Massachusetts is considering a law that would automatically seal eligible criminal records after a certain amount of time has passed. This would be a wonderful thing, and they should absolutely embrace the opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of countless people in our state. When people have criminal records, it can make it almost impossible to land a good job, find opportunities for educational pursuits, and obtain stable housing facilities. Giving them a chance to seal their #criminalrecords means that they can move ahead to a prosperous life without worrying about their past.
No one should be barred from living their best life, taking pride in making their neighborhood a better place. Then-mayor Martin J. Walsh started a similar program in Boston called #ProjectOpportunity to help eligible residents seal or dismiss their criminal records (CORIs) so they can have access to the very things that are associated with their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Project Opportunity gives us a good insight as to the potential effects of the bill under consideration by the state of Massachusetts.
When someone is born into a bad situation, there is no rule stating that they will be on that same trajectory for the rest of their life. Laws exist to create consequences for people who have committed offenses. The same laws should not be used as a smokescreen to bar them from an opportunity for a life of dignity and better opportunities after that punishment has been fulfilled.
All that most people really want is to live in a clean city, where they are permitted to work towards living as successfully as they can. Sealing criminal records is going to change the lives of many for good. This is the case for Latosha Poston, a 44-year old who was able to seal her criminal records for various misdemeanors and get back on track again. She said that "sometimes we get stuck in our past and let our past guide us." When Project Opportunity helped her get back on her feet, “it felt like something was lifted off."
Poston may have made a lot of mistakes in her past. Legal troubles started following her in her teens when she had her firstborn in Indianapolis. Over the years, some bad decisions led to some arrests, which twisted her future.
But Project Opportunity has given her back her future. She said that with the program's help, “now I kind of felt like a human."
This program performs an important service by helping residents to gain access to better jobs, housing, and educational opportunities. The project is the collaborative effort of various external partners and city departments to connect residents with the necessary legal and support services. Marty Walsh said, "we launched Project Opportunity because in Boston all residents deserve a fair chance to gain quality jobs, housing, and education.”
Why should anyone live under the cloud of their dark past when they are capable of living a better future? No matter what their life used to be, every person deserves legal services and job training programs to achieve a better future. “I'm proud this program builds on our commitment to improving lives in Boston,” Walsh concluded.
The project not only allows the residents to have access to seal criminal records, it also covers the expenses of expungement, which can be prohibitively expensive when they are already struggling to make ends meet. Project Opportunity provides free legal consultation that helps them to determine their options, and it even connects the residents with potential job opportunities.
This is a thoughtful initiative by the city of Boston to help its people recover from a bad past, working their way towards a second chance.
The program doesn't just help individual citizens; anything that helps a city's residents helps the entire city as a whole. And when residents' troubled pasts leave them with an inability to land decent jobs and become contributing members of society, it hurts the city’s tax base. That doesn't make things better for anyone.
People with criminal records, even years after they have paid their debt to society, are forced to live in a “second-class” status. Even petty crimes like trespassing, marijuana possession, or other minor convictions can affect a person’s choices and limit his or her ability to a good and productive life. Sealing the criminal records may very well allow that person to escape their dark past and live a life they well deserve.
Latosha Poston works in a hospital now as an operating assistant, a job she was able to get after her records were sealed. She pays taxes, contributes to society, and is by all means a success story.
This is exactly the kind of change we need to see, and helping people seal their criminal records lets them move forward in their lives. It is a great move for the city as well as its residents.
