Right now there are about 21,000 inmates behind bars in South Carolina and about 700 in Horry County.
Those inmates have family and friends on the outside who are also affected by jail time and prison sentences.
A new non-profit formed in Horry County works to provide support and resources for loved ones.
It’s called Helpmates and stands for Helping Educate and Love Prisoners, Mothers, and Their Entire Support System.
Different loved ones of inmates came together Monday in Longs during the first ever Helpmates meeting. They shared ways to provide guidance and support not only for prisoners but also for each other.
Lee Bellamy, one of the speakers at the meeting, spent 23 years in jail for murder and three years of that on death row. He’s out of jail now but says it’s like he got a life sentence.
“That record is gonna always follow you,” Bellamy said. “And it’s gonna always challenge you in everything that you do.”
Prison sentences don’t just challenge inmates, they also challenge families.
“What happened to him, happened to me,” Lena Berkley, founder of Helpmates, said about her son, Roderick. Roderick is currently serving a 30-year sentence for a 2016 armed robbery in North Myrtle Beach.
“I know the sleepless nights, I know the pain that they feel, I know the uncertainty,” Berkley said. “Don’t know what’s gonna happen to your child, how much time they’re gonna give them.”
Berkley started Helpmates as a support system but also to educate families on matters of prison reform.
According to The Sentencing Project, African Americans are incarcerated in state prisons across the country at more than five times the rate of whites.
“You get our counterparts, same crime, they get a hand slap,” Ashonda Wilson, member of Helpmates, said. “Our community, our sons and daughters, go for a lifetime.”
The speakers all had different stories, but one theme rang out…
“We can’t place blame for what anybody else did, but you know what we can do? We can help,” Valarie Evans, long-term Horry County educator, said.
The next Helpmates meeting will be Saturday, March 23 from 9:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. at the Little River Library.
