H E A LT H & W E L L N E S S
HARVESTING HOPE The Christian-based Repairers of the Breach organization assists those in need, including the homeless, the elderly and families who have experienced domestic abuse, loss of work and various other traumas. by MICHELLE FLOYD Shirley Smith follows a straightforward motto: “I’m going to work until Jesus comes [back].” Smith, 80, has run the Christianbased Repairers of the Breach organization in Covington since 1991, and she has no plans to stop anytime soon. “I love every day that I get to come out here,” Smith said. “When I leave every day, I say, ‘God, you did it again.’ I said, ‘God, if you will run it, I will be your servant,’ and He did. God is at the helm of this ministry.”
28 The Newton
When she retired from Bell South, Smith started the nonprofit organization as a thrift store prison ministry, along with her late husband Gene and two other couples, Julie and Richard Fairburn and Hub and Pat Doyle. They moved it into the same location along Washington Street in Covington where the building sits today, near where Smith was raised. It was once an old shirt factory before they took over in part, and they eventually acquired the entire 22,000-square-foot building. Repairers of the Breach—which derives its name from Isaiah 58:12—helps area residents in need, from the homeless and elderly to those searching for a little extra assistance, like families who have experienced domestic abuse, loss of work or those who are dealing with an incarcerated member who was the primary income provider. “God sends us people that we didn’t expect to get in,” Smith said. She maintains a food pantry to assist those in crisis, gives away bread and bakery items on a weekly basis—sometimes the package includes dairy—and provides nightly meals onsite or to help buoy other volunteer organizations. The facility also houses shower and bath areas for those who are homeless or without power, and Smith gives clothing and household items to people who lack such necessities.
