Faith in Action by Alberta Lindsey

When the Sentence Ends, a New Life Begins Caring for Men at Risk

Otis W. Smith Jr. knows what it’s like on both sides of the prison bars.
 
At 12, he was sent to an industrial school for boys. At 18, he went to prison. Now at 60, he ministers to men in jails and prisons, and when they are released, Smith helps them get their lives back together.
 
In 1988, he founded the House of New Beginnings, a nondenominational Christian ministry that provides aftercare and support services for men as they leave prison and return to the community.
 
Sitting at the dining room table in the House of New Beginnings in the Church Hill area, Smith talked about his life. Nearby stood a large poster covered with pictures of young men who had gone through the New Beginnings program and made good.
 
“I was a bad boy—a really bad boy,” Smith said. “I was raised on 30th Street. I never saw my mom or dad together. My grandmom raised me until I was 12. I got a lot of schooling off the street.”
 
Life in a Street Gang
Smith left the industrial school at 15 and went to live with his father in Philadelphia. He
started running away from home. He joined a street gang, and he started messing with
drugs and alcohol.
 
“I did a lot of crazy things. I was robbing people, breaking into houses, stealing cars. I went
to prison at 18. I was crying inside for mom and for dad, but they were never there for me,”
he said.
 
“I was about 22 when I got out of prison. I moved back to Richmond and married my precious wife. I was just whacked out on alcohol and drugs,” he recounted. “We had two babies—a son and a daughter. I always worked, but I was stupid in management. I would spend my money with the alcohol man and pay the loan shops. So a lot of times I went home empty-handed. Didn’t have money for food and stuff. We separated for two years.
 
“The last time I was locked up, my wife had me locked up. I had to go to jail to get set free from my environment,” Smith added.
 
“Growing up, I went to church, but I didn’t know God. I went to vacation Bible school and all that kind of stuff, but it wasn’t real to me.” A lot of incarcerated men are in Islam, Smith said, so he had joined Islam too.
 
 
A New Relationship
Something happened in jail on Jan. 20, 1974, that turned Smith’s life around. He prayed to God. “The Lord Jesus Christ came alive in me and set me free,” and Smith began a relationship with God, he said.
 
“In a relationship with God, you can love a man beyond the pigments of his skin because God is love. A relationship is full of love. Full of mercy. Full of grace. His love always gives,” Smith said.
 
Suddenly, all of Smith’s pent-up hatred disappeared, he said. He taught himself to read by listening to tapes of Scripture and following in his Bible. Once he was released from prison, he and his wife, Loretta, got back together. They added a third child to their family.
 
A pastor mentored Smith, helping him grow in his faith. Even though he was saved, Smith says, “my head was still hard.” Another pastor taught Smith how to be a man.
 
“You can lock a male up and he will develop a man’s body and age, but his mind hasn’t been developed about the realities of life,” Smith said.
 
 
From a Cell to a House
The House of New Beginnings is located in a house where Smith’s grandfather used to live. Three former prisoners live there now. In addition to studying the Bible, the men are helped to prepare a resume and look for work.
 
New Beginnings also offers an aftercare group for former inmates, who do not live in the house, to talk about problems.
 
“This is not a facility; not a prison. They have a lot of freedom. I tell them: ‘Don’t do stupid stuff.’ If they do, they are out of here. I’m talking about drugs or alcohol. That’s a stupid thing. I don’t have tolerance for that,” Smith said.
 
He also has a house in South Richmond that is being renovated. Smith is working with 15 men who will be released in 12 months from the James River Correctional Center. “When they get out, our home will be ready and hopefully we will have more homes,” he said.
 
Smith says New Beginnings has had a lot of success. It’s also had some failures. “Some [men] end up back in prison…. Some of these men are a trip without a suitcase. They don’t want any instruction,” Smith explained.
 
“The men in jails and prisons are somebody’s son, somebody’s husband, somebody’s brother, and they have made mistakes. A lot of them recognize it and have given their heart and life to God. Aftercare is critical when they get out of prison. That’s when they really need help. Some need employment. Some have no job skills at all,” Smith continued.
 
“Men need Jesus. I’m not compromising on that. If you take Jesus out of my life, you’ve got a monster.”