Michael Grey blends into the mid-day crowd in a coffee shop, nursing a Mountain Dew. That and a can of Copenhagen could be considered luxuries, since Grey was released in December after 1Z\x years in the Butler County Prison.

Low-key and soft spoken, Grey's demeanor masks his past. The right balance of medication and sobriety are helping him ease into day-to-day life. But finding work has been hard.

Job applications ask about criminal history, which for Grey includes criminal trespass and receiving stolen property. That fact, paired with a weak economy, limits his chances of getting work.

"Last week I put in 28 applications," he said.

"They're not hiring."

Despite a disheartening job search, Grey has reason for hope. During his incarceration, the 40-year-old Sarver native chose to be paired with a mentor from the Prison After-Care Ministry, or PAC-Min, a project of the Lighthouse Foundation.As a volunteer mentor with the group, the Rev. Ed Carlson is helping Grey, doing anything from acting as a sounding board to offering rides and being an advocate."During the time I was incarcerated Ed would come into the jail to see me," Grey recalls, citing various gestures that range from dropping off books to helping set goals for after release."He met me the day I got out."Despite the difficulties of life in jail, release brings a new set of problems for many inmates like Grey, who might need a ride or a place to stay."These guys are on their own. They don't have any money," Carlson said.Although social service agencies can sometimes help inmates secure housing in advance, in some cases housing is unavailable, and many inmates have no productive alternatives. Of those, many lack the life skills to navigate alone."Why try?" Grey said of predominant attitude in jail. "(They) can make a quick buck selling drugs or breaking into somebody's house."Often, drug and alcohol addiction undermine success. To help prisoners prepare, the Butler County Prison offers support meetings and drug and alcohol programs as part of its re-entry program, officially launched in June when the new facility was opened on South Washington Street. Although Warden Rich Gigliotti expects the program to reduce recidivism, he estimates recent rates of returning inmates at 85 percent."(Some) guys were back five or six times before I was released — all on the same charge," Grey confirmed."I watched them come in and out, in and out, in and out. They came in long enough to get detoxed."For Grey, returning to jail was not an option, since his actions had created the risk of losing his wife, Ami, and their 2-year-old son."I hit bottom," he said, describing his arrest as a wakeup call.Unlike many addicts in jail, Grey said he had been using cocaine and alcohol — possibly easier to beat than the heroin addiction that plagues many inmates."I quit prior to going to jail, but I didn't get real treatment until I went into jail," he added. "I'm still sober till this day."As well as getting his GED and attending drug and alcohol classes while incarcerated, Grey began meeting with Carlson.The help has since included securing an apartment in Butler, which PAC-Min subsidizes during Grey's job search. Although he maintains two paper routes, the income isn't sufficient."Without work you don't have anything," Grey said. "PAC-Min pays for my apartment. It makes me feel bad.""Sometimes I take him to apply for jobs, pick up applications. Then I (might) talk to the person there in charge," Carlson explained."If you've got 10 people applying for your job, one is a felon and nine of them are clean, who are you going to hire?" Carlson asked. "That's where sometimes I can say 'Look, I'm not going to say you're discriminating, but give this guy a chance, because he's going to work three times as hard to keep that job. And you can depend on him — because he's desperate.'"

Through Carlson or the re-entry program, Grey also has connected with other agencies like the St. Vincent DePaul Society, Catholic Charities and Glade Run Lutheran Services, where employment specialist Rachel Rake helped Grey prepare for job interviews.Rake estimates that half her clients at Glade Run have criminal records, although the criteria for help from Glade Run centers around mental health issues.Although the program started last January, Rake said about 60 percent of her clients get a job within two months."I have people in my program with some pretty serious offenses — some assault and some selling of drugs," she said. "I've seen people like that get jobs too. It's definitely harder for people with a record. ... They have to be willing to work really hard and be very persistent."Rake said the jobs range from retail and food service work to factories, social service agencies and nursing homes. Rake said that due to inflexible policies with large corporations, she sees more success with small businesses.Such is the case of 26-year-old Christina, who asked to withhold her surname due to fear of losing the job.Christina moved to Butler with her fiance, a Butler native, in August after multiple stints in the Mercer County Jail.With help from the Rev. Mary Kitchen, pastor of North Butler and East Butler Presbyterian churches and director of PAC-Min, the couple has secured a small apartment, with Christina waitressing at a family owned restaurant.Christina knows she was lucky: The job interview was informal. Her criminal record never came up.A heroin user since age 17, Christina has been clean for a record three months."The longest I ever went before was a month," she said.Although some jails offer rehab opportunities like that in Butler County, Christina and Grey both say a drug mentality prevails among inmates. It's difficult to break away."You talk to other inmates: What you talk about is drugs," Christina said. "They're all drug addicts. If you do want to stop, it's impossible to have any encouragement there. You keep getting set up to fail."A former longtime Presbyterian missionary, Carlson began to organize the ministry in 2008, about the same time the Butler jail was planning to start its re-entry program.PAC-Min formed after a core group, which included members of the Center for Community Resources, received training from Justice and Mercy Inc., an established volunteer after-care group whose trainer, Calvin Lightfoot, had been instrumental reducing recidivism in the Allegheny County Bureau of Corrections between 1996 and 2004, when Lightfoot was warden there.C.J. Mitchell, 63, of Franklin Township, a PAC-Min founding member who serves as the mentor-mentee coordinator, said the group has trained 34 mentors since it began a year and a half ago. Of those, not all have committed to mentoring. The half-day training sessions are offered three times annually, and the ministry meets monthly at Grace @ Calvary Lutheran Church on East Diamond Street. Individual mentoring time commitments vary.To date, 69 inmates or former inmates have been referred to PAC-Min, with 15 of those currently receiving help.Most learned of PAC-Min while preparing for release. Some, like Christina, hear of PAC-Min through family or friends.

As part of the re-entry process, inmates work with Family Psychological Services professionals stationed at the jail since October through a grant from the Staunton Farm Foundation. Recommendations then are made to probation staffers who previously worked at the jail but began specializing in re-entry in September.Willing and eligible prisoners then are referred to groups like PAC-Min, one of many available to help them re-enter society. The Career Links Starting Over After a Record, or S.O.A.R., program is another.With a lack of mentors, Mitchell will sometimes seek out pastors in neighborhoods where mentees live, hoping the church will "adopt" the client. "Often times they do," she said, explaining some needs are limited to occasional transportation or help with filling out paperwork.To assign available mentors, Mitchell pairs according to gender, trying to achieve close proximity while considering compatible timeframes.PAC-Min also needs cash donations, used to offset costs and to sometimes subsidize mentee expenses. Although the nonprofit group is a project of the Lighthouse Foundation, it receives no funding as part of the partnership.Mitchell said PAC-Min understands not all inmates are sincere when seeking a mentor — and others might relapse despite sincere efforts.PAC-Min's attitude is "When you're ready, we're here to help you," Mitchell said, noting the group doesn't attempt to measure success or failure."The only measure that I would have is that they come into the program, and then they leave. ... If they call back and they need us again, then we'll help them again."Despite that absence of judgment, Mitchell is quick to note the ministry claims successes — Grey and Christina among them."I'm feeling very good about Christina. She's one of our success stories," agreed Kitchen."She's done so much for me. I can't tell you how grateful I am," Christina responded."I never would have got this (apartment) if it wasn't for Mary. They do a credit check. I have terrible credit. How many people would do that?" she added, explaining how Kitchen served as a reference and paid her first month's rent."I can't tell you how great things are going. This is as good as my life has been," Christina said."There will still be bad days, but I think I have the support to get through."Grey looks ahead with similar hope."Once the snow melts there's going to be work everywhere," he said, naming yard work and grass cutting among possibilities."I try to keep a high spirit about looking toward the future. Things will change."

Crystal Travis, a parole officer with the Butler County Prison, talks to an inmate about the prison's re-entry program. To help inmates prepare for their freedom, the prison offers support meetings and drug and alcohol programs. The re-entry program was launched last June and Warden Rich Gigliotti expects it will reduce recidivism.

Former inmate Michael Grey, seated, goes through job postings with his PAC-Min mentor Ed Carlson at his side at the Career Links office in Butler Township. In addition to helping with the job search, Carlson assists Grey with other tasks such as offering rides or simply listening and offering advice.