WRITE THIS DOWN AND MEMORIZE

THERE ARE NO LIMITATIONS ON VOTING FOR EX-FELONS IN THE STATE OF OHIO!!!

Are you in jail? No? Then register. I had two clients at the previously mentioned coat giveaway telling me they weren't allowed to vote because of previous felonies. I don't know where this is coming from, but it is the worst kind of disenfranchising malarkey. The fact that I found these people a week after a major election was like an extra heaping of compost on a garbage sandwich.

Once you leave prison, you can vote in Ohio. End of story. Please take advantage of that, not every state is as progressive as Ohio on this subject.

Prison!

So every month we go to North Central Correctional, a medium security facility in Marion. I've found that some of our most successful trips are reentry events. "Successful" meaning that there are a ton of people eligible for benefits who aren't getting them. Then we sign them up.

This is not really a good kind of successful. I'm glad we can fill the gap when someone isn't receiving something they may be entitled to. That's kind of our reason for being. But wouldn't it be better if these people had benefits as soon as they got out of lockup? Sure, we wouldn't get credit, but these people would have food security and that's more important.

So we meet with inmates getting out in the next 60 days and let them know that they could be eligible as soon as they get out. They can go to Jobs and Family Services, they can go to an OBB site. It's all good. Just get food security.

Erin and I used to be in the yard, now we're in the block. Prison slang! I prefer the block since it gives you an idea of what an inmate's life is really like. Doesn't look fun. A good reminder for me to not misappropriate van funding.

But my personal highlight came when we were leaving. An inmate walking to the common area asked what we were doing there.

"Oh, you know, we're just talking to people who are getting out soon and letting them know about food assistance, other benefits, stuff like that."

The priceless response:

"Oh! The Ohio Benefit Bank! On High and Gay, right? You did my taxes last year. You guys are great!"

Thanks! I think we're great too!

I hope he signs up for benefits with us when he gets out.

The Van Done Got Frozen

As you know from religiously reading this blog, the Mobile Express has been in park since December 22. Second Harvest employees has Christmas and New Years off and our trip on January 7th got canceled due to inclement weather. So, I was ready to be back on the road on January 13 for a trip to North Central Correctional in Marion. This wasn't our first trip to these facilities, so we knew the rules. No money, no cell phones, and, alas, no weapons or drugs.

We were especially excited for this trip because we were going to have a special guest. Melissa Lindsay, an attorney with the Ohio Poverty Law Center was going to watch us talk about the Benefit Bank and tell soon to be released inmates that her organization could help with any problems obtaining the benefits they were entitled to.

So I had everything ready to go. Everything except the van. The Mobile Express, with its weeks of inactivity, turned into a vancicle. According to the dash, the van's battery froze out sometime on January 10.

Ugh.

Thankfully the van has something called a "battery booster" and after half an hour of blasting the defrost and wiping ice off of our wiper blades, we were ready to go. We spoke to over 50 inmates and hopefully helped one of the neediest demographics in Ohio.

So, yeah. The van is back.

If You're Getting Out of Jail, Apply For Food Stamps!

I've been to three events recently that have targeted released and soon-to-be released felons who are eligible for benefits. Erin and I spent an entire day in Circleville where parole officers walked their wards over to the Mobile Express to have their eligibility checked. Jerry and I did the same in Sidney. And Erin and I, with a VISTA volunteer (thanks, Zach!) made another trip to Marion to help prisoners who were to be released to the general public in the next thirty days.

The trip to Marion clearly illustrated that many convicted criminals don't have jobs lined up for when they are released. And the trips to Sidney and Circleville hammered that point home. Unemployment remains a huge problem here in the Buckeye State. Being convicted of a felony greatly exacerbates that. Work is hard to find, and unemployment can lead to recidivism.

So why don't any of the ex-offenders we see have food stamps!?

There may be no greater population in need of public assistance and yet this is the population most likely to be eligible for something they're not taking advantage of. It's a problem. Hopefully, our trips to prisons will give these soon-to-be released inmates a jump start on receiving the benefits that can help provide for a second chance.

The Mobile Express Makes Its First Trip to Prison

Did you know that taking a van into a prison yard requires lots of precautions? It's true! We weren't allowed to carry cell phones. Or money. Or any sharp objects. And you need to protect the van steering wheel with The Club. And we can't have our keys, those go to the prison guard in charge of supervising us.

Of course, when you're with sixty prisoners who are scheduled to be released in the next thirty days, all of the precautions are worth it.

A big thank you to Marion Correctional Institution for reaching out to us so we can help dozens of their soon to be released inmates integrate into general society. By starting the process of applying for food stamps, these inmates are one step ahead of the game!

The incarcerated are another demographic that can greatly benefit from using the Benefit Bank. Many prisons also double as Benefit Bank sites and we're always happy to help prisoners and their family members get the help that they need. This may have been the first event in a prison, but we suspect there will be many more valuable events within prison walls in the near future.