Please end this year with a contribution to PLSE –

On December 16, Philadelphia’s City Council honored PLSE for its ten years of “outstanding work in preventing communities of color from being burdened by criminal records.” In a Resolution introduced by the Hon. Cherelle Parker and unanimously approved, Council noted that PLSE "pushes back against inequalities and gives hope and light back to communities.” Our work “allows for redemption among individuals who are being treated unjustly, and in turn, this helps uplifts communities and allow members of these communities to prosper.” Our efforts, in short, “give those in need the chance to thrive.”

PLSE's Executive Director Renee Chenault Fattah thanked Council for this honor. Noting PLSE's place in the proud history of Philadelphia's role as a champion of racial justice and social equity, she said, " We are providing clinics and information outreach in the spirit of the community model created by the late Rev Dr. A. Leon Sullivan. He believed change happens when it is organic and arises from the communities themselves, and his faith, his vision changed the world. That's why we are working with faith based leaders and trusted community organizations to spread the good news about the power of pardons and expungement as a way to provide second chances . They are always direct pathways to better jobs, and jobs are always an answer to crime and a way to lift our communities out of poverty. This Resolution, and your help in your Districts, will help us spread that good news to families and neighborhoods where it so needs to be heard."

This being the Season of Light and Hope, the timing of the Resolution could not be more meaningful for us. Thank you, Leader Parker and Council, for recognizing our work and urging us on to our next decade of service to Philadelphia!

Twice this month, the Hon. Brandon Flood, Secretary of the Board of Pardons, appeared on statewide Zoom programs hosted by PLSE to talk about the future of pardons in Pennsylvania. They were very different programs, and each (as observers commented) was “jam-packed with information,” “honest, no BS,” and “definitely motivating”.

The first was a virtual Town Hall hosted by the Pardon Project Steering Committee (PPSC). In it, representatives from seven different Pardon Projects across the state asked very blunt questions, like,

You’ll have to watch the show to learn the answers!! The session ended with Rev. Michelle Simmons (Chair of the PPSC) thanking the Secretary for being so accessible to people with criminal records and so open to making changes. “You are amazing,” she said, “and we are blessed to have you as Secretary.” True.

The Secretary’s second appearance was in a one-hour “Update” for Pardon Coaches. There, he announced major changes in how the Board would be processing pardon applications next year, and PLSE also confirmed major changes for its Pardon Coaches. More on these developments elsewhere in this newsletter.

It was in 2018 that the United Way first identified criminal history records as a major cause of inter-generational poverty. Since then, and led by its President Bill Golderer, UWGPSNJ has trained the spotlight on criminal records, prosecutorial discretion, and pardons in every possible way, and opened the doors to support by other United Ways across the state. We could not be more appreciative!

In 2020, UWGPSNJ teamed up with the City of Philadelphia to introduce “The Promise” – a new public-private partnership aimed at reducing poverty and promoting equitable recovery from the pandemic. And just last month, in November 2021, The Promise announced that it intended to:

The Promise will be investing approximately $2 million in this effort, funding 15-30 “Community Hubs” and 2-5 legal services programs. (Be sure to read the Postcript at the end of this newsletter for the key findings upon which this initiative is based.)

Simply put, this is H*U*G*E!!!! Thank you again, UWGPSNJ, for your leadership, your vision, your energy. You are leading the country in developing this critical approach to eliminating persistent poverty.

2021 was the year that saw Pardon Projects take off across the state! The year ends with three gearing up to start next year. In November, with the support of the DA, PD, Prothonotary and North Penn Legal Services, the Wayne County Bar Association (in northeastern PA) decided to add pardons to its pro bono program. On December 9, a wonderfully broad and diverse group of civic leaders came together in State College at the invitation of Rep. Scott Conklin and agreed to expand into a county-wide effort the pardon clinic that had been started at Penn State Law. And as this newsletter goes to press, two Judges, the DA, the Clerk of Court, the Bar Exec and Bar Leaders were all expressing their enthusiasm for getting together early in January to discuss how to bring a Pardon Project to York County.

With these, the total of free-standing pardon projects across the state will grow to 11, with more on the horizon and a website to connect them all.

This is a great way to end this year, and begin the next. Thank you one and all!

From the RFP: “There are currently more than 400,000 people with arrest and conviction records in Philadelphia. Those individuals face numerous barriers to the workforce, including limitations on credentialing and licensure and policies precluding them from certain positions and employers. As a result, the national unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated people is five times the national average (27% in 2018). Past justice-involvement is shown to depress hourly wages for men by approximately 11%, annual employment by 9 weeks, and annual earnings by 40%. Considering 91% of people returning home from incarceration come back to low-income neighborhoods, it is clear that criminal records directly impact people living in poverty. ... Research shows that within one year, wages for people with expunged records go up by over 22% versus the pre-expungement trajectory, primarily from new employment.”