Second Chance Month

2025-2026 Bill 5495: Second Chance Month - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Download
This Bill
in Microsoft Word Format
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
H. 5495
STATUS INFORMATION
House Resolution
Sponsors: Reps. Dillard, Alexander, Anderson, Atkinson, Bailey, Ballentine, Bamberg, Bannister, Bauer, Beach, Bernstein, Bowers, Bradley, Brewer, Brittain, Burns, Bustos, Calhoon, Caskey, Chapman, Chumley, Clyburn, Cobb-Hunter, Collins, Cox, Crawford, Cromer, Davis, Duncan, Edgerton, Erickson, Ford, Forrest, Frank, Gagnon, Garvin, Gatch, Gibson, Gilliam, Gilliard, Gilreath, Govan, Grant, Guest, Guffey, Haddon, Hager, Hardee, Harris, Hart, Hartnett, Hartz, Hayes, Henderson-Myers, Herbkersman, Hewitt, Hiott, Hixon, Holman, Hosey, Howard, Huff, J.E. Johnson, J.L. Johnson, Jones, Jordan, Kilmartin, King, Kirby, Landing, Lastinger, Lawson, Ligon, Long, Lowe, Luck, Magnuson, Martin, McCabe, McCravy, McDaniel, McGinnis, C. Mitchell, D. Mitchell, Montgomery, J. Moore, T. Moore, Morgan, Moss, Neese, B. Newton, W. Newton, Oremus, Pace, Pedalino, Pope, Rankin, Reese, Rivers, Robbins, Rose, Rutherford, Sanders, Schuessler, Scott, Sessions, G.M. Smith, M.M. Smith, Spann-Wilder, Stavrinakis, Taylor, Teeple, Terribile, Vaughan, Waters, Weeks, Wetmore, White, Whitmire, Wickensimer, Williams, Willis, Wooten and Yow
Document Path: LC-0722WAB-JAH26.docx
Introduced in the House on April 2, 2026
Adopted by the House on April 2, 2026
Summary: Second Chance Month
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

4/2/2026

House

Introduced and adopted (
House Journal-page 24
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
04/02/2026

A
house
RESOLUTION

to declare April 2026 as "second chance month" in
south carolina and to commend soteria community development corporation on its
outstanding work in assisting formerly incarcerated individuals to reenter
society.

W
hereas, the South
Carolina House of Representatives is grateful for the critical services
provided by the Soteria Community Development Corporation (CDC), a ministry
established by Jerry Blassingame that assists formerly incarcerated individuals
in reentering society and becoming productive citizens; and

W
hereas, individuals
returning from prison and those who have paid their debt after committing a
crime face significant barriers. They often struggle to obtain housing,
employment, education, regain voting rights, or volunteer in their community.
In addition, these individuals often must pay for significant debt that arises
as a result of their conviction and incarceration; and

W
hereas, with a passion
for reaching individuals whose lives have been impacted by crime, Soteria CDC
provides individuals with the necessary essentials, including housing, job
training, and discipleship programs that they need to transition smoothly back
into society; and

W
hereas, from 2021
through 2023, only three percent of the men and women who completed six months
of the program and zero percent of those who completed twelve months of the
program served by Soteria CDC have returned to prison, a much lower percentage
than the state average of more than twenty-one percent; and

W
hereas, Soteria CDC
opened its first transitional home for men in 2001 with a four-bed capacity.
By 2005, the ministry had expanded to include reentry services for women.
After adding additional homes and later converting them into low-income rental
properties, the Soteria House in Travelers Rest was opened in 2018, a
sixteen-bed residential housing facility for men; and

W
hereas, Greenville
County incarcerates more women than any other county in South Carolina. To
serve those women navigating the obstacles to reentering society, Soteria CDC
opened a sixteen-bed transitional housing facility for women in May 2022,
mirroring the men's program by offering housing, job training, and life-skills
classes; and

W
hereas, recognizing
the importance of providing support to individuals reentering society following
incarceration, the House of Representatives is pleased to designate April as
"Second Chance Month" in order to contribute to increased public awareness
about the need for closure for those who have paid their debt and to encourage
the creation of opportunities for individuals, employers, congregations, and
communities to extend second chances. Now, therefore,

B
e it resolved by the
House of Representatives
:

T
hat the members of the
South Carolina
House of Representatives
,
by this resolution, declare April 2026 as "Second Chance Month" in South
Carolina and commend Soteria Community Development Corporation on its
outstanding work in assisting formerly incarcerated individuals to reenter
society.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on April 2, 2026 at 11:04 AM