Omar Howard’s past hangs over him like a dark cloud.
But he presses on, remembering the prison chaplains who poured encouragement into his life, passed on their faith when he needed it most.
And so despite the constant struggle to leave his past behind, Howard, 39, of Stone Mountain, labors daily to be the difference in the lives of the 280 inmates housed at the Atlanta Transitional Center.
“He’s always reaching out to others, always lending a hand,” said Andrea Shelton, founder of HeartBound Ministries, which supports and funds prison chaplains at facilities where there are none. “He wants to do for others what someone did for him.”
As the center’s newest chaplain, it has been his job for the past three years to inspire inmates to turn from lives of crime and become productive citizens just as his predecessor, Climon Nix, did for him.
Nix, Howard said, changed his life.
“He took a personal interest in my life,” he said. “He told me one day, ‘Omar, the mark of a man is one who wakes up every morning, able to handle multiple crises, and still keeps his balance.’”
Read more of Howard's story of redemption in Saturday's Living section ore click: www.myajc.com/news/lifestyles/former-prisoner-embraces-role-as-chaplain/ngr6N/
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