“We take broken lives, give them hope, and God makes it happen.”
If you spend enough time on the streets of Buffalo’s East Side, you will eventually see them. They are the men and women in the high-visibility vests standing on the corners where trouble tends to brew. They are the calm voices in the middle of a storm. They are the Buffalo Peacemakers, and they are the heartbeat of a movement that is quietly transforming our city, one life at a time.
Founder of Back To Basics Outreach Ministries, Inc.
At the center of this movement is Pastor James Giles, a man whose life is a testament to the very mission he leads. As the founder of Back to Basics Outreach Ministries, Pastor Giles doesn’t just preach about redemption from a pulpit; he practices it on the pavement.
A Shepherd in the Streets
Pastor Giles knows the darkness because he has lived it. Decades ago, he sat in a prison cell, a young man who had lost his way. It was there, in the depths of incarceration, that he found his faith and a new purpose. When he returned to Buffalo, he didn’t hide his past. He used it as a bridge to reach others.
Founded in 1996, Back to Basics Outreach Ministries began with a simple, powerful vision: to provide a safety net for those who have fallen through every other crack in the system. What started as a small outreach effort has blossomed into a “centralized hub of hope” at 1001 East Delavan Avenue.
More Than Just a Meal
While Back to Basics provides the essentials, such as food for the hungry and emergency housing for the homeless, their work goes far deeper than immediate relief. They are in the business of changing trajectories.
Through the Buffalo Peacemakers, Pastor Giles and his team do the dangerous, necessary work of violence interruption. They don’t wait for the police sirens. They are there beforehand, mediating conflicts between gangs and mentoring at-risk youth before a dispute turns deadly.
Take their “Safe Passage” program, for example. In neighborhoods where walking to school can be a source of anxiety for children, the Peacemakers stand guard. Their presence alone lowers the temperature, allowing kids to just be kids.
Or consider the recent Toy Gun Exchange on Jefferson Avenue. In a world where children are often desensitized to violence, Pastor Giles and his team offered a different path. They invited local youth to trade in their toy guns for educational materials and positive reinforcement. It was a symbolic and practical lesson: put down the weapons of war and pick up the tools of your future.
Second Chances
Perhaps the most poignant aspect of their work is the Reentry Program. Every year, hundreds of men and women return to Buffalo from prison with nothing but the clothes on their backs and the stigma of a record.
Back to Basics welcomes them home. They provide counseling, job referrals, and supportive living housing. They look these men and women in the eye and say, “You are not done. Your life still has value.” In doing so, they not only reduce recidivism but also heal families that have been fractured by incarceration.
Be Part of the Miracle
The work Pastor Giles and his team do is heavy. It requires late nights, difficult conversations, and an unwavering belief in the good of people who the world has often given up on.
But they cannot do it alone.
When you support Back to Basics Outreach Ministries, you aren’t just funding a program; you are buying a winter coat for a man starting his first job after prison. You are fueling the gas tank of a Peacemaker driving to a crisis intervention. You are providing a safe space for a teenager who has nowhere else to go.
We need you. Whether you can donate funds, volunteer your time, or simply spread the word, you have a role to play in this story of redemption.
Join us in making peace where the community needs it most.
How to Help
Click Here to Make a donation: Support the General Fund, Peacemakers, or Reentry Programs directly through the website. Location: 1001 East Delavan Ave, Buffalo, NY 14215 Call: (716) 854-1086