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Matthew 25:36c states, “I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” One local ministry is taking that verse to heart. LIFT Ministry sponsored the Forgotten Fathers Project, which sought donations from the community to help inmates who needed essential items.

Latanglia Dozier, CEO of LIFT Ministry, said that she wanted to do something to help the men who are in the custody of the Dallas County Jail. Those inmates are now being housed at the Perry County Prep center since the jail received heavy damage after the Jan. 12, 2023 EF-2 tornado. So, she chose to do Father’s Day gifts for the inmates. Many of them do not have a way to get clean, new undergarments, such as T-shirts, underwear and socks along with toiletry items like soap and shampoo. 

“Officer Tracy (Sanders) told me that a lot of men out there don’t have T-shirts. They don’t have underwear. They don’t have hygiene items, and they can’t afford to get it from their commissary,” Dozier said. “I said, ‘Let me do something for the men so they won’t feel forgotten.’ So, I called it the Forgotten Fathers Project, and it’s the Father’s Day initiative. I solicited donations from people all in the community, and they sent me donations.”

Her ministry presented the items to Sheriff Mike Granthum, Sanders, summer intern SaKiyah Bonner and Sgt. Vivian Hunter on Friday so they could receive them over the Father’s Day weekend.

Granthum said donations like this are important to help raise the morale of the men housed at the jail.

“It just brightens their day up to let somebody know there’s somebody here thinking about them,” Granthum said. “They’re not thrown away. They’re not forgotten. There is hope, and there are people out here that do care.”

Granthum said LIFT Ministry has helped them out several times throughout the year. They have made donations and given gifts around Christmas, Thanksgiving and other special days.

“And we do appreciate it to the fullest because this is stuff that the county and the county commission don’t actually have the funds just to do this,” Granthum said. “I am encouraging them that once they have served their time and they go back home, maybe they’ll be the ones who are giving back to the inmates.”

Dozier said that her ministry has also served the female inmates from Dallas County who are housed in Hale County. She said she has been able to minister to them and to tell her testimony.

“I just want to thank everyone that has helped with this initiative,” Dozier said. “I want to acknowledge the Dallas County Commission where my father is Commissioner Curtis Williams. They give me a grant every month, and because of their grant, I was able to service our local inmates at the Hale County Jail and the Perry County jail. I’m really thankful for all the commissioners and Judge Jimmy Nunn.”