The CA leak law offers rehabilitated people a new start

By Joanna Hernandez, special for Calmatters

This comment was originally published by CalmattersS Register about their ballots.

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At 15 I became a mother. Desperate to make money in support of my baby, I joined the drug and theft sales. I entered the criminal law system and came out of criminal justice until I was 23 years old.

The San Francisco Community programs helped me turn my life. Today I work for a non -profit purpose that connects people in district prisons to diversion prisons that help them make such transitions. And as the founders of Freedom Braiders, my daughter and I manage programs that teach the art of hair, weaves and offer hours of cognitive behavior in prisons.

Although the mistakes of my past do not determine who I am today, my old record is still on the path of simple things, such as going back to a background check, so that I can participate in my grandchildren’s school voluntarily.

I am one of 8 million Californians – This is 1 in 5 people – they live with a record for condemnation. The presence of an old criminal record creates all kinds of barriers. This prevents our ability to find jobs, homes and education and often keep us stuck in a poverty cycle after condemnation.

Californians now have the chance To permanently dispose of old condemnation records. Governor Gavin Newo signed a law In 2022, this made very old conviction entries that meet the expiration conditions, as long as the person fully fulfilled his sentence and did not have additional contact with the justice system.

As part of my work, I visit district prisons every week and meet women with stories similar to mine. I can predict how much their future promise is – if they manage to clear their records. I see this job as an opportunity to show them that their community will not give up on them, that they deserve a second chance.

Most just want a chance to make a living. This is where the idea of ​​a barber comes.

While they are in prison or just leave it, we teach them to become a barber or brow, so they have the ability to use when they go out. Many student barbers who come through my family’s barber shop are either earlier deprived or have a sentence.

This is my family’s way to pay it forward.

Rudely 30% of California jobs require a person to be licensedAnd many of these licenses are beyond the borders for people with old sentences.

With barber, the penalty does not automatically rule out former people deprived of people to obtain a license, but the California Barber and Cosmetology Council has discretion. This inevitably puts some disadvantaged people and makes a record for condemnation even more important.

Now at the age of 49, I started my expiration process a few months ago. I had delayed it for decades because I was afraid of being rejected.

I have attended Operating clinicWhere the lawyers helped me prepare the documents. I sent my expiry application and although the process may take several months, I look forward to starting fresh with a clean recording and continuing to return to the community.

I owe my second chance to design in two organizations, girls for mission and live and free. They showed me that a different path was possible.

Joe Marshall, co -founder and leader to prevent violence of alive and free, always told me, “The more you know, the more you owe.”

This article was Originally Published on CalMatters and was reissued under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Noderivatives License.