South Carolina H 5495: Beaver Creek Baptist Sunday School Convention

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 5495 Text of Previous Version (Apr. 02, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 5495

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

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. 

Whereas, 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

Whereas, 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

Whereas, 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

Whereas, 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 

Whereas, 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 

Whereas, 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 

Whereas, 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,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That 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 02, 2026 at 11:04 AM