CASSELBERRY | Damein Mitchell spent much of his 50 years doing time. In and out of prison for some 20 years, St. Vincent de Paul’s St. Peter Claver Prison Ministry and their partnership with Promising People changed the course of his life.

Carlos Benitez, director of St. Peter Claver Ministry, said Promising People is a gamechanger. “It’s a prayer coming through,” said Benitez. “One quarter of the emphasis in this ministry is getting jobs, another quarter is on housing, another on wrap-around services both personal and social and the other quarter is spirituality. Those are the pillars we concentrate on in the little time we have. Getting a job is pivotal because they can’t get housing or become self-sufficient unless they have work. Having Promising People there is a conduit and a means for them to be able to get a sustainable wage for the rest of the pillars to come into play.

Today Mitchell has a full-time job, manages several properties for his family, is working on being reunited with his children, and is working on a Construction Management degree. He said God changed everything by showing him the way.

It was April 2018 when Mitchell was called to the prison chaplain’s office. The mother of his children died and someone on the other end of the phone offered options about care for his children – a family member could take them, they could go into foster care, or he could fulfill certain requirements to reconnect when he was released from prison. He went back to his dorm and prayed about it.

“God, I don’t know how to be a father by myself or be a good man by myself, but if you’ll show me how I’ll do it,” Mitchell told God. He recognized it was a big responsibility and said God put it in his heart to apply himself.

“I went back the next day and told them (the authorities) that I wasn’t giving my custody away. Ministry empowers second chances after prison When I get out, I’ll go through any hoops I have to,” he said. The children went to live with a relative until his release.

Immediately signing up for all the religious programs they had in prison, he dedicated himself to God and the St. Peter Claver’s Ministry. While there, he participated and led both spiritual and practical exercises and mentored and inspired new men who joined.

Tom Gawronski of St. Margaret Mary Parish recalled Mitchell from the ministry’s Passport to Success program. He saw him for two hours per week for six months, as Gawronski and the team prepared inmates for a successful transition to the outside world.

“The premise of the class is to empower them to develop their own plans so when they get out, day one they know where they’re going to live, what they’re going to do and where they’re going to seek employment and deal with what the legal system requires to be on the right side of the law,” he explained. Mitchell didn’t miss one lesson. He even took a parenting class.

He selected Fresh Start, a Christian focused, year-long transitional housing program that required he get a job, keep curfew, attend weekly Narcotics Anonymous meetings. They program also offered financial and other training tools to succeed once he finished. Mitchell left prison in June of 2023 and went straight to Fresh Start. He quickly got a job in construction where he still works after receiving several promotions.

Through St. Peter Claver, he was invited to check out Promising People that provides virtual reality and hands-on training for certification in various fields. It also works with an online college to further provide opportunities for higher paying jobs.

Mitchell saw the advantages immediately. He signed up and earned additional certifications to help increase his pay. He said Promising People also opened the door to the creation of an LLC and starting maintenance and management of his family’s rental properties on the weekend.

“For me it was very simple, very easy and even partially entertaining,” Mitchell said. “It’s a very good intro and way to bring about structure for someone that isn’t sure or has never been introduced to this field. Luckily for me, I was already in the field. But even then, it brings with it a certification which enhances your ability to land or move further in a career in these fields. I recommend it to anyone who desires to progress forward.

You can have all the presence and the physical experience in a construction field. But to get that higher pay and knowledge, you need the certifications, and this is the first step. This enables you to narrow down certain fields you want to progress in or broaden those you have. For me it was a no-brainer.”

Since completing his certifications, he enrolled to earn a Construction Management degree. He will take online classes and courses at Promising People. They are working around his job schedule and he hopes to graduate in 18 months.

This Christmas will be the first in eight years Mitchell spends with all of his children. He looks forward to eventually having them full-time and is grateful for St. Peter Claver Ministry and Promising People.

“The doors are there. People just have to apply. They have to walk through them,” he said. “God will do anything for you, but you have to walk through the door and know which ones He’s opening, and which ones are yours.”

By Glenda Meekins of the Florida Catholic staff, December 12, 2024