How many people do you know who have a past? Sure, they did the crime so they do the time, right? What do we do as a whole to help change our fellow community members futures? Let me tell you from my own actions, I am a felon. Thankfully act 346 allows me to have my record expunged due to it being a first offense. However, I know MANY people who aren’t this lucky. Not allowing me a chance to prove reformation has been so disheartening. I have been hired and Then unhired due to my background check. I know I made my bed, I get to lay in it. However -look at our economy and jobs that have needed to hire but can’t. I have needed a job but haven’t qualified. In my past, my job history included substituting, vet tech help, CNA and front desk work as well as bartending. I have worked in many fields but now I can’t even work in house keeping at a nursing home. The thing we ALL overlook is something I didn’t realize until I put myself in this positions by my poor choices. I take weekly drug screens for state mandated probation. I pass them. I am a parent and have four kids to raise. Their father just recently got out of prison, after three years. We BOTH have a record, the want to succeed and the knowledge to do so. We both are aware of our past mistakes and have made MANY changes and continue to actively do so and apply ourselves in our community and other programs to ensure our reformation. In my heart I believe people deserve second chances. Especially if they will work to help themselves. Why do we work so hard to basically exile these people, people like myself, my spouse. We aren’t bad people. We made bad choices and we did time and have literally paid for them (financially and with time cut from our lives and given to the state). We deserved this. However, nobody deserves to be shown they aren’t welcome or good enough to a company, a position, or in their own community even, due to what a background check shows. If someone is willing to put the time and work into proving themselves not only reformed but recovered, why can’t we as a whole accept that??? It’s 2022 people, WAKE UP! Help me, help us all by BANNING THE BOX! Ban the check yes or no to past convictions, etc. Ban the box and ban together to make a change. If someone is willing to prove they have changed and actively are doing so, then we as a whole should support that.