What great advise. Obviously if this worked for you it could also work for others. Thanks for sharing!

Preach it my Brother.....I've been slammed for saying the same thing..After I left Active Service I started out as a 6.50hr worker monkey, busted my ass and was taught by the Metal shop Foreman to weld..I was at the time in the ARNG and they sent me to Welding School and by the time I left my company, I had the Foreman's job..He went to Engineering...
Like you said, you can't be afraid to get your hands dirty and work up a sweat....

Obviously you were old enough and experienced enough to have a ‘skill-level’ to offer. How did you get that skill level? I am betting it was before SO status. One cannot just jump in and start operating heavy equipment.
‘Preaching’ at us that we should try harder is not what many here need. I appreciate the sentiment (sort of) but just saying try harder is not a solution for some. Saying ‘SEE I did it and you can too’ is not real help.

Persevering while being rejected time after time is the real obstacle. I can appreciate your success and it is inspiring but I too wonder how those like my (and many others on here) sons are going to get on without prior skills to offer. They were incarcerated at such a young age they have nothing to offer an employer in the way of experience. Have to be more creative as I can see where his dreams will be crushed more than once when he starts to realize his limitations.

Yes exactly Jackiecook - these young men have had their 'coming of age' skills stunted. Was it their own fault? In many ways yes but at the young age they were they really did not have the problem solving skills they needed to make those decisions. My son was a teenager looking out of curiosity for pictures of teenage girls – what would he look for? Middle age porn? I think not … No contact crime here and yet punished for life. They have not and will not have the chance to become responsible men like they should.

I have spoken to buildingupslow many times and he is a prime example of a sex offender overcoming the burden of being a registrant and persevering to find a job to support him and his family.

One thing I do not understand, and I hope someone can explain it to me is what is the obstacle to a SO getting some training so he can get a decent job? As I said earlier in another thread, I had a couple of college degrees and a pharmacy career when I was charged and convicted. But when I was convicted as a relatively young adult, I lost my pharmacy license and, upon release from prison, found myself unemployable.

I had no real job skills other than in the medical field, but I had worked on computers while in prison. So I studied through various methods and got a bunch of computer certifications, starting with A+ and Network +, then all the Microsoft certifications I could find. I then found work at some of the local pharmacies working on their computer/network systems.

Is there something preventing people today from learning a trade or educating themselves so they will have a job? I am not being a smart ass here, as I am older and I don’t understand. Have things changed since I received all my education?

Is it money that is a problem? When I received my college degrees, I was able to procure student loans and grants to fund my education. Plus I worked 15 hours a week in the pharmacology labs at school and my wife was a babysitter for two children in our home full-time.

So, are student loans difficult to get these days? Is financial help not available? Cannot people attend a vo-tech type school because they cannot afford it?

Do places of learning such as vo tech centers, trade schools, or junior colleges no longer extend a welcoming hand to felons and/or especially sex offenders?

I realize times have changed since I was released from prison, but WHAT has specifically changed that prevents someone from retraining themselves?

I understand fully that being a SO limits one’s options, but is it now much harder to learn a trade than it was when I did so?

I just would really like to know and hopefully, we can have a positive discussion on these problems concerning our guys that cannot find a job—because unemployment is a big problem. Maybe we can discuss some specific issues that will help us all.

I was very fortunate that the bulk of my education was achieved before my SO status, but I did get my certifications and do a lot of self-taught education after my release from prison.

And I can understand fully that it is more difficult to get started if a registrant has to be job searching AFTER his SO status.

So, what are everyone’s thoughts on this? Why specifically cannot SOs find jobs and what can be done to alleviate the situation?

rewdiazepam

REW – you said … ‘Do places of learning such as vo tech centers, trade schools, or junior colleges no longer extend a welcoming hand to felons and/or especially sex offenders?’

There you have it – as I said in another post no brick and mortar schools in our area will allow sex offenders. I do not know about other felons. No vocational skills school and no college. My son has been able to pursue a degree at an online college but meanwhile no job. To get any hands on skill you need a hands on experience. I am still waiting to hear whether the flea market will rent a table to him. I do think location has a lot to do with it. I have heard that some states will not allow a college or tech school to refuse SOs or felons. Fla doesn't give a crap

Thank you Buildingupslow for your encouragement to all of us. I understand Jackie and Advocate's point of view about not having a marketable skill set. I was a commercial driver and lost my certification. If i were to go back to tech school to get recertified; it would take 6-12 months. I would indeed have to take out loans. I do not have a very good support system in place to financially support myself for the length of the schooling(no wife,family support). Upon completion, i would indeed be facing an uphill battle finding employment compared to people with no felonies. For careers like Rew's which required license from the state like barber, cosmetology,insurance, nursing,etc.. requires approval from state boards.I would think denials to felons would be very high. Even taxi driver requires licensure in major cities. Not trying to be discouraging. Just my thoughts on obstacles.

Advocate2,

They want to destroy a young man's life with such a severe penalty and registration for such a non-serious, non-contact crime, THEN they want to fix it where he will never have a chance to pull himself out of the hole and better himself.

I plan on doing some research on this denying education to felons and sex offenders. I want to find out why they do this---if a law has been passed or if it is just a school policy or what.

This really, really disturbs me. I am a huge proponent of education, and denying an eduction to anyone, anywhere is just a terrible idea.

Thank you for your information.

rewdiazepam

That's where i am Advocate. Wondering if i can even set up at a flea market . I belief you would have to have a business license and collect sales tax even if you were allowed to set up on their property.You would have to report employment change to law enforcement. In my state they come to your business location and verify your employment and work hours. That would go over well with customers,vendors, and property owners.

On top of that, you have the state of the economy as a whole. The older folks are discriminated against, too. And it is not necessarily a matter of education. We have seen and heard of it over and over. My husband is not an SO or a felon, yet he applies over and over and over and typically does not even get any responses. A lot of companies won't do walk ins. You have to apply online which gives you no opportunity to sell yourself for even a trial period.

Add on top of that being a SO and it is even harder. I am not trying to discourage anyone. In our case, we keep looking to G-d and He does provide...not always as we like it, but we do have shelter, clothes and food. Times are hard and we all need to help one another in any way we can.

I agree that it is important not to give up! Keep doing what you can and exploring any avenue that might work. And that includes the advocacy we see happening to try and lighten the restrictions on SO's.

Deena

Jackiecook,

Is your son in or out of prison?


If he is in is there not some type of trades offered?

I know what you mean about the problems they ( SO) faces, but we really do not have much choice if we want to survive, we need some type of skill so we are in demand.


People on the gulf coast of Texas, the few that I know in that area work for the shipping container companies, some are pipe fitters for oil co,s and in Texas welders are still in demand.

I am not judging any one, just trying to give people a little hope that just because we are on the registry we do not have to lay down and die.


My best wishes to you and yours

buildingupslow

Thanks REW - I can tell you my son was arrested on a Thursday - I bailed him out and on Monday he received a call from the security office at his State college. When he went in they had his photo and arrest report from the week before. They asked him if that was him and he said yes and they said you are no longer allowed to be a student at this school - they told him if he was exonerated he could come back then. Florida law says SOs are allowed to attend higher education institutions but the institutions do not have to let them attend and so far we have not found any that will let him. I wrote a letter to a regionally accredited college that is online and based in WV and told them about my son and asked him if they would let him attend. I received a letter back saying they would be happy to let him continue his education with them.

douknowme40 - I found out that if you rent a table at a flea market and sell used items it is allowed the same as a garage sale. You do not need to collect tax or get a license. Now whether the flea market will allow it I do not know but I will let you know what happens.

My husband is in CA, which fortunately does allow college attendance. Now, he does have to check in EVERY day upon arrival and departure. He wants to do computer science but terms of parole do not allow access to the internet. His first PO was able to get approval for him to use campus computers for schoolwork (and they do check up on him); his new PO--- not so gung-ho to help; we'll see what happens.

He was finally offered a job at a gas station down the street, but it turned out to be for night security and he can't be out after 10 pm :(

ksteeler - sometimes they will change his curfew for work purposes but then they will have to make other hours his curfew