LOOKING FOR AN EMPLOYMENT BREAK

Ex-Convicts Say It's Tough To Find A Job

Wood -- the name he likes to use -- tried to find a job to support himself
and his family the way most people do: filling out an application and hoping
for the best.

However, he had one obstacle most people don't: a criminal record.

It's a hindrance that often snares ex-offenders like Wood back into the
prison system.

Because of society's fear of and broad-brush bias against anyone with a
criminal record, ex-offenders say they pay twice for their crimes: once when
they serve their sentence, and, secondly, for the rest of their lives.

"People think of the rapist in the same vein as a person who has been
arrested for possession of cocaine," said Barry Gordon, program supervisor
at Transition, a Miami-Dade group that helps place ex-offenders in jobs.
"It's just not true. It's not really fair to put them under the same umbrella."

If Wood truthfully answers the question about whether he has ever been
convicted of a crime, chances are great, he and other ex-offenders say, that
he won't be hired. If he lies and a background check reveals he served time,
he will be fired. For those who are trying to clean up their lives, that
dilemma creates a vicious cycle of demoralization and anger. Desperate to
eat, to feed families and feel like a "man," many of them often end up on a
street corner selling drugs, or committing some other crime.

"I don't care what color you are, when those hunger pangs hit you you're
going to do whatever it takes to eat," said Leroy Jones, an ex-offender who
is now director of Neighbors and Neighbors, a group that helps small
businesses stay afloat.

Wood succumbed to selling drugs, and he said there is more support from the
drug dealer for his plight than from society.

A drug dealer who employs someone to sell drugs will stop by and bring him a
chicken dinner from Popeyes or Church's. When you're trying to make it the
legal way, such as minimum-wage day work or a temp job -- sometimes the only
employment available -- ex-cons have to hustle to find bus fare, often have
no money for lunch and have to fight off the guilt at not being able to
contribute to the upkeep of the relative's house they are living in rent free.

Thousands face that dilemma.

Florida has 66,280 people behind bars, according to the state Department of
Corrections. Almost 14 percent of them -- 9,213 people -- are from
Miami-Dade County. Broward is a close second, with 7,305 or 11 percent. More
than half of all those behind bars are black.

There are places where many ex-offenders are not allowed to work:

At Miami International Airport, federal regulations prohibit hiring anyone
convicted of any of a list of 21 crimes. They include forgery, carrying a
weapon or explosives aboard an aircraft, murder, assault with intent to
murder, espionage, rape, armed robbery and extortion.

At the Port of Miami, an identification card allowing an employee to work
cannot be granted to most people with a felony conviction in the last 10 years.

"What it has done is weeded out those convicted felons who are engaged in
narcotics trafficking and serious offenses," said Capt. Charles Miller of
the seaport security operations unit of Miami-Dade Police Department.

Jones, who has been to prison three times, for burglary, weapons possession
and narcotics trafficking, said: "There's a lot of positive young men in our
neighborhoods who run into doors that prevent them from getting to the next
level. Sometimes they just give up, and I want to encourage them not to give
up."

Gordon at Transition believes there is hope for ex-offenders.

"The picture is not bleak," Gordon said. "It boils down to: if the
ex-offender has made up their minds that they are ready to change their
life, we can do wonders for them."

Transition's offices in downtown Miami and Perrine find jobs for about 150
people a month. That's about 70 percent of those that come through its
doors, Gordon said.

In Wood's North Miami Beach neighborhood, Richard Perry, community
specialist at the Hazel Crawford Neighborhood Resource Center, tries to help
ex-offenders find jobs. He said Wood is a conscientious job-seeker who comes
by every morning to go through the papers and make calls to prospective
employers.

Perry finds some help for ex-offenders at the Publix warehouse in North
Dade, which gives them a chance to work.

"It won't be held against them," said Dwaine Stevens, community affairs
manager at Publix. "We just ask that every person be truthful in their
application."

That was the advice that Gordon stressed, as well.

The fear that their prison time will be used against them causes between 30
and 50 percent of ex-offenders to lie about their record.

"Tell people the truth and you'll be amazed at the good things that could
happen," said Gordon, whose office helps ex-offenders get ready for jobs.

Transition tests ex-prisoners for drug use, gives them tips for interviews,
teaches them to dress, and even how to give a handshake.

Another way ex-offenders say they are penalized twice is in losing their
right to vote.

State Sen. Kendrick Meek said that one of every three former prisoners is
permanently disenfranchised in Florida because of felony convictions.

That creates families who "never see Daddy voting," Meek said.

He and other legislators like Sen. Daryl Jones and Rep. Willie Logan are
trying to change the law.

"The process is antiquated and it's very long," Meek said. "If they've
served their time, and are not on probation or parole, they'll be eligible
to apply to get rights restored."

e-mail: aifateyo@herald.com