By Stephanie Samuel

Sentinel Staff Writer

Paul Wells, pastor of the New Revival Kingdom Church, says when it comes to criminal life, he's "been there, done that, got the T-shirt and the cap."

"I know what it is to get locked up, to be an alcoholic, to be a drug addict; I was all of that," he said. However Wells says his faith in Jesus Christ and God saved him. Now he's trying to save other ex-offenders.

In the office of Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn Ivey, local pastors including Wells and prison chaplains are working together with the judicial system to make sure that former offenders don't make jail a habit.

"We've been reaching in the church to get these youth before they become permanent criminals," Ivey's spokesman Ramon Korinoff said.

Wells and his church started the New Revival Center of Renewal in 1999 with the aim of helping one person. Wells says he worked together with then-prison chaplain Calvin Scott and then, "We helped that one person and 1,000 by the end of the year." He and his church incorporated the program in 2000. The New Revival Center of Renewal has grown ever since, he says.

"This was a project of the church, but it grew so large, it is bigger than the church," Wells said. These days the program provides supportive services to 2,000 to 2,500 people. Its focus is primarily men ages 18 and up, the demographic of the average inmate. The men come to the program by way of prison chaplains or word on the street. The program offers emergency housing for those who may have just left prison and have nowhere to go.

"Most of them ... they're homeless. They've burned their bridges,"

From emergency housing, former offenders move up to more apartment-style housing, some leased by other churches, while they receive job/life training until they can get a job and become self-sustaining.

"We provided the budget assistance, we provide addiction assistance, 12-step programs," Wells says.

The program's 14 paid staff members and countless volunteers help the former inmates get identification, get medical services, sign up for Social Security and much more.

"We have what we like to call a "whole list"-tic approach. We have a whole list [of needs] to work with," Wells said.

Program participants also receive training on how to write a resume, what to wear at an interview and job skills at one of the center's "business incubators."

"We have an ex-offender-owned construction company. We have an ex-offender-owned carpet company. We have an ex-offender-owned landscaping company."

Korinoff says programs such as Wells' show former offenders that, as he puts it, "working 9 to 5 is better than serving five to 10."

Providing all these resources is not cheap. Wells says that local churches help the program by sponsoring an inmate for $500 a month or $100 a week. Program participants generally stay in the program for three to nine months before reaching financial independence. He says they also accept car donations and participate in an ink cartridge fundraiser program. The county correctional system donates a bulk of the cartridges.

He also thanks his lucky stars for Ivey and the State's Attorney Office.

"Ivey has helped us grow tremendously. He was able to help us to get a grant to sponsor inmates for two years," Wells said.

In Ivey's office, the Prisoner Re-entry Program serves as an umbrella of services and programs for inmates.

"We started the program several years ago," Program Coordinator Darrell Carrington said of the program. "We wanted to create a continuance of care for ex-offenders."

Within the program, Carrington says refers emerging inmates to shelters such as Suitland's Adam's House and to health care services. The Prisoner Re-entry Program also acts as a right-hand man to programs such as Wells's.

"Everybody in [Ivey's] office is available to us," Wells said of the program.

Carrington and Ivey acknowledge funding is an issue for programs such as the New Revival Center of Renewal. For that reason, Ivey, Carrington and others praised last year's passage and signing of the Second Chance Act by Congress and the president. The act, they say will put more money into programs similar to theirs. However, the act did not specify the amount funding to be given out through the bill and how that money would be dispensed.

"Right now we're waiting in limbo," Carrington says.

Still the State's Attorney Office continues support Wells and the other groups it works with.

"Its because of that we have been so successful," Carrington said.

Contact Stephanie Samuel at

ssamuel@thesentinel.com