We Care For Our Neighbors Coming Home
Gardner House, Inc. walks alongside returning citizens as neighbors, not case numbers. We are building a residential reentry and restoration program where people coming home after incarceration find housing, stabilizing support, and a community that believes their future is worth investing in. Everything we plan is grounded in dignity, healing, and a real path forward.
It Started With One Story
Gardner House began with a question that would not leave Jimmie C. Gardner. After nearly 30 years of wrongful incarceration and two exonerations, he came home to find that freedom did not come with keys, identification, healthcare, or a safe bed. He watched other returning citizens struggle, and some not make it, for lack of support. Gardner House is the program he wishes had been waiting for him, built from lived experience so coming home can mean a real beginning.
Meet Our Team
Jimmie C. Gardner
Founder and CEO. A two-time exoneree who lost nearly 30 years to wrongful incarceration, Jimmie is a former Chicago Cubs prospect who earned three college degrees while inside. His advocacy helped inspire Fulton County's first Conviction Integrity Unit, and he founded Gardner House to build the reentry program he wishes had been waiting for him.
Amanda C. Simmons
Chief Strategy and Operations Officer. Amanda brings more than ten years of operations and project-management experience to Gardner House, leading strategy, operations, and program development. A magna cum laude psychology graduate of the University of Louisville, she has worked alongside Jimmie since 2019 to turn his vision into organized, lasting change.
Our Principles In Practice
Dignity, Healing, Accountability, And Belonging
Dignity In Every Step
We design every aspect of our residential reentry and restoration program so returning citizens are seen, heard, and housed in ways that honor their humanity, not their history.
Accountability With Compassion
We pair clear expectations and personal responsibility with trauma-informed support, coaching, and grace, recognizing that lasting change grows through guidance rather than shame.
Transparent Stewardship
We steward every gift and partnership with clear communication, honest reporting, and visible impact so donors and allies know exactly how they help open the first Gardner House.