Your spirits will be instantly uplifted within mere seconds of sitting down with Karen McAlpine. The 38-year-old mother of three radiates a positive energy that is no less than supremely infectious. Currently, McAlpine is seeking an opportunity to channel her gift of an inspiring personality into a career where she can help people, make a difference, and somehow give back.

Her ever-present smile only falters when she reflects on her experiences trying to secure such a job. “Society just won’t let me,” sighs McAlpine.

Back in 1999, McAlpine started hanging around with what she now calls “the wrong crowd.” She found what she thought was a quick way to make money, but was just as quickly arrested for trafficking crack cocaine.

The prosecutor opted to turn the possibility of one criminal charge into 15 against McAlpine, and the then 19-year-old was sent to the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville. Upon her release two years later, she was determined to turn her life around.

“I never again want to be away from my children, from my family, from my religion,” says McAlpine. “I’m now on 15 years without a felony, but even though I try to be hopeful about finding a great job, the reality of constantly getting rejected has me feeling like I’m the hamster on the wheel.”

By the numbers

McAlpine’s experiences are not uncommon. In fact, in light of her steady—if low-paying—employment with a telemarketing company for years, she stands as a nigh-fortunate outlier to those attempting to return to employment after a felony conviction.

The latest research from a Policy Matters Ohio study paints a disheartening portrait of the job prospects for those returning to public life from incarceration. The most stark finding is that around one in 4 Ohio jobs is blocked or restricted for those with a conviction. (To be clear, these aren’t just 1.3 million random jobs, but ones that, on average, pay $4,700 more and are growing at twice the rate of other jobs.)

Toss aside the merits, drive, or personality of the applicant—even though recent research has found people with criminal records have a much longer tenure and are less likely to quit their jobs voluntarily. In conjunction with some 850 laws and administrative rules, myriad employment opportunities are deliberately put just out of reach of those with a criminal conviction.

The economic reality for the estimated one in 11 Ohioans with a felony conviction is often a lifelong debt to society that hangs over some of their heads long after society declares that their debt has “officially” been paid.

“The system itself needs to change,” says Crystal Bryant, Director of the Cuyahoga County Office of Reentry. “So much of understanding the idea of ‘reentry’ is focused on definitions. We need to instead be focused on generational poverty, structural racism, and a host of other issues in the ecosystem that can be a barrier to employment after individuals return from being away.”

Celebrating momentum

In an effort to highlight the ways the Office of Reentry and various community partners are supporting successful post-incarceration, this week marks Cuyahoga County's second annual Reentry Week. Scheduled programming ranges from a Legislative Breakfast with local and state elected leaders to discuss removing barriers for returning citizens, to panel discussions on housing discrimination, to the third annual Breaking Down Barriers Hiring Event featuring on-site interviews and community resources for attendees.

“Reentry Week is about showing people that commit to the promises we make as a society to those coming home,” says Bryant. “We want people to see the week as an opportunity to come together, create changes, but also to celebrate. There are people doing really, really well out there. It’s not all doom and gloom!”

One of the highlights of Reentry Week was the Taste of Cleveland Reentry Restaurant Bus Tour, an opportunity to help raise the profile of local cuisine from businesses owned, operated, or staffed by returning citizens. Restaurants included Swerve Bar and Grill in Shaker Heights, EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute and EDWINS Butcher Shop in Shaker Square, and Jewellz Fine Dining in Cleveland Heights.

Swerve Grille founder Tony Jones has no criminal background, but growing up in the inner city, he had a front-row seat to the employment struggles those with criminal records face. Jones has hired at least eight previously incarcerated men to help with dishwashing, food prep, and restaurant maintenance, and the restaurant is currently qualifying to be part of the county's reentry program.

“It’s about being fair, not shutting them out and providing a second chance,” says Jones.

Bryant agrees, “We want to bring recognition [to] and celebrate these owners and their successes. We have to acknowledge and recognize that people with a background can and do succeed.”

Taking legislative action

One familiar face on the bus tour was Representative Stephanie D. Howse of Ohio’s 11^th District. The daughter of former State Representative Annie Key, Howse relays that she has been motivated to look at criminal justice reform by both the community in which she was raised, as well as her mother who always had a passion for people society considered “throwaways.”

“Through my lived experience, I’ve seen the devastating impact of criminal justice not rehabilitating people,” says Howse. “Families are taken apart without regard to mental and emotional impact, and then people are just expected to go back to employment after? It just doesn’t work like that.”

Representative Howse is passionate about the reentry process beginning when an individual is in the care of the state, assisting them to more solidly set up the outcome that they might be in a better position after incarceration than before. She cites the importance of Senate Bill 3—an attempt to reform drug sentencing laws, introduced in February and currently being debated in committee—as integral to a systems approach in looking at reentry.

“I have to remain encouraged—even with this new administration—at how people are looking at certain aspects of the criminal justice system,” reflects Howse. “If we try to take a more public health lens and have our sentencing aligned with the facts and science of addiction, it can be a thoughtful and intentional model for addressing, among many things, reentry.”

Moving forward

One of Cleveland's most trumpeted reentry success stories has come out of the kitchen of EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute in Shaker Square. Founded by Brandon Chrostowski, the efforts to provide formerly incarcerated adults with hospitality and culinary training have been both widely covered and—in the case of a documentary on their work—Oscar-nominated.

The attention has also caused the unintended side effect of some community partners feeling like they need to provide the same all-encompassing level of reentry services provided by Chrostowski and his extraordinary list of sponsors.

As the EDWINS model is inspiring for all—but may be unrealistic for most organizations—Bryant suggests businesses and organizations to resist the urge to try to emulate this high-profile example and instead “stay in their lane” to provide the best possible model to support reentry.

“If you’re good at workforce, be great,” says Bryant. “If you’re a housing provider, perfect your process, include those who have experienced reentry in your facility, and create a continuum of care for them.”

For her part, Karen McAlpine is just trying to stay positive. She admits to sometimes feeling bitter about how she was treated by the judge 18 years ago and other times feeling extraordinarily discouraged by job opportunities that suddenly fall apart during the background check process. But she doesn’t let it stop her from wanting to make a difference, particularly for those who have been through what she has survived.

“If I can meet that one person like myself whom I can help, then it all will have been worth it,” says McAlpine. “People are perishing from a lack of knowledge, and not everyone is as strong as me. There has to be more that can be done to support those who are just trying to build a great life after their debts have been paid.”

Epilogue 

In providing information for this piece, Karen McAlpine and Crystal Bryant met in person for the first time sitting at a table in Gypsy Beans in Gordon Square. As McAlpine described her difficulties with finding a fulfilling position, she expressed a desire for more networking opportunities.

Bryant immediately interrupted her.

“Are you on my e-mail list?” Bryant asked.

“I don’t think so,” McAlpine responded.

“I have the perfect job for you,” Bryant said without pause and immediately pulled up a position description on her phone.

McAlpine's already large smile somehow got even bigger.

“God is good,” she beamed.

“So is networking,” responded Bryant.

They both shared a laugh as McAlpine entered in her e-mail address to Bryant’s phone, promising to apply for the position straightaway.

This article is part of our "CLE Means We: Advancing Equity & Inclusion in Cleveland" dedicated series, presented in partnership with Jumpstart, Inc., Greater Cleveland Partnership/The Commission on Economic Inclusion, YWCA of Greater Cleveland, and the Fund for Our Economic Future.