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To: Clergy &and religious, Catholic Charities staff, parish/mission staff, bulletin editors, parish ministry coordinators, social action ministers, Hispanic ministers
From: Jayna Hoffacker, associate director of Justice and Peace Ministries
Included with this memo is a flyer to use for promotion in your parish communications.
As many as one in three adults in the United States have a criminal record. Millions of Georgians have arrests on their records that never resulted in a conviction or misdemeanors for which a sentence has long been served. These records can prevent many from accessing essential services like housing as well as have an impact on their ability to find employment.
Expungement or record restriction can seal these records and free people from the stigma of having a criminal record show up in a background check for employment.
As part of our ongoing efforts to promote restorative justice, the Archdiocese of Atlanta is partnering with the Multifaith Initiative to End Mass Incarceration to offer an Expungement Training workshop for anyone interested in hosting an expungement event in their parish or community. We will be joined by Reverend John Vaughn, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, and Rabbi Lydia Medwin, director of Congregational Engagement & Outreach at The Temple, who have both offered these events in their communities to great success. Click here to learn more about their expungement events.
The Expungement Training workshop will be held on Monday, December 6, at 7 p.m. at the archdiocesan Chancery, located at 2401 Lake Park Drive SE, Smyrna, Georgia 30080. Masks are required in the building.
For questions or more information, please contact me at jhoffacker@archatl.com or 404-920-7898.