Former prisoners and felons are routinely denied jobs, public housing, child custody, food stamps, student loans, and the right to vote. 13 million people in the U.S. have served time in prison or are convicted felons and three million more people will be released from prison in the next five years.

So what if we deny jobs, housing, family, food, loans, and basic rights to all of those people?

A lot of employers will deny applicants with records because of the fear of litigation. Employers are often warned about negligent hiring lawsuits, where if something happens the employer would be told that they should have known because of their employee’s past criminal record.

We should be focusing on the process of getting the incarcerated back into the community as well as health of people changing rather than telling them they are their past and are now incapable of being successful. People need opportunity.

The Federal Bonding program is an incentive program for an employer to hire someone with a felony record and the bond is given to employers free of charge. The bond is good for $5,000 and lasts for six months.

Employers in Ohio have the opportunity to maximize their potential hires by relying on certificates of qualification for employment (CQEs). You cannot be sued for negligent hiring when you hire a worker who has a CQE.

Certificate of qualification for employment is a part of an Ohio law passed in 2012 that helps people with criminal records obtain employment. A CQE holder has voluntarily gone through a rigorous review process by Ohio rehabilitation officials, a judge, and a probation department. For a person to hold a CQE means that they can be assessed for the job taking into account their abilities rather than their mistakes. Opportunity is everything; we have all gotten where we are because of an opportunity someone has offered us and sometimes we should be those people who offer an opportunity that is life changing for another and even for ourselves.

We are not here to judge one another — we don't have the right to tell someone that something they've done is unforgivable. I have witnessed amazing change in multiple people. I met a couple men who were once addicted to alcohol and drugs and thought that they couldn't end their criminal behavior. They were thankful to go to prison. Thankful that someone stepped in and made them realize they didn't have to continue their life how it was going. In prison they found God, built a relationship, practiced good behavior, and spent all of their time readying themselves to come out of prison a new person who could support themselves as well as their family. Once out of prison they found that they were no longer considered a citizen but simply labeled as a felon who wasn't given chance or opportunity. They weren't considered for jobs, couldn't have relationships, weren't able to do anything to be involved in the community which made them unable to support their family and live a happy life.

So they worked hard and they proved themselves to be a different person. They became entrepreneurs and made a new name for themselves and have become quite successful. This story is not the story of every person who comes out of prison, but it is one of many people just as deserving as those who have not been convicted. Please don't deem someone inadequate or unworthy before you hear their story. When I sat and listened to a grown man cry about his humiliation in coming home and being unable to be a husband and father who could support his family, my views completely changed. We have all made mistakes that we don't wear on our foreheads for everyone to judge, so why should they? "Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are" (Benjamin Franklin). Give all people a chance!