In terms of making a real difference in people’s lives, one of the more important things we do at the Center for Justice is driver re-licensing. It’s hard work all the way around and it’s probably the most under-publicized (though not unappreciated) work we do. Kelli Christianson, a first year intern who works in the program, recently posted the following account of her experience on her blog. Kelli is a senior at Whitworth, currently majoring in political science with a minor in theology.
Our legal system is amazing to me. I have learned more from my internship in the last two months than in the past three and a half years combined.
At the Center for Justice’s Community Advocacy program, I am learning to run the drivers re-licensing
program with volunteer Randy Heinnaman. Basically I take interviews and draft paperwork, write motions, declarations, and orders for the prosecutor, judge, and the Center’s attorney to sign. The motions call for old tickets to be drawn out of collections to be compressed and for the clients to be assigned a payment plan of $25 (or more) each month, until their fines are paid off. The clients are 3rd, 2nd, and 1st degree felons who have had their driver’s licenses suspended for traffic violations.
The Center only takes clients who are making clear and difficult choices to put their lives back together. The Center argues on behalf of the clients so that they can get their licenses back to drive to work, provide their children (i.e. get them to the doctor, pre-school, etc.) and start over (i.e. get to a new job).
The fascinating part about my job is listening to people’s stories. Mistakes made in the past haunt people; the system isn’t designed to help people get back on their feet.
It takes a great deal of commitment, dedication, and courage to go through drug treatment, alcohol treatment, CPS to get their children back, find a job (hard to do with a criminal record) which usually end up paying only minimum wage. The introductory jobs are often night shifts that make public transportation nearly impossible because buses aren’t running and walking late at night, especially for female clients, can be really dangerous. Then these traffic tickets that were never paid (often because the clients were too poor to pay them) are sent to collections where the mounting interest alone becomes horrific to face. Moreover, the costs tend to snowball. Collections agencies start refilling claims every sixty days. So now you have exorbitant court fees and attorney costs, in addition to your original ticket fines.
The question becomes: Why start paying them off when you know you will never catch up? Once in collections, the collections agencies start garnishing people’s wages. They take up to 44% of people’s living wages to pay off traffic fees. 44%!!! Could you live off of 44% of your income at a minimum wage job?
Hopelessness leads to bad choices and the cycle repeats itself- if not with the same person then with the next generation. So many of us, with far fewer difficulties, can become overwhelmed to the point of inaction. Inaction is the poison of hopelessness. Action is movement and movement is the antidote to inaction. This is what the program does-it adds movement to encourage hope.
I love serving people. I love my internship. Maybe I will be a lawyer. A poor one though, no question. Well, I guess that depends on what constitutes wealth.
To read more of what’s on Kelli’s mind, visit her blog, Thirsty for Rain
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