One in three Americans has a criminal record of some kind. Tens of millions have felony convictions and tens of millions more have recorded misdemeanor or summary offenses. More still have criminal records that include nonconviction data; charges which were dropped, dismissed, withdrawn, nolle prossed, or for which the individual was found not guilty. Although many of these Americans are eligible for “second chance services,” most of the eligible recipients have not received the relief they are entitled to. Their criminal records will continue to follow them, restricting their access to jobs, housing, higher education, loans and even health care.

Research by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells us that social determinants including employment, income, housing, and social inclusion are strong predictors of a person’s health. Justice involvement, including criminal records, has a profound impact on each of those determinants. A record disrupts or even eliminates access to resources that support a healthy life in a number of ways, perhaps most devastatingly by limiting a person’s access to stable employment that offers health insurance, but even as simply as causing a person to be authority avoidant, including medical authorities such as doctors and nurses. It has caused a public health crisis in our community. We are trying to change that.

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