LEWISTOWN - Since June 2011, the Mifflin County Correctional Facility has been offering a program for male inmates to help them regain control of their lives.
This program, the Knights of the 21st Century, is also now being offered at the Lewistown Bethel AME Church and HOPE Center on Thursday evenings.
Rev. Bernard Carpenter is excited about the prospects of having a successful program geared toward men.
Carpenter said the first night the program was offered at the HOPE Center, about 20 men showed up and they were from every age group.
"We're excited about it at the church - it's in step with the HOPE Center goal to reach out to the community," Carpenter said.
Warden Bernie Zook kicked off the first night at the HOPE Center with an inspirational film entitled Courageous.
Zook said the program is about getting men to "step up" and be the best person they can be.
Pastor Stephen Sabol helps administer the program at the correctional facility and the HOPE Center.
Sabol started the program through his church in Lebanon County.
Sabol lives and works in Lebanon County, but from 1980 to 1990 he was a pastor at the Key to Life Church in Lewistown and he is still very attached to Mifflin County.
In addition to administering the program through his church, he also partnered with the Lebanon Valley YMCA, where over 800 men have participated.
Zook said many inmates continue to join the program, roughly a third of the population of the correctional facility, at any one time.
For more information visit www.knightsofthe21stcentury.com or call (800) 777-0305.
