Over the past couple of weeks, I have joined many others the world over to follow the accomplishments of all the Olympians in Beijing, China. I am forever awed by our capacity as human beings to excel beyond all expectations and past performances. We are not static beings — that much is clear. Human beings are capable of tremendous change and renewal. Is it not possible, then, to apply the same principles in everyday situations, to break through other kinds of boundaries?

Six thousand miles away athletes sprinted, swam, and excelled into the history books, while here at home there were quiet, less celebrated, changes taking place in people all around us, no less stunning and no less triumphant. Such is the case of Sharon: a woman who, when provided the resources to claim victory over her fiercest challengers — drug addiction and felony stigmatization — triumphed.

While Michael Phelps' name was becoming a household word, I had the sheer joy of attending Sharon's graduation ceremony at which she received a degree in radiology technology. I have known Sharon for nearly a decade, and looking at her today, it is hard to believe that she was once a desperate drug addict with no vision of a future for herself or hope of unification with her three children.

From her teen-age years, marred with drug addiction and mired by 10 years in the revolving door of the criminal justice system for consecutive convictions for possession and prostitution, Sharon's former life was a startling contrast to the broad smile that comes so easily for her today.

What I am trying to convey is the heavy lifting that Sharon had to perform to retrieve her life from the brink. In her testimony during "When Mercy Seasons Justice" educational programs for PCG, she recounts in vivid detail her feelings of isolation and degradation caused by familial estrangement and homelessness. Sleeping in hallways and abandoned buildings was common for her, though hard to imagine for most.

Now she thanks God for leading her to organizations that offered cognitive interventions that engendered work ethics, conflict resolution techniques, and life skills training. She also affirms the work of advocates, including PCG, to reform professional licensure regulations and procedures in order to create new opportunities for ex-offenders. For her part, she credits herself with little more than knowing she couldn't continue in her addiction because the next marker in her life would likely be a "toe tag in the city morgue." But it was her strength of determination and trust in God that kept her going in the face of adversity.

After leaving prison she met and married the love of her life and reunited her children under one roof. Despite this personal success, training facility after training facility denied her entry into programs intended to lead students to lucrative job opportunities, citing her felony convictions as probable bars to employment in professional occupations. Such rejections are typical for ex-offenders, like Sharon. Our society demands that persons with criminal convictions "pay their debt to society," as well they should. Unfortunately, individuals released from prison pay over and over as the very systems designed to facilitate their re-entry into communities often, in fact, deny them training and gainful employment.

After many denials, Sharon was finally accepted into a training program, and she did well, as evidenced by high marks from her supervisors. But, again, there was little opportunity for her advancement. Her felony record kept her languishing at $10.00 per hour while other less-experienced workers were encouraged to participate in upwardly mobile programs. But Sharon refused to give up. Now she has become an inspiration for thousands — approximately 300,000 — of drug users and addicts living and suffering in the Chicago area.

As we observe Labor Day this week-end, I hope that you'll celebrate Sharon's graduation, but I also want you to know that some workers — especially those ex-offenders trying to re-enter society — face daunting barriers to employment and self-sufficiency. With personal determination, support of advocates, and changes in training and licensure procedures, others like Sharon not only can get living-wage jobs but also make a positive contribution to their families and the common good. That's why PCG continues to work for criminal justice reforms at both the federal and state levels. In Illinois, we are working on administrative changes to professional licensing procedures as well as funding of education and treatment services for those caught in the cycle of drug use and drug-related crimes.

With her diploma, Sharon has a new opportunity to join the millions of workers who fuel and sustain our nation's economy through their hard work, innovative ideas, and commitment to excellence. She has more challenges ahead — not the least of which is obtaining a license to be a radiology technician — but, like the athletes in Beijing, she has already accomplished the unexpected, the unimaginable even.

As I sat in the auditorium, proud to know someone of her strength and character, I saw Sharon, in my mind's eye, with those athletes and them with her, all one and the same. Pure gold!

Walter L. Boyd
Director of Ex-Offender Opportunities

Rev. Alexander Sharp,
Executive Director