Think about the worst thing you’ve ever done in your life. Now, imagine having to walk around with a sign on your back broadcasting that mistake. Would you still have the job, the life, and the family you have now? This is what we’re doing to people who have served time and are trying to turn their lives around. We’re slapping them with scarlet letters and putting up barriers to their employment and future livelihood. That’s why I’m supporting the proposed reforms to barrier crimes laws presented in the General Assembly this year. These changes would break down barriers to employment for qualified and recovered individuals with past substance use convictions. It is crucial to allow these individuals to get jobs where they can use their lived experiences to help others dealing with addiction and mental health issues.
I grew up in a family where drug distribution was a way of life, and I learned early on that we were very poor, and it provided us with the necessary funds for survival. When I was 21, injuries I sustained after a car wreck led me on a road to opioid abuse. This marked the start of a 16-year journey into addiction, including the use and sale of drugs. At one point my addiction led me into such a deep depression that I was hospitalized for suicidal thoughts. I was in such a dark place that I would abuse any drug that I could find. I started to have encounters with law enforcement, and I was incarcerated on three different occasions. My last incarceration I served five years, getting out in March of 2017.
While incarcerated, I found Jesus and decided to let him be a part of my life. My life changed, and I became a new creation in Christ. I knew I had to change my thoughts and actions. While incarcerated I took advantage of all the classes that were provided by the Department of Corrections, and they truly transformed my mindset and belief in myself and Christ. I was able to get a job nine days after my release, and I worked hard, humbling myself and thanking God for this second opportunity in life. In 2019, I became a certified peer recovery specialist in both Tennessee and Virginia. By sharing my testimony, I have been able to spread hope to others and help get them set on a path of successful recovery.
We are called to change, and to forgive past sins. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new,” Corinthians teaches us. I am a new creation. I am now over 12 years in recovery and seven years post incarceration. Today, I am the director of marketing and outreach covering Southwest Virginia for SaVida Health, a medication assisted recovery organization. If it wasn’t for organizations like SaVida Health, my sustained recovery would not be possible.
Even though I hold the credentials offered by Virginia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), including ethics, integrated forensic peer support, and CPRS training, and I now even train peer recovery specialists, I cannot serve as a certified peer recovery specialist in any DBHDS facility due to my background. I hope the state can catch up, because we have a lot of people who are not getting the support they need to recover and who need help from those who have walked in their shoes.
There are bipartisan reforms presented in the General Assembly this year that would break down some of these barriers and help people like me. Both SB 626 patroned by Senator Pillion and HB 1269 patroned by Delegate Price address some of these unfair roadblocks by shortening the years that individuals with certain substance use related offenses have to wait until they can be hired by the DBHDS. I am heartened to see legislators from both sides support real change on this issue, and I look forward to seeing the conference committee, which is working to resolve differences between the House and Senate bills, send a final bill to Governor Youngkin’s desk.
Virginia’s barrier crimes laws are simply outdated, acting as an insurmountable obstacle to qualified people with lived experience seeking to fill these positions. A different approach to barrier crimes carries benefits for individuals in recovery and the community. We can offer a path to recovery for those who have suffered from addiction, and offer better services to those who need help and feel trapped. It’s past time for change in Virginia, especially for folks like me.
Jason Pritchard is outreach manager for Tennessee and Southern Virginia for SaVida Health. He is based in Bristol.
