Impacted Stories
Julie's Story
Shortly after losing her aunt and grandmother to cancer, Julie was trafficked for three years. When she was rescued from her trafficker, Julie was charged with three first-degree felonies and was prevented from sealing her record. More than 90% of trafficking survivors have a record of arrest, and many are unable to seal their record because of eligibility restrictions.
Watch this video for Julie's story!
Tracie's Story
Clean Slate Texas supporter Tracie Walton discusses the difficulties her son, Stephen, endures after being charged with a Class B marijuana possession at 18. Despite being crime-free for more than 5 years, Stephen still struggled to secure employment and housing because of his record. Had he been given a second chance when he qualified, his life would be different today.
Watch this video for Tracie's story!
Maggie's Story
Maggie is a directly impacted leader from Texas who is working to ensure everyone has a shot at redemption. The Clean Slate Initiative is a bipartisan policy model that works to update and expand eligibility for arrest and conviction record clearance if a person stays crime-free for a period of time.
Click to watch Maggie's story!
Cynthia's Story
Cynthia Simons is the Grant me the Wisdom Foundation Women’s Fellow for The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. She had had a passion for civil rights stemming back to age of 15 years old when she graduated high school early in high hopes of pursuing a law degree. Cynthia learned early in life that sometimes you must choose between thriving and surviving. The community lacked resources for a single mother, and after a decade of surviving, Cynthia became entangled with substance abuse disorder and the justice system.
Today Cynthia advocates for women’s justice and is a champion for family reunification. Cynthia has a one year old that she is a loving and dedicated mother to but struggles with access to her other two children due to her background. Cynthia is often plagued with the burden of not being able to access safe and stable housing, limited employment opportunities, limited access to higher education, and not being able to pursue her dream of practicing law here in the state of Texas.
Clean Slate would lift these barriers for Cynthia and give her an equal playing field instead of a lifetime sentence of collateral consequences that she must live with and, by extension, become consequences of her children. Clean Slate would allow Cynthia the ability to provide for her children and fulfill her destiny.
More stories coming soon!