When an average of 5,000 people return to Marion County from prison each year, employment is a critical factor in determining whether they have a new beginning, or resume old habits.
City officials say they recognize the challenge of helping former inmates find employment, and they want to help by encouraging more employers to hire qualified ex-offenders.
When asked recently about the issue, Mayor Greg Ballard said ex-offenders need the chance to “improve their quality of life” and become productive members of the workforce, which will provide stability for both them and the city.
“If businesses are able to hire even one ex-offender, it can go a long way toward battling crime and improving our neighborhoods,” said Ballard.
On May 12 – 13 the City of Indianapolis will present the Mayor’s Ex-Offender Re-Entry Resource Fair, which will take place at the Indiana State Fairgrounds from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ex-offenders will have a chance to speak with potential employers from various industries and service providers about employment opportunities and job location services offered by organizations.
Businesses and service providers are being strongly encouraged to visit the city’s Web page at www.indy.gov to register for the fair and post information about any employment opportunities they have and services for ex-offenders.
Khadijah Muhammad, director of the city’s Ex-Offender Re-Entry Program said the cycle of ex-offenders returning to prison could be broken by connecting them with resources they need to earn a living.
Within a couple of weeks those resources, she added, will be available to ex-offenders in a section on the city’s Web page when businesses and organizations provide their information.
“If someone needs a service they will be able to visit our re-entry Web site, click on that service and see providers who work in a particular area and already have service delivery systems in place,” Muhammad said.
City officials estimate that over 74 percent of ex-offenders in Marion County are locked up again within three years. Studies have shown that ex-offenders who secure employment are three times less likely to go back to prison.
For several months the Ballard administration has been developing partnerships with organizations and businesses to help ex-offenders prepare for and find jobs. In January the city hosted an employer symposium at the Indiana Convention Center to educate businesses on credits available to them for hiring ex-offenders, which led to the hiring of over 100 ex-offenders. The city itself has hired 22.
Leaders of some of the organizations that would like to partner with city leaders have their own ideas about what can be done to secure incomes for those who have left the correctional system.
“One of the first things we have to do as a community is remember the ‘ex’ in the term ex-offender,” said Aretha Luster, founder of Wailing Women Win, a local faith-organization that offers residential assistance, drug rehabilitation, vocational training and nutrition coaching to women who have been victims of domestic violence, incarcerated or recovering from addictions.
“Ex-offenders have already paid their debt to society, yet many of us still want to make them pay,” Luster added. “We all have done something that is not pleasing before God, and we need to help these people leave their mistakes in the past and give them a second chance.”
It is also important to help ex-offenders think differently about the way they live and think more creatively about legitimate ways to earn income, said Daniel Gushee of Indy Grace Place, a transitional housing program for men who have left prison.
“As often as possible we like to suggest self-employment opportunities,” said Gushee. “Many ex-offenders are not equipped with resources to launch a business, but if they have a skill or can offer a service on their own they can avoid the barriers that appear when they apply to work for someone else.”
Angie Bateman of Rehab Restoration Center, said agencies and organizations should conduct thorough assessments of ex-offenders to see how eligible they are for employment, which will help discover what kind of skills or strengths they already have that might be appealing to employers. Training can be provided in areas that need further development.
“We also have to remember that many ex-offenders are dealing with addictions and substance abuse problems that scare employers,” said Bateman. “These issues must be dealt with first before they can start looking for a job.”
Many employers are willing to hire someone with a past conviction, but they must have skills that the company needs, said Gary Strode, a minister at St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church who counsels ex-offenders trying to turn their lives around.
“Indiana’s correctional system really has to look at its pre-release programs and see how it can do a better job of getting these guys the training, support and medical screenings they need before they are released to the streets,” said Strode. “A few weeks in a general vocation course helps, but it will not prepare you for work as a construction worker, electrician, plumber or welder in the real world. There has to be a more holistic approach taken if we truly want to reform people who have made mistakes.”
