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December 2, 2015
Second Chances Are For Everyone
C ontinued from f ront
giving back. As a leader for a
non-profit organization helping
other former inmates, he is one
of the success stories for a life
turned around. His organization,
Second Chances Are For Ev-
eryone, was just honored with a
Portland Spirit Award from the
Portland City Council, for serv-
ing men and women like himself,
who have been released from
custody and are looking for a
meaningful way back into soci-
ety.
Price said he founded the
group about six years ago using
$4,000 in savings from employ-
ment wages and a small settle-
ment he received after an acci-
dent.
He had been released from
prison for a few years earlier,
and was interested in addressing
the absence of community-lead,
post-prison services in the area.
“I knew if I had a little bit
saved up, now was the time to
give back,” Price explained of
his work to build an organiza-
tion from the ground up.
For most released prisoners,
it’s not easy to find work, get
into an apartment, or even get
Photo by o livia o livia /t he P ortland o bserver
Ten years past spending time in prison and turning around his life around for the better when released, Emanuel Price of Portland is
determined to in help others just lime him through his non-profit organization Second Chances Are for Everyone.
the organization does not work
an ID. Price’s organization helps can contact them. It also con- records.
“I’m not qualified to do every- with sex offenders or extreme-
by getting them email addresses nects them to employers who
or phone numbers so employers are willing to hire people with thing,” says Price, admitting that ly violent criminals who might
have more specific needs. “But
so many people are out here just
because of drugs, seeking money
because they were poor, crimes of
need – and sometimes of greed.”
Price points out how so many
people of color have never had a
true first chance at success in the
community.
“What is a first chance really,
if we have black students who
struggle to read, and studies
show us that low-literacy adults
are much more at risk of becom-
ing involved in crime?” asks
Price. “What kind of first chance
exists for children who don’t
have stable housing or food ev-
ery night? Children long for pro-
tection and self-sufficiency and
they get frustrated, because who
is giving them a chance? Any
chance really?”
Price and several of his orga-
nization’s members celebrated
another milestone last week as
well, when the Portland City
Council voted overwhelming-
ly in a 5-0 vote to support the
Fair Chance for All Campaign,
also known as the Ban the Box
campaign, and ultimately passed
a strong ordinance that will en-
sure workers with past arrest and
conviction histories have the op-
portunity to find work. The ordi-
nance will go into effect in less
than 30 days, giving Price and
his followers something else to
celebrate this holiday season.