KINGDOM ALLIANCE
COMING HOME
TO NEWBERRY.
A resource page, not a program brochure. Ben Lovro served five years. He is a few years ahead of this walk, not above it.
For the first-ninety-days walkthrough, see the Newberry coming-home guide.
What is different here
Food processing and manufacturing in this county hire continuously and hire on ability, which makes Newberry one of the more practical places in the Midlands to land steady shift work after release. The whole problem is transportation: there is no bus, shifts start before dawn, and affordable housing is scattered across a rural county rather than concentrated in town. Solve the ride and the job is genuinely available.
The interstate puts Columbia and the Upstate roughly the same distance away, and residents commute in both directions. There is no city bus, and plant shift schedules structure the day more than rush hour does.
None of that is a judgment about anybody. It is a logistics problem, and logistics problems have solutions if you know the terrain before you start.
The durable places to call
Program details change. Call and confirm rather than trusting any website, this one included.
- SC Works centers. Run by the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Job search help, interview practice and skills training, including services delivered to people still incarcerated.
- 211. The statewide United Way referral line — food, transportation, utilities and housing, by county.
- South Carolina Legal Services and the SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center for civil legal questions and plain-language guides.
- The Solicitor's office serving Newberry County for expungement applications on anything other than a non-conviction in Magistrate or Municipal Court.
- SC Probation, Parole and Pardon Services for supervision and pardon questions.
- 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline; 911 if anyone is in immediate danger.
County records for this area are handled at Newberry County Courthouse, 1226 College St, Newberry, SC 29108.
This page is part of a larger body of work — start with the full story behind this work.
Clearing or softening a record
How to find out where you stand
- Decide which remedy you are asking about. Expungement destroys the record, so the offense no longer appears on a background check. A pardon leaves the conviction in place, marked as pardoned. They are not substitutes for one another.
- Check whether the charge is even in the category. Dismissals, not-guilty verdicts, diversion dismissals, certain first-offense misdemeanors and some drug possession convictions may be eligible. Traffic and fish-and-wildlife convictions generally are not.
- Count the time. The wait runs from about one year to twenty, starting once the sentence is complete — and that includes probation and parole.
- Work out who receives the application. The court itself, for a non-conviction in Magistrate or Municipal Court. Otherwise the Solicitor's office in the county where the charge or conviction occurred. A pardon goes to SC Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.
- Budget the fees. Published amounts have been $250 to the Solicitor, $35 to the Clerk of Court and $25 to SLED, varying by type, and some types are exempt.
- Then ask somebody who can actually advise you. This page is not legal advice. The Solicitor's office, South Carolina Legal Services, or your own attorney.
The employer side of this
Tight, and the plants set the wage floor. A meaningful share of the workforce commutes in from surrounding counties, which means transportation reliability is a hiring criterion whether stated or not.
- Federal Bonding Program. Free fidelity bonds of $5,000, issued to employers who hire people considered high-risk to place. It is insurance against employee dishonesty and it costs the employer nothing. In South Carolina the contact is FederalBonding@dew.sc.gov.
- Work Opportunity Tax Credit. A federal tax credit worth up to $2,400 when an employer hires someone formerly incarcerated. South Carolina handles it at WOTC@dew.sc.gov.
- Check before relying on either. Terms change. DEW is the source, not a website.
- Neither one hires anybody. They remove a reason to say no. They do not make the case.
The case is commercial and it is short. A person who has come through this and means to stay out of it is frequently the most motivated applicant an employer will see.
The encouraging part, carefully stated
| Year | South Carolina recidivism rate |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 31% |
| 2019 | 18%, tied for third lowest in the nation |
Both come from figures published by the state's workforce and corrections agencies. Dates matter with numbers like these, so confirm the current figure before repeating it anywhere.
The trend is real, and it is still a statement about a population rather than about any individual. Nobody can promise an outcome to one man.
What the figures point toward is ordinary and practical. Three things show up among people who do not return: somewhere stable to sleep, income arriving within the first couple of months, and at least one person paying genuine attention. Build those three, in whatever order the week allows.
The college and the Opera House give the town a cultural life out of proportion to its size, and the county fair and the agricultural calendar still organize a good part of the year.
Kingdom Alliance is Ben Lovro’s service work and Second Chance Kings sits under it. Neither is affiliated with the South Carolina Department of Corrections, which runs its own separately-named Second Chance Program, or with any other state agency.
What work is actually available around Newberry
The first job is a bridge, not a verdict, and it helps to know in advance what kind of bridge this place offers.
Newberry is a manufacturing and agriculture county with a college in the middle of it. Food processing, appliance and equipment manufacturing and timber do the heavy lifting. The sectors that dominate here are food processing, manufacturing, agriculture and timber, higher education and logistics, and entry-level hiring tends to follow them. Large-scale poultry and food processing is the county's biggest employer, joined by appliance and heavy equipment manufacturing, forest products operations, the hospital and Newberry College.
Downtown independents survive because the Opera House keeps evening foot traffic, so restaurants and shops have a reason to stay open past five. Outside town, the business base is agricultural service: equipment dealers, feed suppliers, trucking, custom farm work. Smaller employers are often the ones who will actually sit with a candidate and hear the whole answer, because the decision is not being made by a screening system.
Newberry sits almost exactly midway between Columbia and Greenville on the interstate. That position is why distribution keeps landing here and why so many residents earn their living in another county.
Frequently asked
Questions people actually ask
Is there a reentry program in Newberry?
Second Chance Kings is Ben Lovro's work under Kingdom Alliance. It is not a government program or a facility. The agencies listed above are where formal services live — start with SC Works and 211.
Do I have to be religious to get help?
No. Ben's faith is his own and it is why he does this. Nobody has to share it, agree with it, or attend anything to be treated decently.
What is hardest about coming home to Newberry specifically?
Food processing and manufacturing in this county hire continuously and hire on ability, which makes Newberry one of the more practical places in the Midlands to land steady shift work after release. The whole problem is transportation: there is no bus, shifts start before dawn, and affordable housing is scattered across a rural county rather than concentrated in town. Solve the ride and the job is genuinely available.
Where do I apply for expungement in Newberry County?
For a non-conviction in Magistrate or Municipal Court, through that court. For everything else, through the Solicitor's office in the county where the charge or conviction occurred.
I am an employer — what is my actual liability?
A question for your own attorney and insurer. The Federal Bonding Program exists specifically to address dishonesty exposure; ask DEW about bonding and WOTC eligibility before assuming anything either way.
How can my church or business help?
Consistency beats intensity. A standing ride, a skill taught, interview practice, or one job opened up is worth more than an event. Unreliable help is worse than none, so offer only what you can keep up.
Make your next move
A year from now, what will you be glad you started today?
You don't need another promise that everything will be easy. You need something useful to learn — and a next step you're willing to take.