KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knoxville Urban League and the Tennessee Office of Reentry are working together to help people who have a criminal record get a fresh start.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development's newly created Office of Reentry joined the Knoxville Area Urban League's RISE Reentry Taskforce on Wednesday during an expungement clinic. The event helps people convicted of crimes clear their records so they could more easily find jobs and housing.
The partnership between state and local leaders is expected to help the community benefit from the transition of ex-offenders from prison, jail or juvenile justice facilities to the workplace.
"To better share what we're doing and learn from each other and then figure out what better solutions we can come up with to better address challenges that justice-involved individuals have," said Denise Carr, the director of workforce programs for the Knoxville Area Urban League. "We are eager to work together to address the challenges facing Knoxvillians and, more broadly, Tennesseans who need to emerge from incarceration and reestablish themselves in the community."
The Urban League and the Office of Reentry said they are trying to give effective services to people who have a criminal record, while also helping communities and employers as they navigate the shift. The Knoxville Area Urban League offers pre-release and post-release services including skills training, connection to employment resources and expungement clinics.
Vinchelle Mobley is a walking success story for the services offered at The Knoxville Area Urban League.
"In the past, when I went to try and do that, my record stopped me so there were some things I couldn't do," she said.
Mobley now works in nursing and said she wants to further her career.
"Now that this is lifted off my record, I'm able to do that," she said.
It can be difficult coming out of jail back and into society. Studies show that having a well-paying job plays an important role in staying out of jail. That's the mission for most Knoxville residents who have a criminal past.
Dr. William Arnold represents the state Office of Reentry. Tennessee is the first state in the U.S. to have a comprehensive office of re-entry that's not tied to a corrections facility, he said.
"It is workforce-based, so the whole idea is having a good job that pays a livable wage refocuses a person's time, efforts and energies. As a result, we have safer communities," Arnold said.
It's a part of Governor Bill Lee's Criminal Justice reform plans.
“This is just strategic in terms of preparing services, programs for individuals that are going to come home from prison or jail," said Arnold.
For Mobley, this service made all the difference. Through the resources at
KAUL she said she was able to pay her court costs, get a job and expunge offensives on her legal record.
"It feels really good because, at one point, I thought, 'Wow, I am going to be stuck right here,' like I've kind of plateaued as far as I could go. But with that being off my record, it opened up so many doors," she said.
The next expungement counseling opportunity will be held Saturday, June 18, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the local Urban League's headquarters on East Fifth Avenue in East Knoxville. The event could be the first step for formerly incarcerated people to clean their records and regain their rights.
Experienced volunteers from the University of Tennessee College of Law's Legal Clinic will talk with and help anyone who participates. Representatives with the NAACP also will be on-site to register voters.
Anyone with questions about the clinic or who needs help with expungement processes should contact the Knoxville Area Urban League's Workforce Development department at 865-544-5511 or at info@thekaul.org.