An absence of freedoms can change a person.

For some inmates, prison is the rock bottom one must hit before turning things around. During the subsequent ascension, sometimes all the incarcerated need is someone to bounce ideas off of, someone to listen to them and to find a connection with God.

"It can be a low point in a human's life," said Del Burkholder, who's been the director of Support for Prison Ministries for 11 years. "It can be a point where you really take account of your life. Prison is one of those moments. It's that situation why prison ministries are important, because people need to talk to someone. You don't look at what the person has done; you look at the person."

This Support for Prison Ministries (SFPM) that Burkholder directs is responsible for everything religious - as well as all religions - that occurs in the Lancaster County Prison system and the Youth Intervention Center, both of which are located in the city of Lancaster. SFPM, which operates offices in both facilities, is also unofficially in charge of prisoners' spiritual health, mental well-being and emotional stability.

"I've been around people who have been incarcerated since the 1970s," said Burkholder. "One of the things you get used to in prison is procedure. Your life is kind of out of your control. Prison is what you make of it. Most people I've been around want to be out of prison, but there are some (who) would rather be in prison."

SFPM, which is staffed by a combination of 15 employees and badged volunteers, is more of a facilitating organization than a hands-on operation. All prisoner requests for clergy visits are handled by SFPM, and the organization provides educational training and programs and works with clergy, chaplains and religious representatives from across Lancaster County.

SFPM arranges 1,600 clergy visits each year, and the chaplains and volunteers conduct one-on-one sessions, distribute Bibles and other reading materials, lead group religious services and Bible study groups and deliver hospital and death notices of loved ones.

"In some ways, we're more of a behind-the-scenes ministry," said Burkholder, a resident of Brownstown. "We try to stay in the background. We are focused on our job. We are focused on that inmate in prison. We're a factor. We are known in the prison community. We are actually working inside the prisons."

At any one time, there are anywhere between 825 and 900 incarcerated individuals living at the Lancaster County Prison and another 20 to 30 incarcerated at the Youth Intervention Center.

"Of the total population, about 10% will go to a church service," said Burkholder. "But the chaplaincy is available for the entire population. We touch most of the population because our chaplains are accessible to the population."

"(The inmates) could be someone in your congregation, and it could be your neighbors," added Burkholder. "It can be anybody. These are individuals who just get in trouble a lot. But we've seen success stories too. There are people who break the patterns."

SFPM was started in the 1980s and has been serving the Lancaster County Prison system since 1993. SFPM is funded through a combination of newsletters, grants, foundation funding, church donations, civically minded businesses and private givers.

For additional information, go to http://www.supportforprisonministries.com.