Sept 14th, 2014: Miracle Village

[xoxoxoBruce]

In the wilds of south Florida, near the 730 square miles of Lake Okeechobee, there's the Miracle Village. Built in 1964, until 2009 it was called Pelican Lake Village and was home to some of the laborers who worked in the sugar cane fields.



Along comes Dick Witherow, who had spent 30 years working in prisons, and Matthew 25 Ministries, Inc. Witherow was well aware that registered sex offenders are extremely limited as to where they can live. States, Counties, Cities, and Towns are passing laws and ordinances to limit them even more. In many cases the ordinances are a blatant attempt to drive them away. With 750,000 registered sex offenders in the country, it's a growing problem. So Witherow's stated goal of providing prison aftercare, is providing a place they can live.

Being a sex offender is hard in the state of Florida. Unlike other criminals, when a person convicted of sex crimes get out of jail, their troubles are far from over. Under the local Florida laws, such persons are forbidden to live within a thousand feet of a school, a park, or even a bus stop because children might congregate there. Even if offenders find homes that meets all residency requirements, landlords often refuse to rent to them. Being in the sex offender registry renders them effectively unemployable. As a result, hundreds of sex offenders in Florida are believed to be homeless, living under bridges or in the wilderness.

Registered Sex Offender is an emotional term, which makes some people bristle and others shudder, but makes most people sit up and take notice. Some immediately think child molesters and the father rapers of Bench W. But keep in mind we've discussed some stories right here in the Cellar, of young lovers getting snared, and all sorts of not so bad behavior that put somebody on that list. The fact remains, whether you're real bad, or only slightly bad, once you make the list your life is a living hell. Granted this is a small solution with only a couple hundred people living there, half of them on the list, but it's a start.

I'm sure some people will scoff at the heavy reliance on religion by those who are struggling. I figure if it works, great.
This picture caused a double take.