Human Services

GWG seeks to address inequities within our community by supporting projects that address every individual’s needs for food, clothing, shelter and safety as well as projects that address underlying social problems.

Julie Valentine Center

Year Granted:

Grant Amount: $81,000

Forensic Interviews for Children

The Julie Valentine Center’s mission is to provide hope and healing to those impacted by child abuse and sexual assault. It has three aims: stop abuse before it happens; reduce trauma and reestablish safety; and engage survivors in healing through compassionate treatment. All services are free.

JVC is the sole provider of trauma-informed forensic interviews in Greenville County and coordinates the 13th Circuit Multidisciplinary Team. Forensic interviews directly protect children and lead to justice. In certain cases, the tape of the Forensic Interview can prevent the need for child victims to testify in court. Rising costs and state funding cuts threaten the organization’s ability to continue providing forensic interview services.

Outcome/Impact: GWG grant funding will sustain services, enabling JVC’s forensic professionals to conduct nearly 600 interviews over 12 months, and to get the training required to maintain their accreditations.

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United Way Greenville Together

Year Granted:

Grant Amount: $25,000

Greenville Together: “A Home For All”

As Greenville has grown, the percentage of those experiencing homelessness has increased. The mission of Greenville Together is to functionally end homelessness to make it rare, brief, and non-recurring. Research demonstrates, among those newly transitioning to stable housing, a one-time investment of $1000 reduces the likelihood of lease violation, abandonment or return to shelter. Residents are not forced to choose between the cost of necessary home goods, vital medications, transportation for work or purchasing food.

The GWG grant will purchase 25 “Move-in Kits” for previously unhoused individuals and families who have been relocated by the agency to stable housing. These “Kits” are basic household items, chosen by the residents. Items range from simple furniture, cookware, linens and basic cleaning supplies. These items are selected from a curated household shopping site and allow newly housed residents to prepare affordable meals, maintain a clean environment and meet basic hygiene needs.

Outcome/Impact: In 2025 Greenville Together transitioned 90 households (154 people), from homelessness into supportive housing. It is anticipated that 130 additional homes will be added in 2026. In 2025 95% of clients referred to the program accepted services—contradicting the common narrative that those experiencing homelessness do not want help. None of those transitioned have returned to homelessness.

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Triune Mercy Center

Year Granted:

Grant Amount: $50,000

Established in 1989, Triune Mercy Center serves Greenville, SC by providing life-changing opportunities and meeting the needs of the disadvantaged, homeless and vulnerable in Greenville by leveraging resources to empower people toward self-sufficiency and healing. In 2024, TMC served 16,200 people. GWG grant funds will cover the cost of equipment and installation of security cameras to help mitigate illegal activities and deter harmful situations that occur in a recessed entryway at TMC, including drug use, panhandling, people sleeping, and using it as an outdoor toilet. The issue has become so profound it discourages those who are in need of TMC’s services and creates safety risks for all, including the staff and volunteers.

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Rebuild Upstate

Year Granted:

Grant Amount: $100,000

Rebuild Upstate began in 2007 and approaches the affordable housing crisis by focusing on rehabilitation and preservation of existing homes. GWG grant funds will aid in the completion of necessary, but unfunded, home repairs for 40 low-income homeowners over the course of two years.

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Project Host

Year Granted:

Grant Amount: $52,000

Project Host is a soup kitchen and outreach program that has been a vital part of the Greenville Community for 44 years. Their mission is to use food as a tool to nourish the hungry, and to train the unemployed to be self-sufficient through their culinary training program. Their vision is a hunger-free Greenville focused on stable employment and reduced food insecurity. In 2024, Project Host served over 75,000 meals, but forecasted population growth has increased the number of meals needed. GWG grant funds will be used to serve an additional 5,250 meals to Greenville’s most vulnerable population.

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Soteria CDC

Year Granted:

Grant Amount: $97,125

Construct two tiny homes designed by Fine Arts Center high school architecture students, built by Soteria prison re-entry program participants, and rented to Soteria program graduates. This is the pilot phase of an innovative vision to create a mixed-income community for individuals re-entering society from incarceration and for people emerging from chronic homelessness.

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Generations Group Homes

Year Granted:

Grant Amount: $50,000

Update the 32-year-old kitchen of this nationally accredited residential and psychiatric treatment facility for young boys who are victims of sexual abuse. The updated kitchen will allow the organization to serve nutritious meals, store frozen food, and to sanitize kitchen utensils properly.

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Safe Harbor

Year Granted:

Grant Amount: $100,000

Assist in the construction of a new domestic violence shelter and co-located services center that will increase the bed count from 34 to 56, increase the number served by 100 residents and improve services and facilities for domestic violence victims. The GWG grant will fund four (4) two-bedroom/one-bathroom units in the new 45,000-sq.-ft. facility.

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Fostering Great Ideas

Year Granted:

Grant Amount: $71,468

Hire a second former foster child to serve as a certified life coach for teens aging out of the state foster care system. This grant will enable an additional 43 teens to receive assistance and counseling to guide them toward productive and meaningful lives.

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Rebuild Upstate

Year Granted:

Grant Amount: $100,000

Preserve and improve low income, owner-occupied homes in Greenville County.

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