Chelsea mentions that on top of dealing with mental health issues deriving from incarceration, it is extremely difficult to accept rejection over and over again. Finding a job can help people's mental health and help them feel like a valuable part of society. With the help of Honest Jobs, Chelsea can focus on her future and pursue her dreams.
Hear her story in the video below:
Interview Transcript:
What experience did you have with the criminal justice system?
Chelsea: “I did spend a day and a half incarcerated. It's an assault charge. I felt very vulnerable and I felt very unsafe. I'm just doing my best to see the light, it is just hard this time. I was really having a hard time trying to just stay sane. I was having a hard time just trying to be okay."
What was your experience looking for a job before you found Honest Jobs?
Chelsea: “I would get the offer, then they'll run my background check and then I couldn’t get the job. I was looking for employment for maybe like two, three months. Honest Jobs was a hit in the first month or so."
Tell us about your new job!
Chelsea: “I’m just grateful that MOD Pizza hired me. I believe I get paid between $10 and $11. Overall the job is great. You stay busy, you stay on your feet, you make good money, and you talk to good people every day."
What are your career goals?
Chelsea: “I am trying to start a professional career as a vet tech and I can't have something like that on my record. I'm not gonna be able to do anything with it. I can't get certified, I can't do anything. So I'm really working on trying to get that totally expunged off my record. I want to dismiss that. I want I to be expunged because I'm branching off into a career where I'm gonna have to fight 20 times harder just to be taken seriously. I have to work with what I have."
Would you recommend Honest Jobs to other formerly incarcerated job seekers?
Chelsea: “Absolutely, if you're having issues trying to find a job and you have a record or something, get on Honest Jobs. You're going to get a response from somebody, right? Somebody's gonna reply to you, somebody's going to see that. You know what I'm saying? You're not gonna get looked past or looked over.”
Do you have a message to employers?
Chelsea: “I do have something on my record, but that does not define the person I am. Take it easy on people. Just trying to find a job and keeping your mental health together is enough, and that's the bare minimum of it. And I'm speaking for everybody that wants to change their lives. Be considerate. Please be considerate. It is extremely hard out here for everybody."