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Michael Swiger was born in Wheeling, West Virginia and raised in the Ohio Valley - a twenty mile depression along the Ohio River and hotbed for professional athletes, spawning future Hall of Famers Lou Groza, John Havlicek, Phil and Joe Niekro, Bill Mazaroski, and most recently Joey Galloway. Michael's father played professional baseball in the 1940's.
Michael studies Mechanical Engineer at Case Western Reserve University for three years before a cataclysmic calamity struck that forever altered the course of his life. Michael is an ex-offender who served 17 years for involuntary manslaughter by complicity as a co-defendant for his older brother before the Ohio Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 2005. While incarcerated Michael earned two Associates Degrees with a 4.0 GPA, went on to graduate Summa Cum Laude from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, before receiving a full scholarship to study theology at the Reformed Theological Seminary. Also, while incarcerated Michael has authored five books, three of which appeared on Amazon's best seller list. His story was recently published by Our Daily Bread in the booklet entitled God Has a Plan which is available for free at: discoveryseries.org
2007 marked the beginning of a new phase in Michael's publishing career, when he signed a three-book deal with Capstone Fiction.
In 2012 Michael founded True Freedom Ministries, an evangelical, non-profit organization dedicated to reaching people locked in jails and prisons, the homeless, and those trapped in addiction across Ohio with the message of the true freedom found only in Jesus Christ. In 2018 True Freedom touched nearly 65,000 people, an increase of 18% over 2017, averaging over 160 classes, programs, or services every MONTH in 2018. and received the Organization of the Year award from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. True Freedom also provided nearly 17,000 hot meals to the homeless on the streets of Cleveland and provided Addiction Recovery programming to over 3000 individuals in Northeast Ohio. Michael Swiger serves as Executive Director of True Freedom, and under his leadership True Freedom has grown to become Ohio’s largest prison ministry with ten paid staff and over 150 volunteers, actively engaged in prison ministry, addiction recovery, homeless outreach, and nursing home ministry all across the state of Ohio.
In 2018 Michael founded True Freedom Enterprises, a faith-neutral non-profit organization dedicated solely to prisoner re-entry specializing in workforce empowerment, post-release education and transitional housing. In March 2018 True Freedom Enterprises launched a pre-release workforce empowerment program designed to address the staggering 70% unemployment rate returning citizens face upon release from prison. This innovated initiative enables currently incarcerated individuals during their last 90 days of incarceration to participate in externship with private companies that enable them to receive: Real-world work experience, Transferrable skills, Employer Referrals, and Re-Entry Resources. The early success of this program has received both local and international attention, receiving the Dominion Energy 2018 Community Impact Award and was featured at the International Corrections and Prisons Association’s summit held in Quebec, Canada. In 2019 True Freedom launched it partnered with Ashland University to provide employment skills-based certificates as well as accredited associates and bachelor’s degree programming to formerly incarcerated individuals recently released from prison. Through this unique collaboration, Ashland University has agreed to waive all tuition costs and fees above the Pell Grant, so that True Freedom students receives this training absolutely free. Coursework is conducted at True Freedom’s Cleveland location with a combination of live and virtual instruction utilizing the cutting-edge Blackboard Learning Management System.
Michael has recently written and published a booklet through Our Daily Bread publishers entitled How Can I Be Saved? It is also available for free at: https://discoveryseries.org/courses/how-can-i-be-saved/
Michael lives near Cleveland, Ohio with his wife Susan and their two children.
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