Remember Those in Prison
For many returning citizens, punishment does not end when they leave prison. Finding work becomes a daunting task and often an insurmountable barrier. Yet according to criminologists, work can be the critical difference between restoration and recidivism.
For many people who have spent time in prison, the most difficult barrier to overcome after release is the reentry into employment. In many instances, employers stop reading an application as soon as they see that someone has a criminal record.
A single question on a job application can disrupt a returning citizen's future: Have you ever been convicted of a felony?
A new initiative in Iowa is encouraging employers to consider hiring men and women with criminal records, highlighting the positive impact such hires can have for businesses and for their communities.
The United States Attorney’s Office will be presenting a series of three workshops across northern Iowa to help assist former prisoners to find and keep employment.
For many prisoners, the challenges and difficulties that come with incarceration don’t end when they leave prison for the outside world. Free from the monotonous routine and structured environment of prison, these men and women are thrown into a world that is unfamiliar, with little (if any) support structure, few contacts that will do anything other than lead them to reoffending, and bearing a “scarlet letter” that makes it virtually impossible to establish themselves as productive members of society.
Shine Adams is employing those society deems "unemployable" and giving them a hope for a new future.
There are many challenges facing men and women as they leave prison and return to their communities. For some, there is the difficulty of simply finding a place to live. For others, there is the danger of falling into old habits and renewing old acquaintances.
This is Benny's dream: helping former prisoners rebuild their lives.
In Larry’s state, a study showed that more than four out of five prisoners who successfully completed one of Prison Fellowship’s intensive reentry programs haven’t returned to prison since release.
Unemployment rates for ex-prisoners like Cassandra and Christopher is usually about 60-75 percent. One study found that job applicants with a criminal background were 50 percent less likely to be called back or offered a position than applicants without a criminal history. But in states and counties where the box has been banned, these statistics are different. In Minneapolis, after the state of Minnesota passed the ban-the-box ordinance in 2007, the number of ex-prisoners who were able to gain employment moved from six percent up to 60 percent.