About JIO

Local congregations, businesses, and individuals have put together a place where families and individuals in crisis receive genuine compassion, care, and help.

Created out of emergency resulting from Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the James Island Outreach (JIO) was the primary result of area churches coming together to help those who had nowhere else to turn with the rebuilding of storm damaged homes.

With the substantial alleviation of housing emergencies in the years following Hurricane Hugo, the focus of JIO changed from coordinating home repairs to providing and coordinating a variety of human services for our neighbors on James Island and Folly Beach.

In coordination with area public and private human services agencies, JIO, through volunteers and a paid part-time professional director, provides crisis relief and ongoing assistance in the areas of:

  • Emergency food, medicine, and utility assistance
  • Information and referrals

JIO is a non-profit, tax exempt agency.  It is supported through donations of time, food, and funds by area churches, congregations, businesses, and individuals.  The activities of JIO are governed by a local Board of Directors made up of supporting congregation representatives and concerned citizens of the community.  Our Executive Director is Jeff Gordon.

JIO is an Equal Opportunity Provider

In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, and American Sign Language) should contact the responsible State or local Agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, which can be obtained online, at https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights |  1400 Independence Avenue, SW | Washington, D.C. 20250-9410

or

fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442

or

email: program.intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.