BROOKSVILLE — Paul and Sheri Haulk want to take their 15-year-old Christian prison ministry to a new level.

Mizpah Ministries, an outreach of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Spring Hill, purchased 21 acres in northern Hernando County last year to build the Restoration Center of Florida. The center will house, feed, clothe and educate previously incarcerated women, helping them become self-sufficient and productive members of society.

"Our hearts have been broken time and time again, spending time and putting our efforts into people and then watching them get out, "Paul Haulk said, "and because they have no support system and nowhere to go, they revert back to what they knew. And then they're lost again."

In the past year, the couple has prepared the land, and built classrooms and a chapel. Now, the Haulks are looking for donors who can help them build the first four cottages and buy commercial equipment for a kitchen. They hope to open by January 2019.

Last month, the Haulks shared their vision with 37 pastors and church workers, many of whom are familiar with prison ministry. Sheriff Al Nienhuis also attended the event.

"I don't think we can do enough to support people who have been incarcerated," Nienhuis said. "They've done their sentence, so this will be a place for them to stay where they're free to walk away. They have to want to be there. I think it's going to be a place where they're going to have structure and instruction on how to keep themselves out of trouble."

It's difficult to change your lifestyle when you're going back to the lifestyle that got you into trouble, the sheriff said.

"So this will be an opportunity for women to be in an environment where they're going to be encouraged and maybe even have a little bit of pressure to not do those same things that got them into trouble in the first place," Nienhuis said. "I'm going to support anything in our community that has the goal of keeping our citizens from re-offending, because that obviously protects the community as a whole."

Although they likely will start with eight women — two to a cottage — the ministry hopes to house 30 women eventually, Paul Haulk said. Women will have access to classes that will help them get jobs.

"Volunteers will come in to teach," he said. "For example, we have an owner of an air-conditioning company who will teach a class, if anyone is interested in that. We have a certified chef who will give cooking classes."

Auto mechanics, business administration and landscaping will be taught.

"We'll have a nursery on the premises," Paul Haulk said. "We'll also be teaching life skills and will have a substance-abuse class, anger management, parenting skills, and we'll do mock job interviews. All will be done by people who have given the classes for years in prisons, as well as outside."

There will be a strong emphasis on Biblical principles and precepts and how to live for God.

"We'll have chapel twice a week," Paul Haulk said. "We take that very seriously as far as getting them on the right track and helping them win back their families."

Nienhuis thinks the faith-based aspect of the program is a plus.

"Those programs have a history of doing well," he said. "If somebody's ready to change their life, I think calling on a higher power has been proven to have a positive impact. If it works on even a percentage of the young ladies and we don't have to see them again at the jail, then it's going to be a huge asset for our community."