Hours before the Easter holiday began on Sunday (April 21), 23 nonviolent inmates at DeKalb County Jail were released. Why? T.I. decided to help post bail for all of them, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
Anthony Gordon, who was accused of stealing a car over the weekend, heard over the intercom, “Hey, pack it up, you’re going home.”
Gordon explained, “I came back down, and I hit the little intercom and said, ‘Are y’all sure you’re calling me?'”
Gordon was one of the 23 people bailed out by the “Bail-Out” program sponsored by New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Tip and Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta personality Scrapp Deleon. At the beginning of Lent, the church set a fundraising goal of $40,000 but 40 days later, had reeled in over $120,000.
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Subsequently, seven women and 16 men were brought home to their families just in time for the Easter holiday.
“It’s like a whole new clean slate,” Tyron Pollard, another program recipient, said. “I was doing drugs before I got locked up … but I don’t want to do nothing but do right and strive to be a model citizen for my kids.”
In addition to the initial assistance getting out of jail, New Birth is connecting each individual with a mentor for weekly check-ins. They’re also using a portion of the donations to kickstart college funds for the children of returning citizens.
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New Birth senior pastor Dr. Jamal Bryant was thrilled to see the church community take action for their fellow DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Rockdale county citizens.
“It’s almost like finally meeting the good Samaritan – somebody who you don’t know that you didn’t see coming,” Bryant said. “They’re appreciative to be able to press the refresh button.”
