You are finally free from the belly of the beast. You have dreamed of this day for months and in some cases years. You have all of the expectations, desires and balled up emotions of any hostage that has been held in captivity. You have meticuously planned your first meal (usually something you can't get while in prison), who you will visit first (Moms if she's still living), and what woman you can't wait to see (usually your child's mother or whoever has stuck with you throughout the ordeal). Yep, you have it all planned. After that first day, however, what do you do to pick up the pieces of your life?
The most common mistake prisoners make while incarcerated, especially "short-timers" (anything less than ten years to serve) is to not plan for the non personal part of their reemergence into society. We know we'll eat good food, we know that some will be happy to see us, we know that they'll be plenty of alcohol, plenty of weed and plenty of sex. That's all personal. The fact of the matter is that after about a week, the party has ended. Now what do you do? You have no job, you're a squatter in someone else's space and unless you hit the lottery upon your release, you don't have any money. In most states when you are released from prison they give you whatever funds you have on your prison trust fund account and whatever remittance that particular state gives you after your incarceration. In Indiana it was $35.00. Yes, you read that correctly. I was given $35.00 and a good luck and released into the world. I was lucky enough to have a support system in place to make it, I also planned for this day so I was ready. If you DON'T have that support system . . . well, maybe now you see why recidivism rates are so high. (Before you go there, don't even think about shelters and food pantries as a panacea for the recently released, there are millions of homeless and down on their luck people out there that you are competing with) You're like a 14 year old child in everything except mentality (hopefully) and physical age.
First and formost, you have to bet on you. You say you're a hustler, you say you have a plan. Be that person who you looked at for years in the mirror in prison. (all prisoners talk to themselves, occupational hazard). If you have the skills, if you have the presence, if you have the ambition, start your own business. Be a consultant. Do crisis management. Offer your services as a mentor in the Juvenile Center or Work Release or even Job Corps. Market yourself as a subject matter expert in all things crime and criminal justice related. As an independent contractor you insulate yourself from the whole resume/application/background check process. Depending on what your skillset happens to be, you are just as valuable to companies as an equal as you are an employee. Don't go out seeking to be an employee, go out seeking to be a business owner/entreprenuer. That being said, some don't have the resources or ambition to be their own boss. Some just are looking for employment.
So what can you do? For some forward thinking prisoners, the journey through incarceration is seen as attending an exclusive men only college campus, just one with no parties, no homecoming and no girls dorm to raid. You have nothing but time, so why not use that time to better yourself? The forward thinking prisoner graduates with some sort of degree, be it liberal arts, a vocational arts degree or in more rare cases, an advanced graduate degree. What most don't realize is that the reason most can't find gainful employment after prison even with degree is not WHERE you got the degree but the missing years in your resume. Your degree doesn't have a footnote that says "earned while locked up." Your degree will look exactly the same as any degree conferred to any student at that same time. There are two ways to handle this conundrum. One way is to not mention it. You basically don't tell anyone you were locked up while getting your degree and deal with the background check when it comes up. That is not ideal for a number of reasons, first when the background check comes back, you will look dishonest, like you were trying to hide your past. Secondly, it makes a prospective employer look even harder into your background to find out the particulars of your crime. You should never want employers making value judgments based upon a few words included in your criminal background. Its a very short leap to see Assault with a Deadly Weapon to imagining that assault happening in the workplace. Some employers won't even ask for fear of setting you off, so your application is trashed before you make it back to the parking lot. (Trust me, I believe its happened to me a few times) The best approach is to emphasize and highlight your accomplishment. If you made the Dean's List a few times, graduated with an exceptionally high grade point average or won a few awards, make that the topic of discussion not where you took classes.
Before your release you should also start to lay the groundwork for future employment. Write letters to businesses, organizations or corporations where you want to work. Send out hundreds of them, hey, what else do you have to do? Introduce yourself, include information about the company or organization, show the hiring manager that you have done the research into the company. Explain that despite your circumstances your employment would be a value add for that company. I always encourage brothers to pursue degrees in the Social Sciences. The reason for that is these professionals are usually more liberal and understanding then just going get a BBA or an MBA as your chances or rising very far in a profit driven professional are limited, one because you are black and two because you killed four or five people. (Normal people frown on that whole death and dismemberment thing, who knew?) In the social sciences field you have a built in advantage, if going to prison can be seen as advantageous by any stretch of the imagination. Other professionals can talk about being in the life based upon what they've read in textbooks. You can talk about it from experience. When you talk to at risk youth for example, your guidance and admonitions are more valuable than someone who can talk the talk but has never walked the walk. You can look at a room of youngsters and say "I know what is about to happen to you if you continue down this road, I've been there and THIS is what the likely outcome will be." That is invaluable to organizations that do this type of work.
Additionally, from an opportunity standpoint, there are simply more positions available to you as an ex-prisoner. If you earn your degree and you want middle management with a large firm, the numbers are against you. Its not ALL about racism or discrimination against you as a recently released felon, its simply numbers. If a given field employs say 3.1 million people nationwide, at any given time there will be at most a few thousand positions available due to churn, retirement, promotions and such. There are literally millions of individuals applying for those same jobs, your resume has to rise to the top of that pile, that is a heavy lift with your criminal background. Why hire you when this white guy over here with no record is available also. In social sciences however, those are not glamour jobs, those are positions filled with people who want to help. You won't get rich, there are no stock options to receive but you will be able to make a good living and help people along the way. Its at this point where your incarceration becomes somewhat of a selling point. If the organization deals with youth at a station on the school to prison rail line, you can be an asset at that station.
Lastly, the hidden gem out there that people overlook is GOVERNMENT WORK. Believe it or not, with a degree in Social Science you can work in most any state. EXACTLY 90 days after my release I was hired by the State of Indiana in the Family and Social Services Administration. Ten months later I was a Caseworker and after about a year I was an Eligibility Consultant. Most states hire felons in a variety of postions and divisions. So does the Federal Government. I don't know if its a matter of being more liberal in their devotion to non-discriminatory hiring or what. It just seems to be a better fit for those with degrees and felonies that are looking work. Try the Social Security Administration, as well as the Department of Veteran's Affairs. You'll be surprised. Again, you won't get rich but you won't starve either. The selling point for any government job is the benefits anyway.
Don't misunderstand, there will be bumps in the road. Your co-workers WILL find out that you have a felony and they WILL hate on you. I had one who wrote a letter to HR at the state capitol because she was mad I received a promotion to a position that she had been trying to get for years. You will somewhat isolated at first until they get to know you. You will be questioned by them to find out what you went down for. Don't lie because your case is a matter of public record. Tell them to look it up but mostly don't let anyone push your buttons because that hostility will be there until they are comfortable. Some will never look at you as equal but that's on them, don't feed into it.
Lastly, always remember you have been through an ordeal that many of them cannot imagine. I never went to a country club prison. I never went to a Correctional Facility (that's the new age name). I did time in PRISON behind a wall where everything is gray concrete and greenish blue streel bars, chickenwire and razorwire. I survived it and came out better for it. THAT is your advantage. Go with confidence because even though you will be denied more than you win, all you need is one job. One toe in the door and you're off and running. Look at those around you, even those looking down their nose at you and KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that they can't do what you did. Not going down, anyone can get caught up, but getting up after going down. THAT IS WHAT MAKES YOU SPECIAL, YOU GOT BACK UP, MANY DON'T.
old school joint
Drops mic and walks from stage drippin blackness.
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