REFORM Alliance Brooklyn Job Fair Event
The inaugural Brooklyn Job Fair at the Barclays Center was not only a significant milestone in cementing CJEI’s commitment to serving NYS justice-impacted residents, but also a momentous event for the communities of NYC. It served as a critical platform for community building, economic empowerment, and criminal justice reform. With over 5,000 job seekers in attendance, the event provided an unprecedented opportunity for individuals and communities impacted by the criminal justice system to connect with local employers, national corporations, non-profit service providers, and advocacy groups coming together to increase access to economic opportunities.
While the focus of the job fair was to be a source of support for returning citizens, the importance of community building and solidarity was underscored by bringing together individuals from various backgrounds including, currently unemployed individuals, single parents, veterans, and members of poverty alleviation and workforce development programs.
Moreover, the job fair took additional steps to ensure that it had a direct impact on economic empowerment by offering free career development resources and job readiness support to all attendees. The resources provided, such as record sealing education, professional attire advice, barber and makeup services, and resume-building resources, were invaluable to job seekers who without these resources face a myriad of additional barriers in securing employment.
At the job fair, CJEI served as the connective thread amongst the stakeholders in attendance: job-seekers, employers, service providers, and policy makers. We functioned not only as an employer conducting live interviews and collecting resumes, but also as a resource provider for job seekers. Our services included education on record sealing, correction, and expungement, legal education and best practices for employers, and resume support. Furthermore, we collaborated on-site with other non-profit organizations to support justice impacted job seekers and programmatic efforts related to employment in NYC.
The Brooklyn Job Fair served as an eye-opening experience for me. It provided an opportunity for justice-impacted individuals to share their stories and difficulties with navigating the labor market with a criminal record. At our booth, we witnessed firsthand the impact that a criminal record can have on not just the individual, but on their entire family.
One common issue that arose was the ignorance of the law and helplessness in the face of seemingly ubiquitous and hidden systemic barriers to successful reintegration as a citizen. We also encountered non-profit providers who lacked access to resources to aid in advocating for their clients. As the day progressed, we received referrals from service providers, urging other job fair attendees to sign up for our restorative record program after learning that adverse action had been taken during the background checking process. We also spoke with individuals who were in the midst of losing their jobs because of their records or had failed to land a single interview after their background check had been completed.
Despite the challenges, the Brooklyn Job Fair was also a source of hope and inspiration. It was heartening to see the amount of activism present, with aspiring law students, criminal justice advocates, community organizers, and public policy majors expressing interest in working with CJEI and giving back to the community at the grassroots and legislative level.
The larger question that arose from this event was how we can leverage the insights gained to create systemic, sustainable change. How can we bring together policy change, best practices, data on the benefits of hiring justice-impacted and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, technology that removes and combats systemic barriers, and reform in a cohesive manner? The answer to this question remains elusive, but it is clear that activations around a common cause are possible. The ability to add a justice-centered element to the plan to economically revitalize the communities of New York City shows another depth of commitment from the state, and what is possible when the private sector, philanthropy, technologists, government, and academia unite under a common mission.
While the number of total attendees who visited our booth is hard to quantify exactly, 129 people signed up to enroll in our Restorative Record project, receive follow up employment material, or participate in research at CJEI. We also received 41 applications for the Law & Policy Associate position along with requests from three community partners who service justice-involved youth to serve as a Worksite for the 2023 Summer Youth Employment Program.