KALAMAZOO (WKZO) — An event to promote the employment of former jail inmates was held in Kalamazoo this weekend.
They say it’s the answer to the state’s high corrections budget and the reason there is so much poverty in communities like Kalamazoo.
They say when a father or a mother goes to jail, they not only lose a breadwinner while they are incarcerated, but after they pay their debt to society, the punishment continues because it’s so difficult to find jobs once they are released.
Speaker Anthony Oliver, who served over 11-years got out in 2005 and spoke at the event. He said“People out there may not know how hard it hurts incarceration our families, but when a person tells their story, each time it chips away at that stigma one may have about previously incarcerated people. We are Humans Beyond Boxes, because we are humans beyond this stigma. It’s that same stigma that has got employers unwilling to hire people with criminal backgrounds.”
The group Michigan United applauded the City of Kalamazoo for “Banning the Box”. They removed the question on their employment application on whether the applicant has a criminal record. They wish more private employers would follow their lead.
650-thousand inmates are released from prisons in the U.S. annually and 2/3rds are reconvicted within three years, usually because they can’t find work. In communities with active programs to help
returning inmates reenter society, that number drops dramatically.
There are limitations. Some jobs specifically have screening criteria, like schools and daycares to make sure that pedophiles are not hired, and jobs that deal in a lot of cash may be reluctant to allow people with certain backgrounds to work there, but those employers who do hire former inmates in jobs find they are often so happy just to have a job that they turn out to be good employees.
There can also be federal tax advantages for hiring former inmates.
The event had been planned for La Crone Park but Saturday’s rainy weather forced them to move it to the Arcus Center at Kalamazoo College.
