A Local Event on the “Real Effects” of a Criminal Record

The Georgia Justice Project is organizing a seminar in Atlanta for individuals who wish to learn more about the effects of a criminal record and how to get around them, as best as one can given the current laws.  It will be held on Saturday, Sept. 28th at Our Lady of the Lourdes Catholic Church in Atlanta.  I will post more about the event if and when I receive more information about it.

Here is what the GJP has to say about the seminar:

A staggering 3.7 million, or one in three Georgians, have criminal records and many face a daunting array of counterproductive legal barriers making it difficult to succeed in important aspects of life.  Lack of access to employment, housing, civic life, and food assistance present major obstacles for individuals seeking to escape the cycle of poverty and crime.  9to5 Atlanta Working Women, ABLE (Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment), Georgia Justice Project, Central Outreach and Advocacy Center, Racial Action Center/Families for Dignity and Freedom, and Women on the Rise, will host “The REAL Effects of a Criminal Record” on Saturday, September 28^th at Our Lady of the Lourdes Catholic Church in Atlanta.  The event will build on the success of “Breaking the Chains,”  held in October of 2012, and is designed to be both informative and activating for individuals who are experiencing the negative effects of a past criminal encounter, specifically how to understand criminal records,  employment discrimination based on a criminal record, the food stamps ban for people with drug felony convictions and immigration consequences resulting from a conviction.

The program will include a panel comprised of those that have experienced the negative effects of a criminal record in Georgia as well as presentations from experts at the host organizations who will speak about specific efforts and possible solutions for each of the problems discussed in the panel.  Following the program, there will be four topic-specific breakout sessions focused on education about the current laws and finding ways to engage more people into the movement.  In addition to providing practical information, the event will include a call to action, that asks participants to join the movement to change Georgia’s counterproductive laws that are stopping people with criminal records from moving on with their lives and supporting their families.