TROUBLED WOMEN GET A NEW SECOND CHANCE

The Program, Designed to Help People Just Out of Jail, Opens Its New
Residential Center

LAKELAND -- Tacey Span did her time -- four months on drug and
prostitution charges and another six months in the Polk County Jail
for falling $22,000 behind in child support.

Instead of helping her in-laws raise her two children, Span, 34, said
she spent her money on cocaine.

To pay for her habit, Span said she worked as a hooker.

"And I was going with drug dealers, so I didn't have to pay so
much."

A year ago, after serving her sentence for not paying child support,
Span turned to a fledgling program for people recently released from
jail or prison, run by a religious charity called Wings of Eagles.

The 4-year-old program, called Second Chance, celebrated a milestone
Wednesday: opening a residential center.

Span, who works for a janitorial service run by the agency's founders,
Don and Mariaelana Steiner, will be returning to Second Chance as a
housemother.

"They truly care," she said of the Steiners, who also work as
missionaries, flying medical supplies to remote villagers in Mexico.

"Through their hugs, I feel this is exactly where I'm supposed to
be."

Located a block south of Memorial Boulevard in Lakeland, the 5,000-
square-foot halfway house has been furnished in muted earth tones by
area businesses such as Rooms To Go, The Sleep Center and Havertys.

The center can house as many as 30 women, but initially only about 10
are expected to participate in the yearlong program.

Mostly they'll include women such as Span who, fresh out of jail,
commit to a program that places heavy emphasis on Christian-based
rehabilitation.

City and county dignitaries took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony
Wednesday, praising the Steiners and Second Chance coordinator Teresa
Kemp.

"We're celebrating with you today," said Kathleen Munson, president of
the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd has embraced the concept of segregating
inmates in faith-based dormitories to combat unruly behavior and
recidivism. He said his jail offers a dorm for men and women, largely
as a result of the Second Chance program.

"This is a holistic approach to crimefighting," said Judd, who
attended Wednesday's ribbon-cutting ceremony. "We're not going to save
them all, but we're going to make a difference."

Recidivism rates in Florida run as high as 49 percent for men and 43
percent for women within five years of being released from prison.

Judd said programs such as Second Chance can help reduce those
numbers.

"For anyone to change their personality and conduct, there's got to
be values that we all operate by," he said.

Second Chance teaches values, improves self-esteem and instills
morals, Judd said.

As a former drug addict who served three years in prison, Kemp, 44,
found faith behind bars. She now ministers to inmates at the county
jail, where she is recruiting many of the women she hopes to house at
Second Chance.

They'll be required to work and pay as much as $400 to $500 a month to
offset the $1,500 it will cost the agency monthly to keep each person
in the program.

They'll receive drug counseling and classes on parenting, money
managing and etiquette.

Grants from Publix Super Markets, the Community Foundation of Greater
Lakeland and private donations were used to buy and remodel the
building at 825 Plum St. So far, the agency has invested roughly $240,000.

Giving women an affordable place to live while they sort out their
lives is crucial to success, Kemp said.

"Now that we have the housing, we're very encouraged," she said.