Community Housing

“Growing up in the 90s, this was an area that would be known for crime, known for drugs, known for addictive behaviors. All of these things. I wanted to give back and I wanted to change the dynamic,” pastor Audre King said.

King ministers at ER church, Grace Fellowship and Lacey Restoration. He’s also the president of Living Legacy, an umbrella name for numerous nonprofits, and founder of The Rec, an after-school program that serves around 70 kids. King spends most of his time giving back to the community he grew up in.

“When I first came back to Page County — maybe eight years ago — there were different needs that were evident within the county. We just started plugging to put them all together,” King said. “I noticed in driving buses, some of the kids that we were driving home from our after-school program didn’t have a home. Either they were going to motel rooms, they were going to Choices … or they were sleeping on couches of their friends.”

That’s when King got to work on another nonprofit: Restoration Community Development Corporation. The organization’s goal is to restore houses and give unhoused mothers and their children a place to live. The first house was completed three weeks ago. Right now, four moms and 11 kids have moved in.

“A lot of people have a thinking that if you’re homeless or you don’t have a place to stay, it’s either because of addiction or a situation, but [the] truth of the matter is in Page County, the price of living … went up,” King said. “It’s not that they don’t work. It’s not that they don’t provide. It’s just that the means aren’t there.”

Karissa Jones is a volunteer at The Rec and helped renovate the house. Even in her own time of need, she said she has found solace in the community. Jones and her four kids moved into the house on Tuesday.

“It’s definitely better than the shelter because we’re like a family here,” Jones said. “At a shelter, you’re all different, you all live separate. Here, we actually live together. We eat dinner together, we had breakfast this morning together. It’s just amazing to have actual family.”

The moms are required to attend one church service a week and recovery sessions if needed. They also have financial literacy, career planning and budgeting classes.

The house isn’t totally free. The moms make payments in increments based on their current occupation and financial status. Part of the money goes toward upkeep, while the rest goes into a personal savings account the women can access when they are back on their feet, or as King calls it, “a little ‘goose egg’ to be able to start and revamp their life and create a new beginning.”

“I mean we all start at the bottom and work our way up. Sometimes we get broke down and we gotta rebuild ourselves, but at the end of the day, I’ve learned that God only breaks you down to rebuild yourself so you can be better,” Jones said.

King said he’s hoping to finish a second house for fathers by the end of February. Eventually, he hopes to have five to ten houses all across the county.

“These houses will create an environment where people can begin looking not just day to day, but how to live a blessed, prosperous … life that’s fruitful in the sense you’re not just looking at sustaining, but now you’re looking at abundance,” King said.

An official way to donate is in the process of being set up. If you’d like to donate to the cause, you can email King at Audre@LivingLegacyLurayVA.org

Copyright 2025 WHSV.

By Kayla Brown
Published: Jan. 17, 2025 at 5:08 PM EST

Reprint with permission. All rights reserved.

For more details: Visit Restoration Kingdom Housing Here.