Providence Ministries observes 40 years of serving those in need

Published 8:15 am Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Founded in 1985, Dalton’s Providence Ministries has fed, sheltered and clothed those in need for 40 years. Its recovery programs have also helped countless men and women who struggle with addiction to alcohol and drugs.

“It has made a big difference in a lot of lives,” said Providence Head of Development Brian Croft. “I know because I am one of them. This is a ministry that changed my life. It gave me a new life.”

More than 25 years ago, Croft first walked through the doors of Providence. He finished the recovery program, got his GED and believed he was on the right track. But then two close mentors at Providence died within a few months of each other. Croft left Providence and “backslided.” But he returned a couple of years later, completed the recovery program again and stayed on course.

He said that’s why it’s so important to him to celebrate Providence’s 40th anniversary, which the ministry is doing this year with a “$40 for 40 more years” program asking community members to contribute $40 each to help the ministry continue its work.

“Providence has always considered itself an extension of Dalton,” he said. “We are able to do what we do because of the support we receive from the community — the monetary donations, the physical donations, the volunteer work, the prayers. This is a celebration not just of Providence but of Dalton.”

Headquartered at 711 S. Hamilton St. in Dalton, Providence Ministries provides shelter for men, women and children; serves meals to the homeless; provides free Thanksgiving and Christmas meals to the community; and offers addiction recovery programs for those who are troubled by alcohol and drugs. It also operates several thrift stores that sell inexpensive items ranging from clothes to toys to household items to raise funds for its mission.

Providence was the vision of the Rev. Roy Johnson, then a successful businessman in the floorcovering industry.

“He’s told me many times that God stopped him in his tracks and told him ‘There’s more to this world than your pocketbook,'” Croft said. “God gave him the vision for Providence.”

Johnson started in a one-room church on the north end of the city.

“They did everything in that one room,” Croft said. “They had laundry and food on one side. They had a little area for an office. They had a space to hold a church service.”

Croft said that as Johnson worked with the homeless he saw how much of a role drugs and alcohol played in how so many of them ended up on the streets.

After several years, a local man helped Johnson acquire the former Big K building at 711 S. Hamilton St. that Providence has called home for some three decades.

“It turned out to be fortuitous timing,” he said. “The first time food was served here was during the (Blizzard of 1993). Travelers and people who were driving along I-75 were stranded here, and they brought them to us because we had a big open space for them to get out of the cold, and the kitchen had just been renovated so we were cooking meals for them.”

Earlier this year, Providence opened a new shelter for women and children.

“One of the beautiful things about Providence is that as the needs change, we are able to change to meet them,” said Providence Vice President Tony Howeth. “The thing I appreciate about this ministry and about Brother Roy is that they always try to follow the lead of the Lord.”