MVOC seeks job fairness and opportunities for felons

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Keeping people out of prison and finding opportunities for those who leave jail are shared goals of more than 40 who met Wednesday at the Mahoning County Board of Elections.

They are backing a statewide campaign supporting felons for hire.

Youngstown City Council, for example, recently passed a so-called “ban on the box,” requiring the question regarding criminal history to be removed from city employment applications.

Rebecca Soldan, community organizer for the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative, hopes a few more cities will pass a similar fair-hiring policy.

Soldan has one huge goal that she hopes will solve several other issues. “Our goal for this campaign is to cut the prison population in half by 2025,” she said.

She hopes to do this through educating people and providing people returning from incarceration a chance in the working world.

The kickoff to a statewide campaign began with a prayer from the Rev. Christopher McKee of Tabernacle Baptist Church.

Pastor McKee said this topic hits home for Christians. “We are dealing with something key to my religion: redemption. People should get a second chance,” he said.

“Today we are taking a stand,” said Lydia Walker, member of United Returning Citizens. Walker is from Youngstown.

“Our children don’t stand a chance in this community,” said Walker, noting a cycle of lack of work and lack of opportunity leading to crime.

Youngstown Councilwoman Annie Gillam is a huge supporter for this campaign and wants to give kids a chance. She said if people can’t find food, then “they’re gonna find food — and if they start going the wrong way they are going to end up in prison again.”

A larger number of people are fighting for a second chance. More than 750 felons — returning citizens — were released from Ohio prisons in 2012, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. In Mahoning County alone, more than 1,000 people were incarcerated, according to the DRC.

“That isn’t right,” many in attendance responded.

“Anything I can do to help, I will. I am here to help,” said Gillam.

Mayor John A. McNally said earlier this month that some city positions are off limits to felons — such as police-officer jobs. Though McNally was unable to attend the news conference, he supports the movement to ban the box from employment applications across Ohio.