Coming home from prison I got a job pretty easily at first. I was hired at a restaurant and put on the manager training course. Even though my first paychecks were barely enough to pay rent and utilities, I was hopeful because the pay would increase after training ended. But that would not be the case for me. After 3 months, management told me I couldn’t work there with the record that I disclosed at the time of applying. That was my first experience with the employment barriers that come with a record.

When you come home from prison, you need a job to succeed and rebuild your life, but barriers prevent you from even being considered. Nationally, 27% of people with a record are unemployed. This is a serious problem because employment is the single biggest predictor of reincarceration. These barriers hurt individuals, businesses, and the community as a whole.

Rejection after rejection

After leaving the restaurant job, I found that not many places will hire someone coming home, and the ones that do barely pay enough to get by. I had a persistent headache because I did not know what to do, and I knew going back was not an option. After being out of work for two weeks, I was offered a position at a local hotel to clean rooms for only $3.81 per room. I didn't even know this rate was legal to pay someone, but this was the only place willing to give me an opportunity. My experience is not uncommon. On average, people who have spent time in prison see their annual income reduced by 52 percent after they come home.

I knew that I couldn't make it living off of this wage, so I applied to a temp agency that helps people gain employment. The interviewer was excited about hiring me and spoke very highly of me, but when the application went to corporate they came back with a rejection because of my record. I also applied at other hotels that paid more and nursing homes but I was denied everywhere I turned. 

I was killing myself at work just to survive. I took on every role at the hotel (housekeeping, front desk, laundry, etc.) to make enough money to take care of my bills and kids. I almost never missed a day of work and worked harder than everyone else to prove that I was capable. I am grateful for this job because it gave me useful skills, but it was really stressful. I didn’t have time to do anything but work, and I was still barely making it. 

Creating my own opportunities

Faced with these difficulties, my only option was to start my own business, a cleaning service based in Gainesville, Florida. Starting my business was very difficult because I did not know what to do or where to start. I had to figure it out on my own. Since starting my business, I have employed community members with the same issues I was facing. I also help anyone who is trying to get their business started because I know the struggle. While starting my own business has been hard, it is by far easier than trying to get someone to hire me. Even to this day many places won’t hire me because of a record that's over a decade old. 

By excluding motivated people like me from jobs, businesses are losing out. I was hired as a manager at a restaurant. I was promoted repeatedly at the hotel. I started my own business. But barriers because of my criminal record will still prevent many places from hiring me even now. One in three adults have a criminal record, so hiring restrictions means employers miss out on a huge pool of talented people.

The way forward is fair chance hiring

Coming home from prison the deck is stacked against you. How long is it ok for someone to pay their debt to society? Once you have a record is that label on you for life? I have been out of prison for seven years. I have not had any charges or negative interaction with law enforcement, got my rights back to vote, but I am still not given a second chance of sustainable employment to take care of my kids and grandkids. 

Our community needs a fair chance hiring ordinance to help people with records find work. Lots of other places already have policies that take questions about criminal records off job applications and require that convictions be considered in context (how long ago it happened, is it related to the job, etc.). Actually talking to applicants, considering them as an individual, not making decisions based on arbitrary rules - these are simple changes that could have a big impact. And they would help give the next person that comes home to Gainesville a fair chance at rebuilding their life.