GA - New business owner looking for employees just out of jail

Original Article

02/06/2014

By Jim Wallace

ALBANY (WALB) - An Albany businessman hopes to fill his new business with employees who are on probation.

Willie Ross says if more businesses hire folks getting out jail it will reduce crime.

Ross said he knows men and women getting out of jail have a hard time finding a job. He thinks giving them a chance will improve the community.

Fredric Barnes said finding a steady job since getting out of jail has been tough.

"I want to work. Because that's the only way you are going to have something," said Barnes. "I done been down that road over some years, and I'm just trying to do better."

Willie Ross, in the process of opening his new business at 313 West Broad Avenue, said when Barnes came in asking for work, his story touched him.

"He was in tears," recalled Ross. "Saying he didn't want to rob nobody or he didn't want to steal nothing from nobody. So why not give him a chance."

A chance to rebuild their lives is what most people coming out from behind bars want, but a job can be the toughest part of starting that process.

Willie Ross said he understands their problem, and believes if these people get jobs they will not return to crime. So he is putting his new business and money on the line, to give some folks that chance.

"I have 9 positions open, and I'm going to try to fill as many of them as I can with people who are on probation," said Ross. "That can't be hired nowhere else."

Ross said he calls his new business "It's About Time Vegetables and More", because his father George Ross tried decades ago to open a vegetable stand downtown, but no one would rent him a store because of his race. Barnes said he is glad that Ross is providing an opportunity for him.

"The Lord finally just blessed me, when Mr. Ross came, talked to me, and said are you ready to go to work," said Barnes "And I said, yes sir."

Ross challenges other business owners to do the same.

"I think if everybody pulled together like I'm trying to, then we'll have a better Albany," said Ross.

Ross will open his new store March 1st.

GA - New state law gives ex offenders hope for landing a job

Original Article

This is excellent, but does it also include ex-sex offenders? If the video at the end of this article doesn't play, click the link above, which has more than one video available.

01/23/2014

By Devin Knight

ALBANY (WALB) - A new state law is a beacon of hope for job seekers with a criminal history.

Albany Second Chance hosted workshops for ex-offenders Monday at Albany Technical College and Albany State University. Speakers from the Georgia Justice Project said state is the second worst in the nation for barriers that keep ex-offenders from finding jobs, but they hope the Record Restriction Law will help.

Many of the hundreds of people crammed together in the Albany Tech Kirkland Conference Center were seeking a new beginning.

"Who doesn't wish they could go back and make it right, you know? But it is what it is," said Frankie Scott, Albany Resident. He, like many others at the Cleaning Up Your Criminal Record workshop, has a criminal history.

"I'm not going back. I got a wife and six kids. So...you know, it keeps my head up but it gets hard," he said.

He was convicted of two felonies more than a decade ago; one for cocaine possession and another for forgery. "You get rehabilitated, but you're still persecuted."

Off probation since 2010, Scott hasn't found a job in over three years because of his crimes.

"We know every year about 400 people return to Dougherty County from prison from federal and states. And when they return, they face several issues. And employment is one of them," said Dr. Charles Ochie, Albany Second Chance Founder & CEO.

Those with misdemeanor charges face similar challenges.

"I have no luck whatsoever. Nobody calls back. Just no luck," said Kasheem Dawson, Albany Resident. Dawson moved to Albany 6 months ago from the Virgin Islands, and hasn't been able to find work.

But organizers say Georgia's Record Restriction Act implemented last July could help offenders. "If they come back six months without a job, most of them will go back to prison again, 'cause an idle man is a devil's workshop," said Dr. Oachie.

People with less serious convictions can file an application with the District Attorney to prevent employers from seeing past charges.

"One of the key things that one of the individuals was talking about was banning the box. That little box when you check off offender that plays a big role here in the city of Albany, as well as the state of Georgia," said Vincent Alston, Workforce 44 Case Manager.

He said employers often won't follow up with applicants who check the box, or are found to have a criminal past. And removing that option, he said, could allow employers to see the potential of each applicant. "But look at what they're doing now. Look at the credentials they obtained. Look at the opportunity and the skills and the experience they can offer your company."

Scott and others with felonies can't apply and face a tough road to care for their children. "So as long as I keep them...keep involving myself in their life, they'll turn out better than I did, and that's my goal," he said.

But steady work, some say, is the final phase of rehabilitation.

During the workshop, a speaker with the Criminal Justice Project said 3.7 Million Georgians have criminal histories. They also said 1 in 13 individuals are under correctional control in Georgia, compared with the national average of 1 in 33.

Albany Second Chance says community support will play a major role in rehabilitating offenders.

See Also:

• Felon arrest records restrictions to public view