Moving forward: Commissioners express support for use of old prison by trio of ministries
A plan to turn the old state prison campus in Hazelwood into an epicenter for changing lives is moving forward fast.
Local churches lift the lives of homeless, incarcerated
On Sept. 12, Jeff Clontz walked out of Haywood County Jail a free man. It wasn’t his first time, though. Jail, release and failing to pay child support comprised a cycle he knew well, but this time was different. When Clontz left the jail, he left behind more than just physical bonds. His spiritual bonds were gone, too.
Reforming lives on a wing and a prayer
A proposal to convert a closed-down state prison into a halfway house and homeless shelter in Haywood County is gaining steam.
The old prison was given to the county two years ago after the state shut it down, but the county has no real use for it. So it’s been sitting there empty, just beyond the backdoor of the county’s own jailhouse.
SEE ALSO: Local churches lift the lives of homeless, incarcerated
Faith-based groups that regularly counsel and minister to inmates in the jail have come up with a plan to convert a section of the old prison into a halfway house — a place where recently released inmates can be reformed and remade upon release from jail.
DSS says faith-based aid groups help fill in gaps
As government aid shrinks and church groups step up to fill the void, the thin and sometimes fuzzy line between church and state has gotten even more complicated.
