By Rich Alvarez
In my last post, I told the reader a little bit about my story. I explained that part of my life so that the reader can begin to understand my motivation for doing something like this. I received a good deal of mercy from the justice system in many ways. I could have been sent to prison for twenty years, but I received probation instead. That doesn't mean that I didn't, and don't, experience the same obstacles in areas like employment, among others, that returning citizens face. In fact, one third of American citizens have a criminal record of some sort. In Ohio 50,000 people are in prison at any given time and about 20,000 are released every year. About 5,000 of those returning citizens come back to Cuyahoga County, but almost one third go back within three years. Those 1,300 or so that return cost the taxpayers of the state over three million dollars a year, and the prison system itself costs billions. It almost seems like an intentional industry. We arrest them, we extort a plea bargain or send them to prison, we discriminate against them in employment, voting rights, housing, and school aid, and we send them right back to prison at a cost of billions. Lost among all of this are real people with real feelings who matter. They just keep getting recycled through the grinder. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that criminals shouldn't pay for their crimes. I'm saying that we proclaim to be a nation of second chances, but we act very differently. We need to do a better job of reintegrating those who have paid for their crimes back into society. It would save us billions and add productivity to our nation's struggling economy. It was in this context that I felt motivated to help.
I made use of many of the services available to me by the system in place. I used recovery services, mental health services, and I went through a couple of workforce development programs until I found someone who was willing to hire me back into the workforce. In this experience, I noticed many good people and good ideas, but I also noticed many deficiencies. The sheer number of agencies seemed daunting. Who should I go to for help? There was no real on-line service that listed all of the reentry services in my area. Many of the agencies listed were no longer in business. I also noticed that, while many agencies offered workforce development, few offered placement. No one offered a list of employers who would hire ex-offenders, and no one had a job board or employment software geared toward ex-offenders. I also noticed that many agencies were set-up to help those returning from prison, but most of them were not set-up to help those who simply had a conviction and might be facing obstacles. If a white collar person found themselves with a conviction, but they didn't need the typical remedial workforce development training that was being offered to most ex-offenders, they had nowhere to turn. Most agencies that offer placement also require that you complete their course, which can last up to a month, which may not be possible for someone in dire straits who needs immediate employment. As a former police officer, I knew that the vast majority of cases ended in a plea bargain and probation. Given this fact, it made me realize that the existing reentry programs barely touch the tip of the iceberg. What is the cost of unemployment due to legal discrimination against those with convictions? What is the cost of under-employment due to this same factor, since only certain job sectors seem to be willing to hire them? How much does this contribute to the overall crime rate? How much more does this tax assistance programs like welfare, food stamps, and public housing? It seemed to me that this discrimination had broader effects than we, as a society, may even realize. Due to the size of the problem, it also seems that current reentry programs, while helpful to some, may be missing a very large portion of those affected. That's why I decided to launch Comprehensive Reentry. While it is currently only an informational and advocacy site, the goal is to create a job search resource that caters to those with criminal convictions. This may seem odd to some, but given the problem spelled out earlier, I think it makes great economic sense. I hope to develop it into a model to use around the country to help those with barriers to employment to find meaningful full-time work in order to become productive citizens that are fully integrated into society. I hope you will join me on the journey. The federal government is about to release 6,000 prisoners in the next few weeks. Is your employer or business going to do anything to help ensure they don't get recycled through the meat grinder? Please contact us if you want to help. Our website is https://www.comprehensivereentry.org.
Thanks,
Richard E. Alvarez
No comments:
Post a Comment