Barry sat at a table in the restaurant, filling out a rather lengthy job application. Fresh off a seven-year stint in prison with 10 years of probation to serve, he had to find a job. Not only did he need to find one because he could not live with his family forever, it was also a requirement of probation for him to get and maintain employment. Barry was somewhat surprised to be using pen and paper, since so many places required online applications nowadays. Nevertheless, he tackled the task eagerly. Already, just five weeks out of prison, he had applied for over 40 jobs and every single place so far had turned him down. Why? Because of his criminal history.
Thankfully Barry had a good probation officer. Mr. Wilson knew from long experience as a PO that his clients often had trouble finding work. He only applied pressure when he knew a person on his caseload wasn’t trying hard enough or if his boss started breathing down his neck to push folks harder. Barry was not there yet. He had been a model inmate with no disciplinary reports whatsoever, and had successfully completed any and all required programs in prison despite being denied parole for no good reason. The young man (he was only 29) had passed his first random drug test and was clearly motivated to better himself.
Even so, Barry was starting to become frustrated and a little worried. He had graduated high school and had earned an associate’s degree in business before falling into the buying, selling, and using of drugs. He could have gotten much more time but the public defender negotiated a plea bargain, a common practice in the criminal justice system. Now out, it seemed to Barry like he wore a scarlet letter, a brand permanently marking him as a misfit and a reprobate. No one cared how motivated he was to do the right thing. Always it was the conviction that got him rejected from employment. In prison, Barry had heard that it was convicted sex offenders who often had the most trouble getting hired. While that was true, he was not prepared for all the rejections that he was receiving behind a drug conviction. His skill sets did not open access to him in such things as construction, and a congenital issue with his back made Barry permanently unable to do certain kinds of work anyway. He had to play with the hand dealt him and to him, it felt like he was holding a handful of deuces. In desperation Barry now applied at a fast food restaurant, knowing full well that the wages would be low if he did get hired and that the constant being on his feet would put a strain on his already delicate back.
While “Barry” is a fictitious character, there are many real ex-convicts like him out there today. Facing the stigma of one or more felony convictions, men and women striving to reintegrate into society are whittled away by rejections, discrimination, and other problems that go with having a criminal record. Furthermore there are many who couldn’t care less about these people. To them, these people made their bed and now had to lie in it. Because they committed crimes and, in a number of cases, harmed other people in the process, they don’t deserve compassion or sympathy. Instead, the mindset is that they deserve every negative consequence they suffer.
So tell me, how is someone not supposed to steal if he cannot earn money to buy food with? How is a man or woman going to maintain a place of residence when they cannot afford a place to stay or, worse yet, cannot obtain public housing or even stay in some homeless shelters? It’s almost like asking someone to breathe without air. Let’s be reasonable! Release from prison implies a second chance. As a society let’s quit kicking the feet out from under ex-convicts every time they step out and try to do the right thing. Instead, let’s give them a hand in helping them to become productive, law-abiding citizens.
The good news is that there are ex-convicts that have succeeded in life. Last time I shared my own journey to getting on and staying on the right track, and two of us did a podcast along those same lines. But we are not the only two convicted felons in the world who have succeeded once leaving prison. There are many more of us out here.
Ex-convicts have earned their GEDs as well as various college degrees and have gone on to have success in life, some even rising to levels of making a lot of money. There are people that conventional psychology says cannot change, yet not only do they not reoffend, they do not even fantasize about reoffending. Family relationships have been restored in a lot of cases. A number of convicted felons have obtained stable housing. The list goes on and on. Success is possible. One big component of that success is, how badly do you want it? How hard are you willing to try in order to make it out here in the free world? Even with all the support you could wish for, success still won’t come unless you put in the effort to change and build a better life for yourself.
We have noted the obstacles that returning citizens face. These constitute another reason you must be willing to make the effort to succeed. The deck is stacked against people coming out of prison. In this age of information and with all the studies that have been done, many people—including politicians, law enforcement, businesspersons, and a lot of others—are well aware of the fact that deprivation of stable housing, employment, and so on increases the chances of homelessness and recidivism. This begs the question, Why are they making it so hard on ex-convicts? The next logical question to ask is, Who is benefiting from ex-convicts returning to prison?
Politicians, many of whom are lawyers, build their lives on exaggerated promises, outright lies, and the exploitation of various people groups. Liberals pander to ex-cons without really caring about them while conservatives compete over who can be toughest on crime. No matter what, though, prisons provide jobs, especially in rural communities and smaller towns. States get money for inmates. Liberal politicians get votes from ex-cons who are eligible to vote because they’ve believed the politicians’ lies and exaggerated promises. Conservative politicians get votes for harsh laws and keeping their feet on the necks of returning citizens who are trying to rise from the ashes of crime and better themselves.
Psychiatrists and psychologists, especially those who conduct probation- or parole-mandated counseling, guarantee themselves ongoing employment by telling people they can never really change, only learn to redirect their thoughts. Employers and renters are afraid of being exposed on social media for helping ex-convicts find work and housing, especially in conservative-dominated areas. The general public likes to have “whipping boys” to point to so they can feel better about their own evil that they do and say, “Well, at least I didn’t do what so-and-so did.” The juicier the gossip, the more they can deflect from their own wickedness. That goes for politicians and law enforcement and everyone else as well. On top of that, a sizeable portion of the public is so gullible and dimwitted that they cannot connect the dots and think critically, never looking beyond their next paycheck, their next excursion into pleasure, or the next sensational headline.
To be fair, not everyone is this way. There is likewise a sizeable portion of the public who do know what is going on and can think critically, not the least of whom are those who have loved ones caught up in the matrix of the criminal justice and corrections systems. There are also people who do care about ex-convicts and who sincerely want to help them. That is a blessing. The more help we can get towards modifying existing laws and helping returning citizens get back on their feet, the better. Our particular role is educating people about the system. Others are advocates while still others run various types of facilities and programs designed to help ex-convicts find housing, shelter, et cetera, an area we pray we can get involved with in the future. As returned citizens ourselves, we would love to give back to those who have been behind the razor wire.
The system is not going to change overnight. While help is available, there are still significant obstacles and mindsets to overcome. There are, as noted before, the pandering liberals who would sell their souls for votes. They court ex-convicts for their liberal causes without honestly caring about these returning citizens. Once they get what they want from you they’ll ditch you like a rotten potato. There are a lot of conservatives who would love to keep people in prison for as long as possible and keep returning citizens oppressed and overly regulated. These ideologies are deeply entrenched. It will take others who are not at such extreme ends of the spectrum to effect change.
Businesses and renters must be courted by advocates. A few blogs ago we encouraged such people to show compassion for registered sex offenders. Here we extend that to all ex-convicts. People coming out of prison need jobs and housing. Not everyone can go back to their families or friends, and few people returning to society have a job waiting on them. While there are always going to be individuals who refuse to change and do the right thing, why make everyone suffer because of a few bad apples? Men and women returning from prison are highly motivated to be good workers and responsible tenants. Their future depends on it and, as noted earlier, those who are on probation or parole are required to find work. Are you so afraid that you are willing to cause people to go back to prison when it is in your power to help? If that’s you then you don’t deserve to be in business or oversee rentals. Show some compassion and have some courage. Give ex-convicts a chance! And those of us who can vote should take care in who we entrust with public office. There is a lot of corruption. Many profit from incarceration. The ideal political candidate would be a conservative with a compassionate heart.
We must keep educating people about the realities that returning citizens face. Advocates must keep working for fairer laws. The Church needs to step in, too. Not that they have not already done so. There certainly are ministries that help people who are getting out of prison, but there needs to be more of them. The Church could also go a long way towards regaining its trustworthiness and respect by returning to teaching sound doctrine and holding its leaders and congregations accountable. With a restored reputation, Christians can have more power to effect positive change for returning citizens.
If you are just getting out of prison, or even if you have been out for a while, don’t lose heart. Don’t give up. As much as change is needed in our society in how ex-convicts are treated, the change starts with you. Refuse to be defined by your criminal history. Strive not only to become a new person but also daily to live out the changes in you. You may not get any credit or trust at first, but sooner or later the changes for the better will pay off. A changed life is convincing.
