:confused: :confused:

I have been convicted of a felony 15 years ago. I served 4 & 1/2 years and 2 yrs on probation. I have been out of prison for 10 years now and I am still reminded that I am just another criminal. I try to do whats right and get good jobs. I am now jobless because of my back ground. I went to school while I was there and received my g.e.d. and an ass. degree in social sceince. I cant use it because no one will hire me because I am a felony. What was the use in trying to better myself if I cant use any of it. I have not been in any trouble in 10 yrs. I keep those away from me who are not about the right thing. I have been fighting this battle to long and I am getting weak, I dont have the strength to fight this battle any more. If any one who has been in my shoes is out hter and can offer any good advice please do. I need it.

thanks
sparks126
:(

Sparks126...i'm not in your shoes but i can understand. I'm in Alabama and here on job applications and things they only ask if you've been convicted of a felony in the past 7 years...maybe you should start leaving out the fact that you are and X felon

Good luck

I've never been in prison, but I've known a whole lot of people, including family members who have been. Also, being in recovery from substances, I see a similarity in what I've faced in recovery. There are those times when we're trying to live a different life when it feels like there's no use going on trying, but it's those old habits of thinking that are cropping up. It's that part of ourselves that wants us to quit trying and go back to what seems easier. I find that it helps me to think it all the way through. If I do that, then I think it through to the really bad part, and I realize that I don't want to do that again. For me it's called "oh poor me, pour me another one". I get to feeling sorry for myself instead of thinking of the blessings in what I DO have rather than imagining what I don't have that I think I deserve.

We don't tear ourselves down in a day------we do it over years and years of faulty thinking and behavior. Therefore we're not going to dig ourselves out overnight. And for anyone, whether they're in recovery or have been in prison or not, success takes a lifetime, not just a few years, of hard work. The years we spend doing the non-constructive things will set us back in how long it takes us to get to the "good stuff", too.

I hope this gives you food for thought. You're really doing the amazing thing in having stayed out for ten years, and I'll pray you can get past this and keep going.

Thanks for the words of wisdom!!!! Its hard to keep going but I have done it for all these years. This time it is different. I feel like I wiegh a ton and I just dont have the strength to go on any more. I have fought to get the things I do have and now I may loose that. I will try to go on but how I dont know. I have never felt like a criminal untill now and I hate that feeling and I am having a hard time coping

Why don't you check into getting your record expunged. If they did a background check after this was don't your record whould not show up. Also, as Denise mentioned you don't have to disclose any felonies that happened past the time given on any application. You might also try letters of recommendation along with your cover letter/resume.

Letters of recommendation from employers you've done a good job for would be good. It might be of some consolation to you that even people with advanced degrees can't get jobs anymore and certainly not that are commensurate with their degrees. A college professor I know of who has a doctorate was supplementing his pay with working in a restaurant because he couldn't get a full time teaching position.

When I had only been sober about three years, I couldn't get good jobs, when I could get one at all. Alcoholics are not first in line for the good jobs, either. I finally got one sitting with a woman's husband who had had a stroke. He was fairly self-sufficient but needed some help in and out of the shower and liked to have meals cooked and served to him. She had to work to support both of them. They just lived in one half of a small duplex. Sitting and listening to my hair grow got very boring, so I decided to find some things to do to make time go faster. I started doing cleaning above what she had asked me to do. I even ended up taking things down off the wall and cleaning them, doing her laundry, watering outdoor plants----she was really pleased, of course. Then when I ran out of anything else I could clean indoors, I asked her to leave me a list of anything she could think of that she'd like me to do. I scrubbed their deck one day, among other things. She felt really bad that she couldn't offer me any more pay or more hours but I told her I understood that and was just giving her good value for her money and keeping myself busy. And you know, just doing that one thing was the key to my going on to getting some really, really good jobs and eventually to owning my own business with $85,000 a year income within the next five years. She gave me such a glowing reference that I was able not only to get a next job with more hours and better pay, but it also taught me what going the extra mile will get you and that spurred me on to do the same with the next job and the next and to going the extra mile for my clients once I had my own business. And might I add here----I just HATE housework! LOL

I am worried about the same thing happening to my husband when he gets out. The same fears and feelings of inadequacy............Is there anything, in your opinion, since you are going through it right now, that I will be able to do to help him? I want to help him feel strong and capable, because he is, but I have a feeling from everything that I have read here, that it will be a long, hard road for him--and for us.

Good luck to you, as well. DON"T give up--in the words of The Monkee's, "Tomorrow's gonna be another day......."

As an ex-offender - felony - and recently released as well, I can tell you that jobs are hard to find. I didn't go that route I went into business for myself. There are alot of avenues you can explore - on line auctions, woodworking, handman, etc...do what you love and provide excellent customer service, treat everyone like you would want to be treated - not the way they treat you :) - and eventually you will break down the walls. I am very up front about my crime and being in prison and there are some people that back away, but many have given me the benefit of the doubt and supported me - Don't give up - that would be such a shame after all this time. May God Bless and keep you through this hard road.

Thanks for all the suport!!!! I am statring to feel better. I have a long way to go but I am getting there. I am sure ther will be other times I feel low but I have all of you in my life now for the suport I need to get through it. A BIG THANKS to all of you.
sparks126