Our Purpose

Michelle Smith is the Founder and Executive Director of Jeremiah Transitional Housing & Resource Center. With lived experience in recovery, incarceration, and reentry, she brings a deeply personal understanding of the challenges individuals face when rebuilding their lives.

Now with over a decade of sustained recovery, Michelle is committed to helping others transition from instability to purpose through structure, accountability, and support. Her leadership is rooted in faith, resilience, and a passion for restoring lives within the community.

Michael Renner-Lewis brings a strong background in technology and workforce development. He is passionate about equipping individuals with practical skills, including computer literacy and digital training, to help them succeed in today’s workforce.
His ability to teach, guide, and introduce new opportunities makes him a valuable asset in helping participants build confidence and create new career pathways.

Bunny Johnson serves as Secretary of Jeremiah House and provides leadership in participant support, behavioral health guidance, and case management coordination. She brings both professional training in social work and lived experience that allows her to connect deeply with individuals navigating recovery, trauma, instability, and life transition.
With a background in mental health and substance use support, Bunny helps participants build accountability, access resources, strengthen coping skills, and overcome barriers to long-term stability. Her compassionate approach, combined with her clinical knowledge and real-world understanding, makes her a trusted source of support for those working to rebuild their lives.
Bunny plays a vital role in ensuring Jeremiah House supports the whole person—mentally, emotionally, and practically—not just their housing needs.

Lori Smith plays a vital role in helping individuals navigate the challenges of rebuilding their lives. With compassion, patience, and a heart for service, she works directly with participants to connect them to essential community resources and day-to-day support systems.
Her role goes far beyond transportation. Lori assists individuals with housing applications, employment resources, medical appointments, benefit navigation, identification recovery, and access to basic needs that many people struggling with homelessness or reentry often find overwhelming to manage alone.
What makes Lori especially valuable to Jeremiah is her willingness to meet people where they are without judgment. She understands that many individuals entering recovery or transitional housing feel lost, discouraged, and unsupported. Through consistency, encouragement, and practical guidance, she helps restore confidence and stability one step at a time.
Her dedication to serving others, combined with her strong knowledge of local resources and genuine compassion for people, makes her an essential part of the Jeremiah Transitional Housing & Resource Center team.

Orlander Mister serves as Treasurer and is one of the foundational voices of accountability and transformation within Jeremiah. With powerful lived experience in recovery and a gift for reaching beyond surface-level struggles, he helps individuals confront the deeper issues driving their choices, behaviors, and addictions.
Known for his honesty, wisdom, and ability to challenge people to think differently, Orlander guides participants through understanding their assets and liabilities—not just in recovery, but in life. He helps individuals examine false identities, unresolved wounds, destructive thinking patterns, and the beliefs that have shaped their decision-making for years.
His mentorship goes beyond encouragement. He pushes people to face themselves honestly, identify the root of their struggles, and begin rebuilding from the inside out.
What makes his presence invaluable to Jeremiah is that his leadership comes from genuine love, lived experience, and a deep desire to see people truly make it—not just survive, but transform.

Australia Willhite brings a deeply personal understanding of trauma, healing, and emotional restoration to the Jeremiah team. Having overcome childhood trauma and her own past struggles with addiction, she now uses her testimony, healing journey, and hard-earned wisdom to help others confront the pain beneath their patterns.
Her passion lies in helping individuals identify and work through the emotional wounds, trauma responses, and mental health barriers that often fuel destructive behaviors and keep people stuck in cycles of pain.
Australia’s approach centers on healing from within—guiding people toward self-awareness, emotional stability, inner strength, and renewed purpose. She understands firsthand that true transformation begins when a person addresses not just what they do, but why they do it.
What makes her advocacy powerful is that it comes from lived experience, compassion, and a genuine calling to help others heal in the areas where she once needed healing herself.

Jackie Scott serves as a Support Leader with a heart for walking alongside individuals facing substance use, homelessness, and life instability. She is committed to creating a safe, compassionate environment where people feel seen, valued, and empowered to rebuild their lives.
Her approach combines empathy, practical guidance, and unwavering encouragement—helping individuals overcome barriers, access resources, and rediscover their strength, dignity, and self-worth.
Driven by faith and integrity, she believes every person deserves a second chance and the opportunity to move toward healing, stability, and a brighter future.