Making Black History: Restoring Rights and Opening Opportunities for People Involved in the Criminal Legal System

A conversation with Willette Benford, Chair of the Fully Free Campaign Governing Board and Decarceration Organizer at Live Free Illinois

“The climate of the nation and Illinois has changed. People like me, people who have been involved in the criminal legal system, must be the drivers of change.” — Willette Benford

In Illinois, over 3.3 million people are living under the weight of laws and regulations that restrict or deny rights and opportunities. All told, there are almost 1200 of these individual laws and regulations on the books. For many, their rights are denied for a lifetime through these permanent punishments. These punishments disproportionately impact Black individuals. Black people make up 13.8% of Illinois’s adult population but 28.9% of those who acquired arrest or conviction records, 34.9% of people who were convicted of crimes, and 45.3% of people who were convicted of felonies.

Willette Benford is just one of those 3.3 million people in Illinois. Today, equipped with her first-hand experiences within the unjust and often deeply traumatizing criminal legal system plus years of formal experience organizing and building campaigns for change, she is trailblazing a new era of justice reform in Illinois.

Alongside a diverse group of individuals who have been justice involved, Willette serves as the Chair of the Governing Board of Fully Free, the first campaign in the nation working to dismantle the laws and regulations that deny rights and opportunities for people with criminal records. She and the other members of the board are steering the campaign from every angle – including legislative strategy, organizing and engagement of impacted individuals and communities, and the look, feel, and web presence of the campaign. “We are equals in this multi-year campaign” Willette said. “Our expertise is centered and we’re in decision making roles. And we are compensated for our time and talent. It’s a new era.”

Willette feels the momentum of this new era in big and small ways. She recently sat on a panel with Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton speaking directly to power about how the laws and regulations in Illinois had to change for people like her and so many others. “I was shaping justice policy in real time,” Willette told me. “It felt like I was coming full circle – as if all of my experiences and expertise mattered equally. I was an equal to people in power making decisions that impacted real lives. I could see change happening. It was life changing.”

In addition to her Illinois activism and organizing, Willette and her colleagues spearheaded a campaign (in just three weeks) leading up to the Georgia Senate election. Their goal? Organize as many individuals directly impacted by the justice system as possible and get them to vote. Willette served as one of the primary trainers of the community canvassers and brain trust of the over-arching campaign. She tells me with a smile on her face that there was no way she could sit on the sidelines though. “I had to get into the community and canvass with everyone else.” She recalls a young man who she spent nearly an hour talking with leading up to Election Day who couldn’t see how his voice and vote could matter because of the conditions within his community. In the end he did understand that his voice was his vote, and he also performed at one of their community rallies. “This work is about meeting people where they are – giving grace. We have an obligation to do that as people and a society, to give grace to each other” She tells me.

Willette knows that this work is not without its challenges and potholes, however. We have a long road to travel to achieve justice and many more individuals to engage and empower. “The fear is always that we retreat or go back to how things have always been done,” she says. This work requires that we don’t just change laws but ensure that implementation of those laws is just and equitable also. And that we honor legislators and change makers who are advancing more just legislation as well as keep them accountable. It also requires that more people and campaigns embrace and center the leadership, voices and experiences of people who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system to advance change. That is what equal partnership in this work looks like.

It requires us to double-down to advance a new era of reform.

It is with deep gratitude to Willette that we thank her for giving of her time and voice to this conversation and work of advancing criminal legal reform.

If you want to connect directly with Willette, you can reach her on the following social media channels:

Twitter: @BenfordWillette

LinkedIn: Willette Benford

Learn more about her work at Live Free Illinois: livefreeillinois.org

Read Heartland Alliance’s report, Never Fully Free: The Scale and Impact of Permanent Punishments on People with Criminal Records in Illinois

The Value of Hiring and Supporting People with Lived Expertise* of Homelessness

Representation matters, in public systems an on nonprofit boards, in hallway conversations and in formal coalitions. Even the most equity-minded and well-intended policies and programs will be hindered if they do not bring together the right combination of contributors. In particular, when making decisions about homeless services policies or programs, it is critical to meaningfully include the perspectives of people with lived expertise.

People with lived expertise of homelessness have unique insight into the factors that contribute to homelessness and also into solutions that are equitable and effective. Ideally, people with lived expertise should be meaningfully included in all phases of policymaking and programming, from inception and design to implementation and evaluation. In practice, this is a challenge for homeless services systems in many communities. A significant contributor to this problem is the reliance on hiring practices and procedures that may inadvertently exclude people with lived expertise or may discourage them from applying for jobs – even among local homeless services authorities and community-based providers of shelter and housing programs.

In November 2020, Heartland Alliance and stakeholders in Detroit brought together employees of the homeless services system and the public workforce system to hear directly from a panel of four workers with lived expertise of homelessness. The panelists hold a wide range of positions in the homeless services sector, either in local government or at non-profit or faith-based organizations. The panel covered topics including how public systems can better support them regarding hiring, management, and retention practices, professional development and career pathways, intersectionality, and more. Their recommendations point to the need for employers, including public systems, to play an active and affirmative role in hiring people with lived expertise of homelessness:

1) Recognize that people with lived expertise have unique and valuable insights

Drawing on their personal experiences, panelists explained that people with lived expertise of homelessness bring a distinct and invaluable lens to their work in human services. This perspective is extremely helpful in developing more effective, efficient, and equitable programs and in facilitating more positive participant experiences. Because they have been directly impacted by homelessness, people with lived expertise are uniquely well-suited to influence and design programs, processes, policies, and practices that best meet the real-life, on-the-ground needs and preferences of participants, to whom they can personally relate. This expertise benefits organizations and the people they serve, since participants are more likely to achieve their goals in programs that are thoughtfully geared toward their needs and preferences and staffed with relational workers with whom they can build trusting relationships. Panelists emphasized that employers miss out on an incredible amount of skill and talent when they pass over or fail to recruit candidates with lived expertise.

2) Examine and adjust hiring practices that exclude people with lived expertise

Panelists emphasized that people with lived expertise don’t want a “hand-out” or preferential treatment in the hiring process – they just want a fair chance to demonstrate their skills and knowledge to employers. Panelists said that one step in leveling the playing field for job applicants is removing requirements for particular educational degrees or certificates from job descriptions whenever possible, since this common practice serves as a deterrent to many people with lived expertise who are well-suited to the work but do not have specific credentials. They suggested that employers consider using skills tests in place of these credentials. Additionally, panelists explained that employers should adjust other hiring practices to actively seek out people with lived expertise. These include using plain language regarding the value of lived expertise in all job descriptions, advertising jobs and holding job fairs in places – virtually and in-person – where people with lived expertise are likely to see them, and learning and applying practices such as trauma-informed care in the hiring process to avoid retraumatizing job applicants. This is particularly important in the case of job applicants with lived expertise of homelessness, as homelessness itself is a significantly traumatic experience that is often accompanied by other acute traumas.

3) Educate all staff so that workers with lived expertise feel welcome and valued

One panelist described a time when she began working at a new job and quickly felt tokenized, as if her employer had hired her to meet a quota. She felt that her employer was not interested in investing in her as an employee. Several panelists also explained that in the workplace, employees may choose not to disclose their lived expertise of homelessness to colleagues due to concerns about stigma and stereotypes. To fully support employees with lived expertise in the workplace, employers need to play an active role in educating and training their entire staff at all levels about the value of lived expertise and about how to relate to colleagues with that expertise. This could include hearing and learning directly from staff with lived expertise, if they want to disclose and discuss their experiences. Trainings should also cover other topics that will help people with lived expertise feel more welcome in the workplace, such as cultural sensitivity and anti-racism, and any other topics workers with lived expertise identify.

*Author’s note: The term “lived expertise” is used in this blog post because of the special convening’s focus on hiring and professional advancement. It is meant to underscore the unique professional value that people who have experienced homelessness bring to the workplace. We consider it to be interchangeable with the term “lived experience,” which may be more familiar and more useful, depending on the context and the individual.

Results for America: READI Chicago

Results for America’s Economic Mobility Catalog features an in-depth case study of READI Chicago, documenting the launch and first three years of the program in order to inspire other cities as they look to confront gun violence.

The Economic Mobility Catalog is a simple resource to help local leaders identify and implement evidence-based strategies to help improve economic opportunity. The case study details the history and launch of READI Chicago, how we are impacting gun violence in Chicago, and what we have learned over the last three years.

In addition to outlining the need for READI and how the initiative is being evaluated, the case study lifts up some major accomplishments seen so far:

READI has successfully engaged the young men at the highest risk of gun violence in Chicago and has enrolled more than 650 men from five of the city’s most challenged neighborhoods.
Despite their deep levels of disconnection, READI’s participants are enrolling in high numbers and persisting through long-term programming.
READI has contributed more than $20 million to community-based organizations in five of Chicago’s most challenged neighborhoods and nearly $9 million in wages and stipends directly to participants.

Read the full report here.

UCAN: Hope For Change

Leo Baylor is hopeful for the new year. Despite a turbulent 2020 that included a spike in gun violence amid a pandemic, renewed calls for racial justice, and social and political unrest, Leo said he and the rest of the UCAN READI Chicago outreach team see positive impact they’re making in North Lawndale every day.

“The guys we work with are at such a high risk of violence, so we focus on giving them something to do besides being in the streets—we’re seeing the difference it makes,” Leo said. “We’ve seen guys really change their lives around over the last three years of READI, and we do everything in our power to help with that change.”

To foster real lasting change means going above and beyond to build and maintain relationships with participants, a job the UCAN READI outreach team takes very seriously. At times this relationship building looks like socially distant mini-golfing on Christmas Eve, or bringing along a participant for the holidays who has nowhere else to go, like Leo did last Thanksgiving.

“We spend a lot of time with our participants, getting close and building brother-like relationships,” Leo said. “So although that participant is done with READI now, we still keep in touch—I’m even going to see him later today. It helps strengthen the community.”

Focused on serving and empowering young people who have experienced trauma, UCAN brings deep community knowledge and far-reaching support services to READI Chicago as a North Lawndale outreach partner. Leo said he is proud to be part of such a dynamic team, as well as of the work they’ve done through READI to hone and develop the field of outreach.

“We’ve done trainings through READI on how to facilitate cognitive behavioral therapy, peace circle keeping, de-escalation tactics—all kinds of stuff,” Leo said. “The trainings and professional development we get through READI help us grow and do our jobs better. It also gives us skills to take elsewhere—when we’re ready to move forward in our careers beyond READI, we’ll still have that foundation to take out into other parts of our community.”

Inauguration Day 2021

January 20, 2021
Evelyn Diaz, President
Heartland Alliance

Today is a historic day–the culmination of a long journey back to a federal administration that believes in treating all people with decency and respect, that values democracy and the rule of law, and that wants to bring equity and opportunity for all. Even if our next U.S. President and Vice President fail to live up to our standards perfectly, we and the participants we serve will benefit from a more just and humane federal administration. Perhaps we can even heal.

For more than 130 years Heartland Alliance has been dedicated to removing systemic and institutional barriers to health and healing, safety and justice, and economic opportunity. Our work is far from done, and repairing the damage of the last four years will not happen overnight, but I believe that President Biden’s first 100 days will set the course for many future decisions that deeply impact our participants and our work.

Health and healing: We have lost so many loved ones to COVID-19, and the pandemic has highlighted staggering health care disparities among vulnerable populations and communities of color. President Biden’s immediate rollout of a national vaccination program, as well as plans for expanding and strengthening health care coverage will be pivotal to our work.
Safety and justice: The repeal of the Trump administration’s “America First” vision for U.S. foreign policy and the reinstatement of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are instrumental to the safety of many of those we serve. We look forward to welcoming immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers again and are hopeful for the federal government’s efforts to root out systemic racism.
Economic opportunity: The Biden administration’s plan for economic recovery amid the pandemic will help provide a safety net for many of our participants. This includes direct cash for families, extended unemployment insurance, paid leave, and housing supports.

These changes signal important opportunities for the people we serve around the world. We will begin administering the COVID-19 vaccine to Chicagoans experiencing homelessness and at our health clinics. We will continue to provide safe and supportive housing. We will welcome immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers and help them find safety and stability. And we will continue our work to mitigate the disproportionate impacts of poverty and systemic oppression through our program and policy efforts.

These past four years have been exceptionally challenging and yet, I am inspired by the courage I have seen rise from adversity. I hope that, like me, you will see this new era as a chance to double-down on our mission and commitment to our participants and to make real progress on achieving equity and opportunity for all.

Sincerely,

Evelyn Diaz

Building Sustainable Partnerships and Futures

At READI Chicago, we believe workforce development and an ability to earn a living in a safe and sustainable way are critical to improving safety in our communities. We help our participants work toward increased economic opportunity through daily professional development, job coaching and training, and paid transitional employment.

Real work experience and on-the-job feedback and training prepare our participants for success after READI Chicago, and this can only happen when employer partners like the Chicago Furniture Bank (CFB) show their support by working with our participants, understanding the barriers they face, and opening access to more opportunities.

“Workforce development has always been core to what we do at the CFB in order to make sure that not only is furniture going to our communities that need it, but also jobs and opportunities,” CFB Director and Co-Founder Andrew Witherspoon said. “Before you can have opportunities to succeed, you need to have experience. In addition to furniture, the communities we serve also need our commitment and trust.”

Founded in 2018, the CFB is a nonprofit that collects donated furniture and, by partnering with more than 350 social service agencies including READI Chicago, helps people as they transition from homelessness or unstable housing situations by furnishing their new permanent homes. While a number of READI participants have received furniture through this program, even more have benefited from the CFB’s partnership with READI as a transitional workforce site. In fact, 75% of the CFB’s permanent workforce was hired through transitional employment programs like READI.

“These workers are people who have made the courageous decision to do something different with their lives,” Andrew said. “We partner with READI so people can learn what it’s like to work a traditional job, receive immediate on-the-job feedback, and make sure they’re in a position to be successful.”

Andrew said the CFB is currently furnishing about 12 rooms of furniture per day and that READI workers are vital to making this happen, helping to sort, organize, and distribute the furniture. Heartland Human Care Services READI Crew Chief Charise Brown said that her crew looks forward to work at the CFB, and that several of the men are even aiming for permanent positions when they finish READI down the line.

“The CFB understands READI—they know who we’re working with and what we’re working toward, and they’re understanding and give second chances,” Charise said. “My guys love coming here and it helps them work really well together.”

Housing for Justice

“Life is easier now—my refrigerator is full of food and my kids don’t have to worry,” said Quentein, a 33-year-old READI Chicago participant and father of 4-year-old twins. “They were jumping for joy when we moved in.”

Like many READI participants, one of the barriers to safety and economic opportunity Quentein was facing when he joined the program was housing instability. He and his children were couch surfing and because he had a criminal record, even though it was nearly a decade old, landlords didn’t want to rent to him.

Quentein and his children were able to secure stable housing through the Housing for Justice Initiative (HJI), a pilot program of Heartland Alliance aimed at increasing community safety by housing those at the highest risk of violence involvement.

“You can’t expect people to be safe in their environments if they’re living in unsafe places or unstable situations,” said Susie Schoenrock, one of Heartland Alliance’s housing solutions specialists. “Now, Quentein knows his children have a safe place to come home after school, and he knows he can take care of them.”

To truly disrupt the cycles of violence and poverty, HJI connects participants at the highest risk of gun violence to housing through referrals from READI Chicago. Susie then works with the men to self-determine where they want to live and to set long-term goals, which often include things like building credit and working toward financial stability.

Susie said it’s usually not one single thing keeping READI participants from stable housing. Like gun violence, the causes are complex, systemic, and intermingling. The most obvious barrier is a criminal record, but if someone was incarcerated that means they weren’t building up their credit during that time and may have a limited rental history. Any of these things individually might give a potential landlord pause, but together, the application will be immediately passed over.

“Illinois’ Just Housing Amendment should minimize criminal background as a barrier, but there’s no real accountability—landlords still see everything that’s in someone’s background check and can make their mind up right then,” Susie said. “It makes a difference that the participant isn’t alone, though—their name is on the lease, but they come with the full support of Heartland Alliance behind them.”

Susie works with landlords along the way to understand HJI and the supports it provides. Once a participant has signed a lease, the initiative also furnishes the apartment, provides ongoing landlord mediation, and works with the participant to continue increasing their economic opportunity. The goal is for participants to achieve enough financial stability to maintain their lease independently after their rental subsidy ends.

READI Chicago: Lived Experience Is an Asset

At age 55, Robin Pettigrew has found his passion in life. Working for Centers for New Horizons (CNH), READI Chicago’s Englewood transitional jobs partner, he helps young men change the trajectory of their lives as a READI crew chief.

But according to Robin, life would have turned out much differently had he not had such a strong support system to rely on when he returned home after spending a decade incarcerated. Through READI, Robin is trying to be that support system for others.

“Working for READI and CNH is so much more rewarding than other jobs I’ve had,” Robin said. “I have access to a lot of people’s lives on a daily basis, to show them that change is possible. These guys see me working with them every day—I’m not just preaching to them, but showing them how I overcame my own challenges, so they know they can, too.”

Robin’s progress is thanks in large part to the time he spent studying, earning his GED and taking business classes and certifications while incarcerated. He was prepared and ready for employment upon release, and he advises other returning citizens to do the same—focus on education and realistic goal setting. He also encourages them to rebuild their support systems as early as possible.

“The biggest hurdle I faced after incarceration was trying to find a way to apologize,” Robin said. “I had to get to know my brothers as grown men. I had to show my children I was still their father. I had to show my loved ones through my actions that I wasn’t going to be leaving them again.”

READI relies heavily on the expertise of staff with lived experience who are from the communities they serve. Like Robin illustrates, we recognize that violence and incarceration don’t only affect individuals—they cause ripples through families and communities. Without community-based organizations with longstanding neighborhood ties, like CNH, offering family and community supports to stop the cycle of violence and incarceration on the South and West Sides would not be possible.

CNH Executive Director Christa Hamilton understands this firsthand. In 2014, her 21-year-old nephew, an Englewood resident, was shot and killed. As the leader of a 49-year-old community cornerstone organization, Christa felt a responsibility to adapt CNH services to be at the forefront of violence prevention and intervention.

“Being a READI partner meant that we could deliver the services that we already offered—transitional jobs, supportive services, and counseling—at an extremely higher dosage,” Christa said. “The unique approach of targeting not only the victim but also the perpetrator of violence is closely connected to our organization’s mission to support the entire community.”

Three years into the READI initiative, Christa said it is still exciting to support individuals like Robin who are using their lived experience as an asset to change the trajectory of people’s lives.

“I really see READI as a stepping stone for our young men to enact real change in their lives,” Robin said. “Every day I wake up thankful to be in a position to share what I’ve learned and lead by example.”

The Election

As a human rights organization, Heartland Alliance is eager for President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris to implement their campaign commitments to address the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, end harmful immigration policies, create jobs, pursue police reform, and address systemic racism. We look forward to an administration that will be less isolationist in foreign affairs, more willing to work with civil society, and more apt to make human rights a part of US diplomacy. These are matters of life and death for the people we serve – immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, Black men and women, vulnerably-housed individuals, people involved in the criminal legal system, and people living in poverty.

Yet, even with so much to look forward to, we know there is still a tremendous amount of national healing, reckoning, and restoration that needs to take place. Our nation’s recovery won’t be achieved overnight, especially with a divided nation, and that’s why Heartland Alliance will remain focused and vigilant in our pursuit to achieve equity and opportunity for all.

Heartland Alliance is grateful for our partners and supporters who have stood in solidarity with us throughout one of the most challenging times in our history. We look forward to stepping into the next era together as courageous champions of human rights.

With the Election Behind Us, We Call for New Systems

With more than 75 million voters from every region of the United States choosing our next President, and the historic election of our first female, Black, and South Asian Vice President Kamala Harris, we – once again – feel optimism and promise in our collective future.

At Heartland Alliance, our program participants and people like them all over the world have faced unprecedented challenges over the last four years – many of them direct results of actions taken by the Trump administration.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to rebuild the U.S. federal government and use this as an opportunity to do things differently: our new leaders should build a government that boldly advances human rights and justice, and dismantles systemic racism. A government that unequivocally supports people who struggle to make ends meet. A government that centers anti-racism and stands up to anti-Blackness.

Before the pandemic, data showed that 34 million Americans and 1.4 million Illinoisans were living in poverty and still struggling every day. The destruction of the pandemic is far from over, and the disparate impact on Black and Latinx people has been devastating.

We must ensure that everyone has access to health care, especially in the midst of a pandemic. We must rebuild our strategies for helping people access economic security in our country, such as with access to cash, food assistance, employment, and affordable housing. We must rebuild our legal systems to focus on restorative justice, decarceration, and harm reduction. And we must rebuild our pipeline for serving refugees and immigrants, and do so in a way that focuses on pathways to citizenship.

Our democracy continues, but it has never worked for everyone. We look forward to being part of the movement to chart a new path forward – one that transforms our systems, and creates equity and opportunity for all.

Jobs