GEORGETOWN, Ky. (LEX 18) — The path can be littered with roadblocks for those seeking a second chance following incarceration. If those can’t be navigated, the streets often become filled with repeat offenders. It’s a rinse-and-repeat cycle that often only employment can rectify.
It’s why Amelia Cloud uses her time and energy to stage “expungement clinics.”
We had one in May, and it went well, so we wanted to do another,” she said before more than 30 former felons entered the Ed Davis Community Center for Tuesday's event.
Inside, those with felonies still on their records, even some with misdemeanor convictions, could meet with officials from the Department of Corrections, public defenders, and potential employers. Having a record expunged can take as many as nine months. But once the slate is cleaned, it’s a fresh start in life.
“If you have a felony charge, it takes away your right to vote,” Cloud explained. “It makes it harder for you to get a job, and if you can’t get a job, you probably can’t put a deposit down on a place to live. So it upsets your whole life, and you have no control over so many things,” she continued.
So many employers here also believe in offering a second chance.
“We do a background check,” said Alexis Ellis with SMC Manufacturing. SMC makes parts for nearby Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky.
“We are a second-chance employer. We push that a lot (with the people here) because we do want everyone to have this opportunity with a great company like SMC, with room for growth. I think this is a great cause,” she added.
It’s why Amelia volunteers to do this work.
“Kentucky is a state that incarcerates a lot of people. Those people will get out at some point, and they need to be reentered (into society),” Ms. Cloud said of the people who lined up to be here today.
