The Quad Cities will be home to a new chapter of an Illinois state-wide coalition dedicated to end permanent punishments for those with criminal records. Human rights advocates across the QCA are meeting Tuesday to join with Fully Free, an Illinois multi-year effort to end the hundreds of Illinois laws and sanctions that bar people with records from achieving opportunity and self-sufficiency.
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A campaign is starting in Illinois to help people with serious criminal records regain their rights. Called “Fully Free,” the goal of the statewide coalition is to help former prisoners get full access to jobs, education, and housing.
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Willette Benford is Board Chair of the Fully Free campaign of Heartland Alliance. In this episode, she tells the story of how she was convicted and sentenced to 50 years in prison, developed a transformational relationship with God, worked while in prison to improve her life and the lives of others around her, was released early after serving two decades in prison due to a change in the law, and after release faced – and overcame – illegal denial of housing due to her past record. She is now a passionate advocate for removing legal and social barriers to successful reentry to community life after people are released from prison.
Cedrick Frison shares wisdom gained from the hard lessons of living life on the streets of the west side of Chicago, including the effects of drug use, the trauma of living with violence both at home and on the street, and going to prison nine times before breaking free from that cycle and becoming the man he is today.
A former high school dropout, he is now completing work on a bachelor’s degree, is a nationally certified addiction recovery specialist, has a home and family, and serves as both a board member of the Fully Free campaign of Heartland Alliance and outreach specialist for the READI-Chicago anti-violence initiative.
David Sinski, executive director of Heartland Human Care Services, talks about the needs of Afghan refugees arriving in Chicago.
Refugee resettlement groups expect as many as 500 Afghan refugees to arrive in the coming months. Illinois legislators have suggested Chicago should receive many, as the city has both the capacity to serve them and the Afghan communities to welcome them. Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky called supporting refugees a “moral obligation.”
Groups across the world are stepping up to help Afghan refugees, including some groups right here in Chicago.
Some organizations that assist refugees already are seeing an uptick in refugees from Afghanistan, though most are likely to resettle in other parts of the United States.
Local organizations need volunteers, donations and job information so they can help the hundreds of families coming to the area.
Four groups are working to settle families locally. Afghan refugees are expected to arrive within a few weeks.
