Columbia, SC (WLTX) - The South Carolina Department of Corrections says they are helping inmates make the transition back into society with the help of a new clothing closet.
All of the clothes in the new "Beyond Bars Well Suited" closet have been donated by churches, community members and Director Bryan Stirling.
"That's my tie, that was my tie," says Director Stirling as he walked through the closet with the warden of the facility, the deputy director and Senator Katrina Shealy.
"A lot of people don't think about it, but simply clothing on their back, an interview suit, how to explain incarceration [can help]," says Stirling. "We're just trying to get people to return to society successfully."
The level one, minimum security facility for non-violent offenders, can house 480 inmates who have six months left on their sentences.
According to the department of employment and workforce 75 percent of people that leave that program find jobs.
"If we want our prison system to succeed, we need to succeed in our reentry program," says Sen. Shealy, R-Lexington. "We need education programs. We need programs that give them job skills when we leave here and we need to give them a sense of pride when they do leave."
Stirling says they plan on expanding the work release programs through the level two and level three maximum security facilities, thanks to a $1.8 million bump in the prison system's budget.
"There's always things that they can do to prepare, but it's not enough," says Stirling. "That's why we asked for the money last year and that's why we wanted to hone the program here to see what worked and what didn't work."
Anyone interested in donating clothing can contact the Manning Work Release Center by calling (803) 935-6000.