November of 2010, St. Mark United Methodist Church assembled about 170 volunteers and opened a cold weather shelter for men.
In November of 2011, Main Street United Methodist Church opened its doors to provide cold weather shelter for women and children. Both of these shelters operated from November to March on any night the temperature dropped below 40 degrees.
In March of 2011, Greenwood Pathway House, Inc. was incorporated as a nonprofit and in June of 2011, the ministry received its 501c3 designation.
In July of 2012, Pathway purchased part of the Abney Memorial Baptist Church campus and renovated it to become the new cold weather shelter for men.
In April of 2014, the Furnishing A Future program opened after it received the first ever Innovation Grant from the Greenwood County Community Foundation.
In July of 2014, Pathway transitioned into a more comprehensive shelter offering 24-hour, year round services for up to 8 men.
In May of 2015, Pathway purchased the remainder of the Abney Memorial Baptist Church campus to expand their ability to help more people.
In June of 2016, Pathway opened the new dormitory for men.
In November of 2016, the focus shifted to the unmet needs of homeless women and in April of 2017, a new building to help women and mothers with children opened.
In October of 2017, Pathway purchased the former Davis Buick building and in August of 2019, Pathway Thrift Store opened.
In January of 2020, Pathway purchased the Lakelands Baptist Association property and moved our Ministry Office to that building.
In September of 2020, Pathway began to change its structure from a conventional homeless shelter to a trauma-specific homeless ministry.
In June of 2021, Pathway started an ambitious project that was designed and built to address systemic problems in how family homelessness is addressed.
In February 2023, Pathway Village opened to provide cottages for single parents with children and a central dining facility for all our clients.
In August of 2023, Pathway Village was recognized with the Innovation Grant from the Greenwood County Community Foundation. It is awarded to organizations demonstrating a sound approach to addressing root causes of systemic problems or deficiencies.
In November of 2023, Pathway was recognized with the Angel Award from the South Carolina Secretary of State. The award recognizes organizations that have positively impacted the well-being of South Carolinians and that have demonstrated good stewardship of charitable resources.
In January 2024, Pathway Village’s innovative approach was awarded the True Inspiration Award by Chick-fil-A. Pathway was selected out of 2,200 nominations from across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico to receive the award.
In September of 2024, the Pathway Recreation Area opened to meet the needs of the more than 80 children that stay in Pathway Village every year.
On our birthday, we want to say thank you to all of the amazing people that have supported our ministry over the last 14 years. None of this could have happened without the support of our community.