KINGDOM ALLIANCE
STARTING OVER
IN LEXINGTON COUNTY.
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 Chapin coming-home guide.
What is different here
Chapin itself is difficult to return to without help, because housing costs are high and there is no public transportation of any kind. Most people coming back to this area live toward Newberry County or Irmo and drive in. The work that is here is real and reachable without credentials: construction, landscaping, marine service, restaurant kitchens. Expect it to be seasonal and plan the winter in advance.
The interstate runs both directions from a single exit, and residents commute toward Columbia or up the corridor toward the Upstate. No transit exists, and none is coming.
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.
Two different remedies
Expungement
The record is destroyed. Once it is done, the offense no longer shows up on a background check. It is available only for certain charges and certain convictions.
- Possibly eligible: dismissed charges, not-guilty verdicts, charges that ended through diversion, certain first-offense misdemeanors, and some drug possession convictions.
- Generally not: traffic convictions and fish-and-wildlife convictions.
- Timing: waits run from about one year up to twenty, counted once the sentence is finished, probation and parole included.
- Where: through the court itself for a non-conviction out of Magistrate or Municipal Court; through the Solicitor's office in the county where the charge or conviction occurred for everything else.
- Cost: published fees have been $250 to the Solicitor, $35 to the Clerk of Court and $25 to SLED. They vary by type, and some types are exempt.
Pardon
A different remedy entirely. The conviction stays on the record, marked as pardoned. Applications go to SC Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, and the decision is discretionary though the door is wider.
This is not legal advice. Records are specific and these rules are not intuitive. Take yours to the Solicitor's office, to South Carolina Legal Services, or to your own attorney.
The rest of the material, including Cash Property Offers, lives on the main site.
The employer side of this
The local labor pool is small relative to demand, and housing costs push workers out of town. Most crews are assembled from surrounding counties and driven in.
| Program | What it gives the employer | South Carolina contact |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Bonding Program | A free $5,000 fidelity bond covering employee dishonesty, for hiring someone considered high-risk to place. No cost to the employer | FederalBonding@dew.sc.gov |
| Work Opportunity Tax Credit | A federal tax credit of up to $2,400 for hiring someone formerly incarcerated | WOTC@dew.sc.gov |
Confirm the current terms of both with DEW rather than with a web page.
They exist to take risk out of the decision, and that is all they do. Neither one gets a person hired. What does is the ordinary commercial case: somebody who has been through this and intends to stay out of it is often the most motivated applicant in the stack.
The encouraging part, carefully stated
South Carolina's recidivism rate was 18% in 2019 — tied for third lowest in the nation, down from 31% in 2008 — according to figures published by the state's workforce and corrections agencies. Confirm the current figure before quoting it anywhere.
That is encouraging and it is not a promise about anyone. What it suggests is that the people who do not go back generally have three things: somewhere stable to sleep, income within the first couple of months, and at least one person paying genuine attention.
None of those three is out of reach and none of them is luck. They are the things worth building first, because they are what the numbers keep pointing at.
The Labor Day festival closes the main street and is the biggest business day of the year for downtown merchants. Churches, the lake association crowd and the schools do the rest of the organizing.
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.
The realistic first job here
The first job is a bridge, not a verdict, and it helps to know in advance what kind of bridge this place offers.
The lake is the economy. Marine services, docks, waterfront restaurants, trades and seasonal recreation spending make up a far larger share of local business than in any other market in the Midlands. The sectors that dominate here are marine services and recreation, construction trades, restaurants and hospitality, real estate and professional services, and entry-level hiring tends to follow them. There is no single dominant employer. Work is spread across marine and dock services, building trades, restaurants, medical and professional offices, and the school system.
Small, owner-run and often trade-based: dock builders, boat mechanics, custom builders, landscapers, pressure washers. Downtown holds a short row of independent shops and restaurants and very little national brand. 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.
Businesses here track the water calendar. Boat traffic, lake levels and weekend weather move local revenue more reliably than anything happening in the wider economy.
Where to start
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 Lexington 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 Lexington County Judicial Center, 205 E Main St, Lexington, SC 29072.
Frequently asked
Questions people actually ask
Is there a reentry program in Chapin?
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 Chapin specifically?
Chapin itself is difficult to return to without help, because housing costs are high and there is no public transportation of any kind. Most people coming back to this area live toward Newberry County or Irmo and drive in. The work that is here is real and reachable without credentials: construction, landscaping, marine service, restaurant kitchens. Expect it to be seasonal and plan the winter in advance.
Where do I apply for expungement in Lexington 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.