For Immediate Release: March 12, 2014
WHAT: On-site training and assistance for the restoration of rights process for former felons; information about the local “Ban-the-Box” initiative for fairer employment applications.
WHEN: Thursday, March 13, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
WHERE: Central Rappahannock Regional Library Headquarters, 1201 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Virginia Organizing, a non-partisan, statewide, grassroots organization, is partnering with Resource Information Help for the Disadvantaged (RIHD) to host an event in Fredericksburg to address issues that impact the re-entry process for the hundreds of local residents dealing with barriers to employment and the right to vote in our communities.
The Mobile Justice Tour, a project launched by RIHD, has been traveling the state, sharing resources and information with Virginia’s communities. Lillie Branch-Kennedy, the executive director of RIHD, explains the Mobile Justice Tour’s goal as
“Connecting impacted individuals with direct services and resources to help assist in their re-entry, helping to create more productive citizens and fewer people returning to prison.”
Additionally, there is a need to transform barriers that perpetuate recidivism.
“While Virginia has made progress in recent years and months on civil rights restoration and fair hiring practices, many barriers remain across the state for people with criminal backgrounds,” Branch-Kennedy added.
For Duane Edwards, a Virginia Organizing leader who will be facilitating part of the training, this issue resonates personally as he strives to overcome a felony conviction in his past. “The single most important thing a citizen can do for his or her country is to vote.” Edwards shared. “Rejoining my community, I am striving to do my part and regaining my voting rights is an important step.”
Virginia took a great step forward in May 2013, with the executive order issued by then-Governor Bob McDonnell that made the restoration of voting rights automatic for non-violent ex-felons. Before this change, Virginia residents with felony convictions lost their civil rights for life. However, for those who have been convicted of violent felonies, the only way to restore civil rights is still through individual approval from the Governor. Facilitators at the training on March 13 will walk participants through the application process, offering direct assistance with individual’s questions.
The event will address another pressing issue facing returning citizens: barriers to employment. Virginia Organizing and RIHD support a local “Ban-the-Box” ordinance, similar to those that have passed in Richmond, Petersburg, Newport News, Norfolk, and Portsmouth. This initiative calls for an elimination of the box on employment applications that an applicant must check if he or she has been convicted of a felony. Currently, qualified applicants are often screened out of the hiring pool for offenses that may have nothing to do with the job in question. If employers feel that a candidate is qualified, they could still perform background checks as normal, and the applicant would have a chance to explain the nature of their convictions in the interview.
Virginia Organizing and the Mobile Justice Tour will give participants in the March 13 event the tools they need to successfully restore their civil rights, including the right to vote. They will also inform those in attendance about the “ban-the-box” initiative, and ask residents to take action on a local level in favor of removing “the box” the indicates past felony convictions from employment applications.
Virginia Organizing is a non-partisan statewide grassroots organization that brings people together to create a more just Virginia.
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