Out of prison, out of work: Fayetteville woman who's been there helps felons find jobs

Demetria Murphy is an activist, social worker, therapist, hairdresser and mother to a 9-year-old daughter. She's also a convicted felon.

On Thursday in her Old Wilmington Road home, she said that beginning in 1998, she spent about a decade in and out of federal prison on drug and weapon charges.

And since she returned from prison to her hometown of Fayetteville about 15 years ago, she said she's put in the work to get an education and start a career — and help others who have served time to do the same.

"Change is possible," she said.

Research has found that formerly incarcerated people experience unemployment at a much higher rate than the general population. Nationally, about 27% of those who served time in prison struggle with unemployment upon their release, according to a 2018 study from the nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative, a criminal justice public policy think tank. The percentage is greater than the total U.S. unemployment has ever been, the study notes.

According to a 2022 report from North Carolina State University's Institute for Emerging Issues, 43.6% of Black women who've served time in prison or jail face unemployment — much higher than the rate white men in the same position face, at 18.4%.

Murphy said looking for employment with a criminal record is a struggle she knows firsthand, and that's why she's hosting two events next month to help felons find jobs.

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 5 at Fayetteville Technical Community College, Murphy holds a career readiness event where formerly incarcerated jobseekers can get help with resumes and interviewing skills. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 12 at Seabrook Recreation Center, Murphy hosts a job fair for attendees to meet second-chance employers and apply for jobs, sign up for free and discounted health insurance and get help reinstating state IDs and driver's licenses.  Jobseekers can register online. Call 910-568-7359 or email admin@devineintherapy.com for more information.

Dismissal of prison work experience and background checks are barriers to work for felons

Murphy, who serves as a community liaison for the Fayetteville Cumberland Reentry Council, a nonprofit that assists people returning from home from incarceration, said the job fair is one of many efforts she hopes will help remove barriers to employment for people with criminal records.

One of those barriers is to educate employers on the value of the work experience that formerly incarcerated people can gain while in custody.

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Murphy said the skills she obtained in prison like masonry, carpentry and painting were overlooked when she returned to civilian life.

“I can operate a whole factory, from the front to the back,” she said. "And guess where I acquired every skill at? In prison."

She said some formerly incarcerated people don’t know how to show employers the value their prison work experience holds and that is something she plans to highlight at the career readiness event next month.

Another barrier to employment for felons is background checks, Murphy said. She said many employers conflate a prison release date with the conviction date.

“I have not been in trouble for over 20 years,” Murphy said. “I’m still paying for it.”

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Regardless, Murphy said, she plans to continue her reentry work locally and hopes to bring it to the state level. Thus far, she said, she's gotten a positive response from community leaders and formerly incarcerated people in the city.

On Thursday, she tearfully looked over old photos of her and her prison mates, who became close friends, some of whom are still serving time. She said that they keep her motivated to keep pushing forward.

“I do this because they gotta come home,” she said.

Food, dining and culture reporter Taylor Shook can be reached at tshook@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville, NC, activist helps felons find jobs with second-chance employers