Many get records cleared in expungement clinic
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The line wrapped around the Bakersfield Drug Testing clinic in downtown, with dozens of people getting their criminal records cleared.
All the way from Fresno, Ryan Foster arrived seven hours early to be the first in line.
“You go to these jobs and you apply and they ask you ‘do you have a felony on your back?’,” said Ryan Foster, who participated in the clinic. “Then they look at you and you get labeled as a bad person. I’m not a bad person, I just made a bad decision and a bad mistake.”
Dozens of attorneys volunteered their time to help participants clear felonies or misdemeanors from their record, which often times get in the way of people wanting to turn their lives around.
“If someone has a record, it’s very hard for them, one, to get a job, and to find housing,” said Emily Duran, CEO of Kern Family Health Care. “Even if they need subsidized housing like section 8, they do not qualify.”
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“I got fired from my job for my criminal record,” said Lashunda Scott, also participating in the clinic. “I got hired and everything, but I got fired because they did a background check.”
Friday was a life-changing day for them.
“Boy… boy, boy, boy. They’re taking care of the most important charges on my criminal record,” said Scott. “Man, this is a fresh start for me.”
“It’s a relief, it’s like this big boulder on my back. Then, once it’s done and over, it’s done, it’s off,” said Foster. “I can do whatever I need to do to venture off and get a job. Whether it be state, county, parks, whatever, to help benefit myself and my family.”
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