Our founders, Dr. Leo Brown, Jr. and his wife, Barbara, had a vision to cultivate a stronger community through stewardship and hope. By the late 1960s, they decided to put their passion to work and began ministry programs to work with incarcerated men. In 1971, they expanded their program to include the Purdy Treatment Center for women while simultaneously founding a summer camp for underserved youth.

The Browns would continue to create more opportunities for members of the community who’d experienced hardship and, as a result, ended up in places that seemed hopeless. They believed in second chances and understood that in order to change their community, they had to start by reaching its most vulnerable. Dr. Brown Jr. did not view convicted persons as a threat to society, but rather as individuals who’d made unwise decisions without the proper support structures to lean on. He was called to do more for the men and women he’d encountered through his ministry, and in 1972, despite caution and dismay from local residents, Progress House Association was established. By 2017, Progress House had expanded to include multiple programs, all with the shared goal of reducing recidivism rates.

​Today, Progress House exists as a beacon of hope not only for its clients, but also for their family and children. As the legacy continues with the second and third generations of the Brown family at the helm, we’ve expanded our vision to put an end to the cycle of incarceration and recidivism, mental health hospitalization, and poverty.