Tampa couple starts non-profit that touches the lives of prisoners

TAMPA, Fla. - A Tampa couple with a passion for cycling is riding to the most unlikely places.

Jessica and Scotty Santiago are committed to helping others.

Jessica and Scotty Santiago's goal is to help people lead better lives.

"I love seeing transformed lives," said Jessica Santiago. "I love seeing people succeed. And to be a part of that is just an indescribable high." 

The high started 20 years ago with their non-profit Passion for Prison. 

READ: Tampa woman spends over 40 years serving others at local ministry

"And to see someone have a life change like I had a life change is probably one of the most exciting things that will ever happen in a man's life," Scotty Santiago said. 

The couple knows about making mistakes since they were once on the road to destruction.  

The couple have dedicated their lives to sharing their faith.

"I have been arrested as an adult teen," said Jessica Santiago, founder of Passion for Prison. "My little brother did some house arrest, my best friend's down on a life sentence over in Zephyrhills. I had another friend die on death row in 2002. " 

Scotty Santiago also had problems.

"There was some things in my life that, you know, led to a place, a really dark place in my life. I actually was at a place of suicide," he shared.

Now, they use their two-wheel vehicles as an opportunity to talk about their faith. 

They have helped over thousands with their non-profit.

"When we go back into the prisons, and we share the Lord Jesus Christ with them. Of those that make a sincere decision for Jesus Christ, less than 10% return, making our communities a safer place to live," Jessica Santiago explained. 

READ: Bay Area man uses art to inspire at risk kids at ministry

The couple have touched the lives of more than 17,000 families. 

"It's a real high moment for me. I love to give things and to give hope is probably the best gift that you can give someone," Jessica Santiago said. 

The couple spreads their faith and shares their love of cycling with inmates.

The couple's goal is to give inmates hope for their future by strengthening their spiritual faith. They started their mission in 2003. 

Every year they send bibles, Christmas cards, and Birthday cards through the mail to prisoners. 

For more information click here.