KINGDOM ALLIANCE
COMING HOME
TO AIKEN.
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 Aiken coming-home guide.
What coming home to Aiken actually involves
Be realistic about the federal site: clearance requirements close it and most of its contracting to anyone with a record, and that is a large share of the good jobs in the county. The workable paths are manufacturing, warehousing, landscaping, food service, hospitality and barn work, which hires on competence. The city bus helps inside Aiken itself, but the county is wide and most work sits outside the routes.
A real share of the working population crosses the Savannah River into Georgia every day. The city runs a small bus system, but county distances and the two-state commute make a car close to mandatory.
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.
What it costs an employer to say yes
The workforce is barbelled. A highly credentialed technical population is concentrated at one site, a service workforce sits underneath it, and the middle is thin enough that mid-skill roles are genuinely hard to fill.
- 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 rest of the material, including Ben's published resources, lives on the main site.
The encouraging part, carefully stated
The number, dated and attributed
South Carolina recorded a recidivism rate of 18% in 2019, tied for third lowest in the nation and down from 31% in 2008, per figures published by the state's workforce and corrections agencies. A number that old needs checking before it gets repeated, so confirm the current one.
What it does and does not mean
It is a statistic about a population. It says nothing certain about one man, and nobody honest will tell you otherwise. What it does show is a pattern among the people who do not go back.
- Somewhere stable to sleep. The first of the three.
- Income within the first couple of months. Early and modest beats late and ideal.
- At least one person paying genuine attention. One counts.
The urban forest and the horse district organize the town physically and socially. Winter residents, long-time locals and site employees form three distinct communities that overlap mostly at the schools.
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.
Aiken runs on a federal nuclear site, an equestrian economy and spillover from a metro area in another state. Very little of its economic activity depends on the rest of South Carolina. The sectors that dominate here are federal and nuclear contracting, equestrian industry, manufacturing, healthcare and higher education, and entry-level hiring tends to follow them. The Savannah River Site and its contractors dominate, with large tire and paper manufacturing operations in the county, the regional hospital, and a university campus.
Retirement money and equestrian money support a downtown with more specialty retail, restaurants and personal services than a city this size would normally sustain. Alongside it sits a substantial professional and technical services sector selling to the federal site. 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.
Streets in the historic horse district are left unpaved on purpose so horses can be ridden through town. A city that maintains dirt roads as deliberate policy is not a common thing.
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 Aiken 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 Aiken County Judicial Center, 109 Park Ave SE, Aiken, SC 29801.
Record relief, in outline
They are not the same thing. An expungement destroys the record, so the offense stops appearing on a background check. A pardon leaves the conviction where it is and marks it as pardoned. People use the words interchangeably and then apply for the wrong one.
Expungement is narrow. Dismissed charges, not-guilty verdicts, diversion dismissals, certain first-offense misdemeanors and some drug possession convictions may qualify. Traffic and fish-and-wildlife convictions generally do not. The wait runs from roughly one year to twenty, measured from completion of the sentence, probation and parole included.
Where you file depends on what happened. A non-conviction out of Magistrate or Municipal Court goes back through that court. Everything else goes through the Solicitor's office in the county where the charge or conviction occurred. Pardons go to SC Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.
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.
This is not legal advice. Every record is specific and none of these rules are intuitive. Put the question to the Solicitor's office, to South Carolina Legal Services, or to your own attorney.
Frequently asked
Questions people actually ask
Is there a reentry program in Aiken?
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 Aiken specifically?
Be realistic about the federal site: clearance requirements close it and most of its contracting to anyone with a record, and that is a large share of the good jobs in the county. The workable paths are manufacturing, warehousing, landscaping, food service, hospitality and barn work, which hires on competence. The city bus helps inside Aiken itself, but the county is wide and most work sits outside the routes.
Where do I apply for expungement in Aiken 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.