KINGDOM ALLIANCE
STARTING OVER
IN RICHLAND 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 Columbia coming-home guide.
The practical shape of this place
Columbia is the easiest landing in the region for practical reasons: the bus runs, probation and parole offices, the workforce center and most social services sit within a few blocks of each other downtown, and hiring in food service, hospitality, warehousing, janitorial and healthcare support is continuous. Federal and state jobs are largely closed, so aim at the private service economy first and build from there.
Three interstates meet here, and the region's fixed-route bus system centers on downtown. Columbia is the one Midlands market where holding a job without owning a car is realistic rather than theoretical.
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 list worth keeping
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 Richland 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 Richland County Judicial Center, 1701 Main St, Columbia, SC 29201.
If this was useful, more of Ben Lovro's writing on real estate, business and systems goes deeper.
Expungement and pardons
Two remedies get confused constantly, and they do different things.
| Expungement | Pardon | |
|---|---|---|
| Effect | The record is destroyed, and the offense no longer appears on a background check | The conviction remains on the record, marked as pardoned |
| Where to apply | That court, for a non-conviction in Magistrate or Municipal Court. Otherwise the Solicitor's office in the county where the charge or conviction occurred | SC Probation, Parole and Pardon Services |
| Availability | Only certain charges and convictions | Broader, but discretionary |
Potentially expungeable: dismissed charges, not-guilty verdicts, charges resolved through diversion, certain first-offense misdemeanors and some drug possession convictions. Waiting periods run from roughly one year to twenty after the sentence is complete, including probation and parole. Traffic and fish-and-wildlife convictions generally cannot be expunged. Published fees have been $250 to the Solicitor, $35 to the Clerk of Court and $25 to SLED, varying by type, with some types exempt.
None of this is legal advice. Your record is specific and the rules are not intuitive. Ask the Solicitor's office, South Carolina Legal Services, or your own attorney.
If you are the one hiring
The talent pool is genuinely deep because the university keeps refilling it. The difficulty is holding people, since state agencies and the hospital system compete on benefits and pensions rather than wages.
Two federal programs exist precisely to absorb the risk that makes employers hesitate.
The Federal Bonding Program provides free $5,000 fidelity bonds to employers who hire people considered high-risk to place. It is insurance against employee dishonesty, at no cost to the employer. In South Carolina it runs through DEW at FederalBonding@dew.sc.gov.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit gives a federal tax credit of up to $2,400 for hiring someone formerly incarcerated. The South Carolina contact is WOTC@dew.sc.gov. Verify current terms with DEW before relying on either.
The commercial argument is simpler than the programs. Someone who has been through this and wants to stay out of it is frequently the most motivated person who will apply. Neither program gets anyone the job — the work does that.
What actually predicts success
A figure worth knowing, with the date attached. South Carolina's recidivism rate was 18% in 2019, tied for third lowest in the country, down from 31% in 2008. Those come from figures published by the state's workforce and corrections agencies, and anybody repeating them should confirm the current number first.
It describes a population. It predicts nothing about a person. What it points at, though, is consistent:
- Somewhere stable to sleep. Stability first, quality second.
- Income inside the first couple of months. Not a career — money coming in.
- At least one person paying genuine attention. One is enough. Nobody manages this entirely alone.
Those three turn up again and again among people who do not go back. They are practical, and they can be worked on in order.
Neighborhood associations carry real weight, churches organize a large share of civic life, and the university's calendar sets the rhythm of the whole city whether residents follow the team or not.
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 hiring looks like locally
The first job is a bridge, not a verdict, and it helps to know in advance what kind of bridge this place offers.
Columbia runs on payrolls that do not move much: state government, a flagship university, a large hospital system and an Army installation. The private economy grows around those four rather than replacing them. The sectors that dominate here are state government, higher education, healthcare, military and insurance and finance, and entry-level hiring tends to follow them. The State House and the state agencies around it, the University of South Carolina, Prisma Health, Fort Jackson, and a large home-grown health insurance sector are the institutions that set the tone here.
A lot of small firms in Columbia sell to institutions rather than to consumers: contractors, staffing firms, IT shops, lobbying and consulting practices. Underneath that sits a dense independent restaurant and personal-services base, much of it Black-owned. 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.
The city noticeably empties out between semesters. Traffic, restaurant waits and rental demand all drop in May and come back in August, and every business that has been here a while plans around it.
Frequently asked
Questions people actually ask
Is there a reentry program in Columbia?
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 Columbia specifically?
Columbia is the easiest landing in the region for practical reasons: the bus runs, probation and parole offices, the workforce center and most social services sit within a few blocks of each other downtown, and hiring in food service, hospitality, warehousing, janitorial and healthcare support is continuous. Federal and state jobs are largely closed, so aim at the private service economy first and build from there.
Where do I apply for expungement in Richland 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.