A new criminal record suspension program in B.C. has its eyes set on helping the many people formerly incarcerated who struggle to find jobs, homes and reintegrate back into society.
Mark Medgyesi is the executive director of John Howard Society of B.C. and said this new program鈥檚 goal is to reduce the barriers that former criminals have to face.
鈥淧eople who are formerly incarcerated face a lot of barriers to 鈥� participating successfully in their communities,鈥� Medgyesi said.
鈥淥nly about half of them are employed and even after after 15 years they they face barriers to housing, they face barriers to getting loans and financing, they face barriers, volunteering, all of these things.鈥�
Applying for a pardon or a record suspension typically involves dealing with different courts and different jurisdictions, s well as filling out a lot of complicated forms.
With this program, the John Howard Society of B.C. will be looking to help people along this process鈥� free of charge.
Medgyesi said that those interested do have to apply to be a part of the society鈥檚 program.
鈥淚n order for someone to be eligible to even apply, they have to have completed any and all of their sentencing conditions associated with any offense, and that includes paying all fines,鈥� Medgyesi said.
鈥淚t also involves, depending on when your first offense occurred, waiting at least three, five, or as much as, ten years after completing those requirements.鈥�
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The program is funded by Public Safety Canada. Programs like this exist in other John Howard Society branches, and in February 2022, federal government put out a call for proposals to implement more of these types of record suspension programs.
Despite just launching the program May 1, Medgyesi is noticing a strong uptick in clients since the program鈥檚 inception.
鈥淚t鈥檚 of course in the early days, but we鈥檙e seeing instead of one a week, we鈥檙e now seeing three to five a week. And we鈥檙e expecting that to be upwards of 100 to 150 clients per region by the time the program is is fully known.鈥�
Medgyesi鈥檚 current goal is expansion and outreach; he wants everyone to know about the benefits of this program.
The John Howard Society of B.C. is also looking for partnerships with office spaces throughout the province to better access for their clients.
