After incarceration, local restored citizens want a 'fair chance' at jobs, housing
Mar. 28—After she was released from prison almost eight years ago, Shareka Gibson said sometimes it felt like she had the word "felon" written on her forehead, like a scarlet letter.
At first, no matter how well she did in job interviews, employers refused to hire her once they did a background check and learned about her criminal record.
Gibson said she had to fight for years to get her teaching license reinstated, and she eventually was able to obtain jobs she loved in fields relevant to her credentials and skills.
"Everyone has their gifts," she said. "I am gifted at teaching."
But she said it was a tough experience and many people who have gone through the criminal justice system do not have the same kinds of strong support systems she depended on to get back on her feet.
About one in 11 adult Ohioans have a felony conviction, according to the Ohio Justice & Policy Center, and many struggle to find decent work, housing and acceptance after they return to the community following conviction or incarceration.
The community needs more employers, housing providers and community partners to step up and be willing to give opportunities to people who have made mistakes but who have paid their debts to society, according to reentry officials and advocacy groups.
"I often say, 'I don't care about a second chance — give them a fair chance,'" said Roni Burkes, deputy director with the Office of Reentry at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. "If you are being fair, and you put their credentials up next to someone else, or their experience and hard work, a lot of times they'll surprise you."
A challenging road
Gibson was sentenced to a year in prison after being convicted of felony counts of theft and complicity to commit theft in 2015.
After prison, Gibson applied for many jobs.
Gibson had been a science teacher at a local transitional high school, but her teaching license lapsed while she was incarcerated and her application for renewal initially was rejected.
Given her credentials, Gibson said she had no problem getting job interviews and she usually impressed the people who interviewed her.
But she didn't get the jobs after the employers did a background check.
In Ohio, public employers aren't allowed to ask about criminal records on job applications under state law, and some private businesses take the same approach.
But large numbers of employers refuse to hire people with criminal records.
A report released in 2018 by the Ohio Justice & Policy Center estimated that about one in four jobs in Ohio — about 1.3 million jobs in total — were partially or completely off limits to people with criminal records.
About one in 6 adult Ohioans have a felony or misdemeanor criminal conviction on their records, according to the Ohio Justice & Policy Center.
Gibson didn't give up on the job hunt and she landed a job at a factory. It was physically demanding, but she was glad to be working again.
Not too long after that, Gibson got a part-time job as a math and science coordinator at Sinclair Community College.
While incarcerated, Gibson participated in Sinclair Community College's advanced job training program and she worked at the prison library and took classes where she learned about money management, credit and business and interpersonal skills.
Gibson said she got the teaching job at Sinclair partly because of the connections she made through the college's training program.
For a couple of years, Gibson worked part-time at Sinclair during the day and she also had a full-time job at a hotel in Yellow Springs, where she worked third shift.
She typically slept about four hours on days where she worked both jobs. She was working roughly 60 to 80 hours each week.
Finally, after years of work, Gibson got her teaching license reinstated.
She said it helped a lot that the principal at her former school spoke on her behalf, and so did a Dayton police detective who helped prosecute her criminal case.
Gibson said perseverance paid off.
"When they told me I couldn't have my teaching license, I was like, 'Nah, I'm not accepting no for an answer,'" she said. "There is success on the other side of the justice system. ... You just have to do the right things, make the right choices."
Gibson was rehired at the transitional school where she previously taught science.
She worked at that school for a couple of years before she accepted another job as a science teacher with a local charter school.
After being released from prison, Gibson consistently took the initiative to advocate for the incarcerated community, said Cheryl Taylor, chief officer for the Sinclair Community College Advanced Job Training & Returning Citizen Initiative.
"She willingly shared her own story, provided encouragement and highlighted opportunities for Sinclair to extend support to both those inside prison walls and those recently released," Taylor said. "Shareka's transparency about her journey, including its challenges and victories, made her a beacon of hope and catalyst for change."
The numbers
About 95% of people in state prisons eventually will re-enter communities across the country. About 18,200 people were released from the custody of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction in 2022.
Community members who are convicted of crimes also face "collateral sanctions," which are consequences and barriers beyond the legal punishments they receive through the criminal justice system, said January Newport, program coordinator with the Montgomery County Office of Reentry.
People with criminal records are a highly stigmatized group, Newport said, and these "returning citizens" struggle to obtain housing, employment and transportation.
By some estimates, between 60% to 75% of formerly incarcerated individuals are still unemployed one year after release.
"They don't tell you that you may lose custody of your kids, or you may not be able to get housing or you may have a hard time getting employment," she said.
As a reentry coordinator, Newport helps people who have gone through the criminal justice system, and her office tries to help reduce or remove barriers to reentry and reduce recidivism rates.
The Office of Reentry builds relationships with landlords, employers and community partners, Newport said.
The Office of Reentry's signature program, the Reentry Career Alliance Academy, has served more than 900 clients since its inception in 2015.
The success rate of people who have graduated the program is 91%, meaning the recidivism rate is 9%, officials said.
Newport knows from experience that life after incarceration can be difficult.
Newport spent time in prison when she struggled with substance abuse and untreated mental health issues. She was last incarcerated in 2015.
Even nearly a decade later, Newport said her criminal record still causes headaches and problems, like when she recently applied to live in an apartment complex but her application was denied after a background check.
Her application was approved on appeal, after she provided character references.
But she said it didn't seem to matter that she has two degrees, a good credit score and a stable employment history.
She has a bachelor's degree in social work, an associate's degree in addiction counseling and she's a licensed social worker and chemical dependency counselor.
After release, Newport said right away she got a food service job that paid about $9 an hour.
Newport said she was later promoted to management, but only because the company she worked for at that time was not doing background checks.
She said the company later refused to interview a job applicant for an entry-level position because of a misdemeanor criminal conviction on their record.
'In the business of saving lives'
Newport said she was lucky to have a supportive family, who gave her a place to live and helped her in other ways.
Unfortunately, some returning citizens do not have good support systems, Newport said, noting that some people basically go from prison to the homeless shelter.
Like Gibson, Newport said she took advantage of Sinclair's advanced job training program.
She graduated from Sinclair College with the educational requirements to become a chemical dependency counseling assistant. She was hired in that role after her release.
All of Sinclair's prison education program offerings are job-focused, and students participate in a diverse collegiate curriculum, Taylor said.
Sinclair currently offers 28 certificate programs and seven associate degree programs to incarcerated individuals throughout the state of Ohio, she said.
Attitudes about formerly incarcerated individuals are shifting, especially since the start of the pandemic, said Burkes, with the department of rehabilitation and correction.
A growing number of employers have sought partnerships with the agency to try to find workers they need to fill job openings, she said.
Ohio consistently has had more job openings than job-seekers, and Burkes said many men and women who leave prison have significant job skills because they take advantage of educational and training opportunities.
Many returning citizens are willing to work very hard to get a job and keep it, Burkes said.
"Our goal, in our facilities, is to reduce recidivism," she said. "Our goal is to ensure the men and women in our care have an opportunity to change their life and have a different life."
"I always say, 'Essentially, we are in the business of saving lives,'" she said.
Changing views
Gibson said she used to feel very ashamed of her criminal record. But she's come to accept that it's a part of who she is and an important part of her story.
She said her experience helps her better understand and connect with young people, especially those who get in trouble.
"I'll share with them, 'I have been to prison' or 'I have a record and I'm OK, so you'll be OK too,'" she said.
Gibson said she had to learn to be an advocate for herself and try to make other people understand that a criminal conviction should not define a person.
Gibson also said returning to the community was easier for her than many people in the criminal justice system because she had a family to return home to and she still had a house, a car and her kids and loved ones.
Everyone makes mistakes, but some people do not get the second chances they deserve, she said. But Gibson, Newport and many others are trying to change that.
