2011
C arEErS E ditiOn
felons face extra Hurdles
By Brian Stimson
of The Skanner News
W
ith a crime on your record, getting
that next job just got harder.
When a person is given a felony convic-
tion, in today’s modern world, they’ve just
been handed a life sentence. Until they die,
they will likely forever be labeled a felon.
And given that we are imprisoning more
of our own citizens than we have ever
before – and more than any other country in
the earth, including China – it’s surprising
that not more is being done in the name of
reform, to allow people to “correct” them-
selves after they’ve served their sentences.
... because of the
recession, their
placement numbers
are down from
‘normal’ years,
although this year has
been better ...
For ex-offenders, there is no easy answer.
The recession has created a surplus of job-
seekers and employers have their pick of the
litter.
Clariner Boston, executive director of
Better People, says that aside from the basic
difficulty of being a felon, the average job-
seeker increases their frustration by not put-
ting the time or energy that is actually need-
ed to secure employment.
“Looking for employment is a job itself,”
she said, encouraging ex-offenders looking
for work to spend at least 8 hours a day on
the task.
Better People is a nonprofit in Portland
that assists ex-offenders in turning their
lives around and finding employment. She
said Better People has a specific job-readi-
ness program, apart from their lifeskills
Moral Recognition Therapy program, that
deals with the issues of being a felon look-
ing for a job.
And not all of Boston’s clients are fresh
out of the big house. The recession is help-
ing to further uproot the lives of those who
have long since walked away from their
crimes. Even where workers are laid off
through no fault of their own, potential
employers are shutting doors, despite
decades having passed since their imprison-
ment.
Boston says that because of the recession,
their placement numbers are down from
“normal” years, although this year has been
better than the last. Clients with Better
People do have a leg up when it comes to
finding employment. Boston’s staff has
amassed a list of thousands of employers
and the job readiness classes provide a way
to observe a person’s work ethic, commit-
ment, skill set and dependability.
“We just have to be vigilant and advocate
for our clients,” she said.
Over at the Multnomah County
Department of Community Justice’s Londer
Learning Center, Carole Scholl says that the
ex-offenders she works with – about 1,000
page 6 The Skanner Careers Edition June 8, 2011
Clariner Boston, executive director of Better People
last year – struggle with inadequate skills
and education. The center offers free GED
classes and assistance in filling out online
applications, a class on searching for work
with a criminal history, a specialty class for
women and more.
On searching for work, Scholl says ex-
offenders need to increase their skill level,
be prepared to talk about their past, explain
how they’ve moved on and learn to explain
the skills you do have, even if you’ve spent
a good deal of time without official employ-
ment.
“You also need to find those employers
willing to listen to your story,” she said.
She said some ex-offenders, those who
had good jobs before they were convicted of
a felony, need to learn that they may not be
able to get the kind of employment they
were used to before their conviction. They
might just have to work their way up again.
Both Boston and Scholl say there needs to
be more help afforded those with a criminal
record. Scholl says that jails and prisons
need to offer more job training, education
and mentoring programs.
Boston says her organization advocates
for fair treatment.
“We have far too many people incarcerat-
ed,” she said.
With more and more laws that extend the
length of sentences, the more people that
lose their skills as they sit in a jail cell.
“They can’t compete in the current labor
force,” she said.
Scholl says that there are nonprofits – like
Better People – who can help. SE Works is
a community workforce development
organization that helps ex-offenders find
work. She says government could do a bet-
ter job of funding lower-skill work pro-
grams.