Commissioner Mack Bernard, Florida Justice Center Invite Public to Second Chance Event in Riviera Beach

Commissioner Mack Bernard, Florida Justice Center Invite Public to Second Chance Event in Riviera Beach

Palm Beach County Commissioner, legal aid organization, and community groups team up to empower people living with arrest records and connect them to resources.

Riviera Beach, FL (June 23, 2022) –

The unemployment rate among formerly incarcerated people is higher than that of the Great Depression.[1] Upon release, if that individual can find a job, they will make less than half of someone without a conviction.[2] To help address these income disparities and other social issues that affect quality of life, Florida Justice Center has partnered with Palm Beach County Commissioner Mack Bernard, Cresco Labs, and dozens of community groups and lawyers to host a free Second Chance Event in Riviera Beach.

The public is invited to meet with attorneys and a variety of nonprofit organizations that are all dedicated to empowering people with arrest records to have increased opportunities for jobs, housing, healthcare, and civil rights. As part of their ongoing commitment to racial justice, Cresco Labs will be paying all costs for sealing and expunging arrest records for those who are unable to afford them.

This event, the first in the Summer of Social Justice, will take place on July 9, 2022, from 10am to 4pm at the newly opened Richard and Annie Brooks Community Center located at 594 W 4th St, Riviera Beach, FL  33404.

“After the last event we hosted in Belle Glade drew over 150 people, it became clear there is a strong demand for these services in Palm Beach County. We chose Riviera Beach due to numerous requests from the community,” explained Florida Justice Center Executive Director Jonathan Bleiweiss.

Florida Justice Center, Florida’s only legal aid focusing on rights restoration services, will be providing sealing and expungement, voting rights restoration, driver license reinstatement, clemency, early termination of probation, and outstanding warrant assistance. Community groups such as Gulfstream Goodwill, Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, Palm Beach County Reentry Division, Re-Entry One, Health Council of Southeast Florida, League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County, Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, and Florida Rural Legal Services will assist attendees with voting registration, immigration, housing, family law issues, employment training and placement, health care, and other reentry services.

“Our industry is inextricably linked to generations of that same racism and inequity through the disparate application of drug laws in communities of color, and we have a responsibility to demand justice. We will use our platform and resources to achieve justice and equality through restorative initiatives, and to build tangible pathways to a diverse and inclusive industry through investment, education and legislative initiatives,” said Cresco Labs in a statement.

For more information or to pre-register for assistance, visit FLJC.org/Riviera

[1] https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/outofwork.html
[2] https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/conviction-imprisonment-and-lost-earnings-how-involvement-criminal