View the announcementThe DC Public Defender Service is hosting its Fifth Annual Community Reentry and Expungement Summit on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /?>Walter E. Washington Convention Center located at 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW. The summit is designed to aid ex-offenders in the following areas:
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Learn how to succeed with a criminal record;
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Understand whether or not they are eligible to have their criminal records sealed under the Record Sealing Act of 2006; and
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Provide useful information concerning issues relating to their respective employment, housing, education, and heath care situations.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>
As you may know, there are an estimated 2,500 men and women who return to the District of Columbia from the US Bureau of Prisons and the DC Jail each year. The majority of them will need supportive assistance as they try to rebuild productive lives for themselves in this community. In this regard, our summit will feature more than 50 community-based providers who routinely offer services to DC residents in need of assistance in the three critical areas mentioned above. Most importantly, the goal of the summit is to service as many as 1,000 persons during the summit, which is free of charge.
In addition, legal and social service providers will pass out information and some of those providers will offer private consultations with ex-offenders and their family members. Lawyers and supervised law clerks will be available on-site to educate people about their eligibility to seal their respective criminal records under the relatively new law. A series of workshops will be featured throughout the day, including the following topics:
Criminal Records & Employment:
What You Need To Know About Your Rap Sheet And Your Right To A Job in DC
Parole/Supervised Release:
Locked Up on the Outside – Community Supervision In The District Of Columbia
The Noble Act:
How The New Law Affects Your Street Time While On Parole And Supervised Release
Financial Basics For A Successful Reentry:
Affordable Housing, Money Management, And Understanding Credit.
Women & Reentry:
How To Overcome Challenges Facing Women Returning Home From Prison
Child Support:
How To Stop Payments During Unemployment And Incarceration In Order To Avoid Jail Time
How To Start Your Own Business With Limited Cash:
Information You Need To Succeed As An Entrepreneur
How To Increase Your Chances Of Receiving A Federal Pardon:
Come Learn More About The Pardon Process
Housing:
How To Apply For And Maintain Affordable Housing
These are difficult economic times and the summit offers a meaningful opportunity for an appreciable number of ex-offenders to be substantially assisted with the task of meeting their respective challenges to repair and rebuild their lives in this community.