The Space Shuttle & Prisoner Reentry, By R.L. Pelshaw. What Can It Teach Us About Making A Break From Our Past?

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& News Concerning National and

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The Space Shuttle & 

Prisoner Reentry:

What Can It Teach Us About 

Making A Break From Our Past?

By R.L. Pelshaw - Guest Blogger 

Your strengths are found in your past, both good and bad. I'm not here to beat you up over what you did, or might even be doing now. I'm here to give you a practical path that you can follow to help you use your past to propel you to a new future, your destiny, a future where you have left your past behind you.

Take a moment and think about the Space Shuttle. Obviously, the Shuttle was not designed to stay on earth. It fulfills its destiny in the stars, not on the launch pad.

What is the biggest obstacle the Shuttle must overcome to get into space? It's not gravity but the weight of the fuel. The fuel weighs more than nineteen times what the Shuttle weighs. It’s ironic because the Shuttle needs the fuel to get into orbit, but the fuel is so heavy it becomes the biggest obstacle the Shuttle must overcome to blast into space. Breaking through the atmosphere into its destiny is the most difficult thing the Shuttle will ever do.

I promised to show you how to use your past to propel you to your destiny. Pretend you are the Space Shuttle. You're designed and destined to be high above where you are now, but you're stuck on earth. You're on the launch pad, ready for something to get you moving. You are yearning for something better, knowing you don't belong where you are now. You are unhappy that you can't get to where you want to be but you don’t know how to reach the stars.

As the Shuttle you have to use your fuel to blast off, but what is that fuel?

Your past, your life experience, is like the fuel in the Space Shuttle. If the fuel is properly used it can propel you into orbit, your destiny. If the fuel is improperly used it becomes dangerous, explosive, and can destroy the Shuttle. If the fuel is unused it weighs you down and keeps you stuck on the launch pad. Life on the launch pad is an unfilled life. On the launch pad you're never going anywhere, never changing, never doing anything differently, never improving, and never learning. All you are doing is wasting away and decaying while you ignore your destiny above you.

You must decide if you want to let your past weigh you down, destroy you, or propel you to your destiny among the stars. What will you decide? Are you willing to do what it takes to make it legitimately, so you can reach your destiny, the life you were meant to live? Once the Shuttle blasts off it cannot return to Earth until its mission is complete. A return mid-launch would be catastrophic for the Shuttle.

History gives us another example of the commitment required for success. Spanish explorer Hernan Cortez burned his ships when he reached the New World in the 1500s. You must have that level of commitment if you wish to reach your goal. Returning to the past should not be an option at all, no matter how hard it is to launch or break through to your destiny. Just as the Space Shuttle cannot return to earth mid-launch, and there were no ships for Cortez' men to return to Spain, there should be no chance of you ever returning to a life of crime. Close that door forever! This book will show you ways to start your own business so you don’t have to return to or continue crime to make a living.

[An excerpt from the book Illegal to Legal: 

Business Success for (ex) Criminals]

© 2014 by RL Pelshaw, used with permission.

RL Pelshaw is a successful real estate developer, consultant, public speaker, author, and former felon. He is the founder of the National Hire Ex-Felons Campaign, and is the author of "Illegal to Legal: Business Success for (ex) Criminals.”

 __________

Progressive Prison Project/

Innocent Spouse & Children Project

 

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org

(o) 203-769-1096

(m) 203-339-5887

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Lynn Springer, Founding Advocate, Innocent Spouse & Children Project
lspringer@prisonist.org

(203) 536-5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org
(203) 609-5088

Jim Gabal, Development
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(203) 858-2865

Babz Rawls Ivy, Media Contact
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DONATIONS

We are grateful for donations from individuals, religious groups, charities, foundations and the like. Donations can be made by credit card/PayPal, or by sending your check payable to: “Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.” P.O. Box 1232, Weston, Connecticut 06883. Progressive Prison Project/Innocent Spouse & Children Project are missions of Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. We are a CT Religious Corp. with 501c3 status - all donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Thank you for your support and generosity.

If transformation and redemption matter to you, a friend or a family member with a white-collar or nonviolent incarceration issue, please contact us and we will promptly send you an information package by mail, email or via Dropbox. The darkest days of a person's life can be a time of renewal and hope.

Ban The Box? What It Really Means For Job Applicants with a Criminal History, By R.L. Pelshaw - Guest Blogger

Prisonist.org: Blogs, Guest Blogs 

& News Concerning National and

International Criminal Justice Themes

Ban The Box?
What It Really Means For Job Applicants 

with a Criminal History

By R.L. Pelshaw - Guest Blogger 

I’m ashamed to say that as an employer, before becoming a felon, I refused to hire anyone with a criminal record, regardless what the position was. It’s amazing what serving a prison sentence does to your perspective!

President Obama recently announced a series of actions he is taking to reform criminal justice. This includes an Executive Order he is signing to “ban the box” on most federal job applications. In his announcement, President Obama states that someone who has paid their debt to society should have a chance to rebuild their lives. Yet we still have a society with almost 80% recidivism, and somewhere around 100 million Americans with a criminal record.

Recidivism is a crisis of gargantuan proportions. Over 89% of all people recidivating are unemployed when they are re-arrested.  Employers that refuse to hire felons could be contributing to higher crime and recidivism rates, when someone returns to crime if they cannot find a decent job or start their own business. Because many felons cannot find adequate work, and many more want to own their own business, I wrote the book “Illegal to Legal: Business Success for (ex) Criminals” to give the quick practical steps to starting a successful business. In prison, I learned that the same hustle that can get someone arrested could also give them a new life, if they know the way to go.

“Ban the box” means that the criminal history question is now being removed from federal job applications. That’s progress, but don’t celebrate yet. This is what that means to you, and you will agree, there is still a long way to go.

Employers can still ask about criminal history, it is just illegal now to include it on the job application for most federal jobs, as well as jobs in numerous states and cities. Employers will still ask about criminal history, and the job applicant needs to have a short and convincing answer prepared if they wish to be hired.

I can tell you from my own experience that reentry is harder to survive than serving time. Being able to make a legitimate living is one of the most important keys to successful reentry, and staying out of prison. Several groups nationally have pushed for “ban the box,” but we won’t see lasting impact on recidivism until one of two things happen. First, we must educate employers on the bottom-line benefits, and the free resources and protections available to them when they hire ex-felons. This doesn’t require a new agency, just citizens that are willing to talk to business owners and hiring managers about the benefits of hiring felons and the costs of not hiring them.

Second, we need to provide a means to help ex-felons start their own businesses. A criminal history doesn’t stop someone from starting his or her own business. New businesses would greatly help our economy, strengthen our nation, and keep many felons from recidivating.  Felon-owned business could provide jobs to other felons, and really show society that we are productive human beings with a lot to offer.

While banning the box helps, all it does is push back when in the hiring process when an employer will ask about criminal history. Ban the Box will help if the applicant uses it as an opportunity to sell themselves strongly enough for that employer to hire them despite having a criminal past.

RL Pelshaw is a successful real estate developer, consultant, public speaker, author, and former felon.  He is the founder of the National Hire Ex-Felons Campaign, and is the author of "Illegal to Legal: Business Success for (ex) Criminals.”

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Comments From Social Media:

Alba Johnson.
"This article is right on point. I rehabilitated offenders for half of my career and placed many in jobs. Some were even convicted murderers. This was a challenge that most don't want to take on. Ex-offenders will tell you that they feel discriminated against and eventually give up trying. It is important for them to learn the skill of "how to answer the criminal background question and still land the job". It's equally important to educate employers on the many tax credits available for hiring ex-offenders, as well as the federal bonding programs that protect the employers' interests when hiring high risk job candidates. The most difficult to place, in my opinion, are registered sex offenders. Thank you for all the awareness you provide regarding this subject." 

Nancy Mattox."As a CEO for 25 years at a financial institution, I had more than my fair share of potential employee that were great people and could not be hired because of the BOX! I agree the box should be banned....... Wishing it would help. It is a start. The price SHOULD be forever! "

Todd Glassey."Release processes also change from State to State and that is something likely that the Feds need to set a standard for (much to the State's chagrin no doubt although they could head the Feds off if they did a NCSL thingee and implemented a cross Governor's committee agreement from the States as a whole here)." 

Thomas Hicks (I0K Plus). "As a paralegal in CT, I have worked with many people coming out of prison and many have been told the exact opposite by parole and probation officers. Maybe Mr. Semple needs to check the procedures of those departments. Too many come out with every parole restriction option checked regardless of whether it related to their crimes or not which essentially hamstrings them when it comes to employment and other opportunities." 

Willy The Master Builder. "BTW - Many innocent people are made to plea Just Because - too much power and abuse" 

__________ 

 

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org

(o) 203-769-1096

(m) 203-339-5887

Twitter
Facebook
Linked In
Pinterest
Google+ Tumblr

Lynn Springer, Founding Advocate, Innocent Spouse & Children Project
lspringer@prisonist.org

(203) 536-5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org
(203) 609-5088

Jim Gabal, Development
jgabal@prisonist.org
(203) 858-2865

Babz Rawls Ivy, Media Contact
mediababz@gmail.com
(203) 645-9278   

DONATIONS

We are grateful for donations from individuals, religious groups, charities, foundations and the like. Donations can be made by credit card/PayPal or by sending your check payable to: “Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.” P.O. Box 1232, Weston, Connecticut 06883. Progressive Prison Project/Innocent Spouse & Children Project are missions of Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. We are a CT Religious Corp. with 501c3 status - all donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Thank you for your support and generosity.

If transformation and redemption matter to you, a friend or a family member with a white-collar or nonviolent incarceration issue, please contact us and we will promptly send you an information package by mail, email or via Dropbox. The darkest days of a person's life can be a time of renewal and hope.