RETURNING CITIZENS MANIFESTO

Philadelphia's Ex-Offender Expo: The Good, The Bad and The Very, Very Ugly

By Thomas Ford

August 2, 2013

 

I attended Philadelphia’s Citywide Ex-Offender Expo at the Pennsylvania Convention Center this past Tuesday July 30, 2013 and here are my observations as to what occurred during this event.  This was Mayor Michael Nutter’s second chance to host this year’s Citywide Career Fair after the May 17^th event that nearly caused a riot in front of the city’s municipal building.   

At the first Fair, the police were called in and city officials closed the doors to approximately 5,000 returning citizens who showed up ready to seek employment.  Most of us from the convicted citizens’ community support the idea of folks receiving a second chance so we were willing to let bygones be bygones and see what Mayor Nutter would offer this time around.

  



 

Wali Smith, NAACP and Thomas Ford, EXIT-US at Philadelphia's Ex-Offender Expo

Photo Credit: Baba Bob Shipman

 

The first major decision Mayor Nutter made following his failure in May was to put William Hart, Director of Philadelphia's Office of Re-Integration Services for Ex-Offenders (R.I.S.E.) in charge of organizing and hosting the sequel event. 

The GOOD: Since the Expo took place at the city’s largest venue no one was turned away, contrary to what was written on RISE’s official website pertaining to mandatory pre-registration.  “3,200 prospective employees pre-registered”, according to LaMonte Williams of RISE, “and hundreds more were lining up at the door for on-site registration”. read  According to RISE Director Hart, less than ten business reps were available at the first Career Fair at the municipal building. 

 

While at the Expo, I counted 35-40 businesses that were onsite and actually accepting resumes or directing attendees to visit their websites to complete online applications. RISE’s outreach efforts to bring in reps from the Community College of Philadelphia and a much larger number of viable employment opportunities should be applauded.  RISE should also be commended for providing outreach opportunities for grassroots organizations such as Brothers Keepers ‘Hope’ Improvement, The Center for Returning Citizens, Gateway to Re-entry and the Public Safety Initiative’s Youth Entrepreneurship Program.   

 

          Philadelphia's Ex-Offender Expo, July 30, 2013

                          Photo Credit: Cherri Gregg

 

The BAD: Marketing this event as an Expo instead of a Career Fair drained resources and focus away from the original emphasis of actually getting returning citizens in Philadelphia employed.  To best serve the variety of needs of returning citizens, perhaps there should have been two events.  One event providing job readiness workshops and other supportive services and a second event to focus on actually getting “job ready” returning citizens employed.   

The outcome of combining these two foci in an Ex-Offender Expo caused minimal participation in the onsite support workshops and an overwhelming onslaught on the job providers.  The Expungement/Pardon Workshop was well received; however, attendance in the four remaining workshops was disappointing.   

 

Also, the Expo was far too political with too many shoulder slapping photo ops among those in attendance that see reentry as a parasitic business.  The fakers and shakers who treat returning citizens as a commodity to advance their bottom line were there in droves pushing their wares onto an unsuspecting audience.  The exhibition tables were interspersed in a large ballroom mixing services and job vendors together allowing the numbers of viable businesses that were actually hiring to be inflated.  It was disappointing that many company reps would not accept written applications and required attendees to go through the online application process.

What was even more disturbing were the companies onsite that were NOT hiring, telling attendees that they were there to provide “information”.  Really!  You come representing your company at a function geared toward providing folks employment opportunities, and you are not hiring?

 

The VERY, VERY UGLY: I was surprised not to see any city council members onsite to support this event which is concerning since the throngs of folks in attendance live in their districts.  When I visited City Council President, Darrell Clark’s Office a week and a half prior to the Expo, Clark's staff had not been contacted by RISE informing them of the date for the upcoming event.  Many city council members are stalwart supporters of returning citizens and they should have been included in this "citywide" affair. 

Mayor Nutter’s inability to forge collaborative relationships with folks outside of his office is a consistent character flaw of his administration. Of course, establishing these relationships go both ways.  However, if the Mayor wants to continue to hog the spotlight to take credit for all the improvements occurring in Philadelphia he must also accept responsibility for his lack of leadership when the city experiences setbacks.