Inside the logo of Exodus.Life is an arrow that points to the right, a sign of helping those in need move forward in life.
The goal of the nonprofit organization — whose name is also its web address — is to offer services to families to make them whole again. That’s what Myra Woolfolk, executive director of Exodus.Life, told attendees at its grand opening at 316 W. Sixth Ave. Exodus.Life moved into the location in 2024 after three years on Harding Avenue.
“We expanded our services,” Woolfolk said. “We are one of the state’s first recovery community organizations, and that designation means we help the community by offering peer recovery services.”
Exodus.Life helps individuals combat substance abuse through support groups such as SMART Recovery, life skills classes and entrepreneurial training. The organization also assists inmates in Jefferson County’s juvenile and adult detention systems.
Exodus.Life receives federal and state funding and offers its services at no cost to clients. Woolfolk said 176 people have been served by Exodus.Life through recovery community organization funding and 300 more through Jefferson County funding since January 2024.
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“We want people to know that we are here,” Woolfolk said. “We have funding and sponsors and donors, so our services are free of charge.”
The nonprofit partners with the Arkansas Department of Corrections, Opportunity House, Goodwill, Covenant Recovery and CASA women’s shelters in Pine Bluff. It has another office at 3700A W. 65th St. in Little Rock.
The majority of staff members in the volunteer-based program, she added, are those with lived experiences of substance abuse.
Marguerite Taggart, a peer recovery peer supervisor (yes, “peer” is in her title twice), was addicted to crack cocaine for 16 years but will celebrate 29 years of recovery in July of this year. She went to prison three times and was on parole for 10 years before receiving a governor’s pardon.
Peer recovery specialists, Taggart said, serve those in recovery for mental health issues and substance abuse, among other things.
“They may have just had a bad turn in life and didn’t know how to get back on their feet,” she said. “That’s why we use our lived experience for most of the things we do. Going through the training we have to go through to be able to steer people in the right direction, you meet a lot of different people from a lot of different walks of life. No one’s the same. We listen to them to see what their issues are, allow them to make the choices and we just support them in whatever choice they make.
“I take the things that I went through, and I try to use them for a positive aspect to let people know we do get better. We do change.”
Crystal Davis is a substance abuse counselor-in-training and supervises youths at Jack Jones Juvenile Detention Center. She’s witnessed the results of a turnaround in the lives of many thanks to Exodus.Life.
“I had one who contacted me when they had gotten out. They got a job, pursed getting a GED, and he’s doing really well in life. That’s just one particular story,” Davis said.
Making families whole, per se, doesn’t always look like how one may assume, Woolfolk said. It could mean, as she suggested, helping someone obtain a driver’s license to keep the family together.
“Our mission is to bring people out of darkness,” Woolfolk said.
Myra Woolfolk, executive director of Exodus.Life, speaks at a grand opening for the center Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, with members of the Pine Bluff Regional Chamber of Commerce Redcoats in attendance. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
Marguerite Taggart, left, and Crystal Davis are among Exodus.Life’s staff members. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)