SECOND CHANCE KINGS
HOME AGAIN
IN IRMO.
For men coming home to Irmo — and for the families waiting on them. A starting point, not a brochure.
What to do, in what order
Supervision first, always. Whatever else is happening that week, the check-in happens. One missed appointment can undo every other thing on this page.
Then documents, because they take the longest. Almost every door wants identification, and obtaining identification generally requires other identification. Start that loop early and work at it steadily.
Then a phone number that does not change. An employer calls once. If the number is dead next week, the call is gone.
Then transportation you have already tested. Ride the route, time it, and find out what fails before a shift depends on it.
Then income, and after that better income. The first job is a bridge, not a verdict on what you are worth.
Housing comes last, deliberately. In the first stretch a room beats a lease, because a lease you cannot carry is a worse problem than the one it solved.
Why place matters here
The Okra Strut is the genuine civic anchor. A town festival named after a vegetable says most of what needs saying about how Irmo sees itself, and it is not a small event.
Two tiers sit side by side. National franchises hold the visible frontage on Harbison, while independent owner-operators work the older strip centers along St. Andrews and Broad River behind them.
There is little undeveloped land left, so change here means aging shopping centers being torn down and rebuilt rather than new ground being opened up. None of this is a judgment about anybody. It is terrain, and terrain is easier to cross when somebody has described it first.
This is one piece of a bigger picture; Cash Property Offers has the rest.
The terrain here
Retail and restaurant hiring along Harbison is the most accessible entry point anywhere in the region outside Columbia proper, and it runs year round. Bus service reaches the retail corridor but not most of the subdivisions, so housing location matters a great deal. Irmo addresses fall in two different counties, so it is worth confirming which one holds the reporting and court obligations.
The interstate interchange carries commuters into Columbia, but Harbison is a destination in its own right, so a meaningful share of traffic here is inbound rather than outbound.
Start with SC Works and 211. For record questions, the Solicitor's office serving Richland and Lexington Counties, South Carolina Legal Services or SC Appleseed. County records are at Richland County Judicial Center, 1701 Main St, Columbia, SC 29201. If you are in crisis, call 988, or 911 if anyone is in immediate danger.
Talking about a record
Briefly, early, and facing forward. One or two sentences: what happened, that it is behind you, what you have done since. Then move to the work. Do not perform remorse and do not over-explain.
- 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.
A large suburban part-time pool, and constant turnover to match. Retail and restaurant staffing is a continuous process rather than an occasional one, and scheduling flexibility wins candidates more than pay.
More for Irmo
The rest of the Irmo material
The full market read for this area is on the Irmo, SC site. The deeper treatment of reentry support is on the topic site.
Frequently asked
Questions people actually ask
Do you work in Irmo?
Yes. Irmo and the rest of Richland and Lexington Counties are inside the regular footprint, along with much of South Carolina.
Is this a government program?
No. Second Chance Kings is part of Ben Lovro's Kingdom Alliance service work. It is not affiliated with the South Carolina Department of Corrections — which runs its own separately-named Second Chance Program — or with any other state agency.
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 Irmo?
Retail and restaurant hiring along Harbison is the most accessible entry point anywhere in the region outside Columbia proper, and it runs year round. Bus service reaches the retail corridor but not most of the subdivisions, so housing location matters a great deal. Irmo addresses fall in two different counties, so it is worth confirming which one holds the reporting and court obligations.
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.