Hundreds of Tucson residents gathered at the Tucson Convention Center for the Fresh Start Annual Expo earlier this month, where judges, legal aid groups and community organizations came together to help people clear old charges, restore civil rights and rebuild their lives after incarceration.

The event, organized by Fresh Start International, offered on-site record expungements, warrant quashing and access to free legal and social services, from housing and employment help to behavioral health care.

Founder and CEO Da’Mond Holt said the goal is simple: to give justice-impacted residents a real chance at a fresh start and to make public safety about second chances, not just more policing.

Several community organizations hosted tables at the event, offering services such as mental health care, substance abuse treatment, housing support and employment assistance.

“Fresh Start Expo is what I consider the ultimate one-stop shop for justice-impacted communities,” Holt told Tucson Spotlight, adding that the event aims to connect people with the means to rebuild their lives and reduce recidivism in the community.

Judges from Tucson City and Pima County Superior courts were on hand to hear cases, quashing warrants and expunging records on-site, while a team of legal experts assisted people with applications to have their civil rights restored or records sealed. Some participants were able to restore their rights that same day.

Holt said the judges came to the expo because they believed it was the right thing to do but also because they have a practical interest in the public safety improvements efforts like these bring.

“A lot of the time, people think public safety is always about putting a thousand police officers on the street,” he said. “That’s one side of it, but the other side of it is what you’re going to do with the population that completes their sentence and they’re coming back into society. That’s public safety as well.”

Traditionally, the process of restoring one’s rights involves filling out an application online and appearing in court. Many individuals find the process confusing, Holt said, and need assistance from attorneys. Additionally, some people with outstanding warrants are hesitant to go to court to resolve them, fearing arrest.

“With the Fresh Start Expo, the community has the home court advantage,” Holt said. “Fresh Start gives the community that has been justice-impacted a safe haven to deal with their legal issues without the intimidation of feeling like they’re going to get arrested and go to jail.”

Beyond the immediate legal help, organizers emphasized that the event was also about rebuilding community and fostering long-term support networks.

“Over the last five years, this has grown and it has morphed into something so much more than just this resource event that does legal things to help people move into the future without those barriers,” said Fresh Start Tucson director Tom Cortese. “It brings people into a family that cares about each other and cares about the future of each individual and is willing to walk with those individuals into that future until they succeed.”

Cortese said the work starts with recognizing that many people reentering society were never given the tools to succeed in the first place.

“We have to understand that most of the people that have been incarcerated in this system have never been habilitated to begin with,” he said. “We can’t rehabilitate something that has never been habilitated. What we’re doing here is we’re teaching people from ground zero how to move forward.”

Expo volunteer Sam Nagy said he struggled in the past with barriers in the criminal justice system.

“I think it was fighting the barriers inside of myself,” Nagy said. “Stigma was a big thing. But what I also think it’s learning job skills, coping skills, how to deal with anxiety and how to cope with real life scenarios. I get a chance to do all that now.”

Nagy said he found support through organizations like Goodwill of Southern Arizona and credited his success to his Christian faith. He hopes others will follow his example by seeking out available resources, adding that he now volunteers to help promote those opportunities.

Housing and employment are two of the biggest barriers for formerly incarcerated individuals, as landlords and employers often deny applicants with criminal records.

To help address those barriers, several organizations at the expo offered practical services such as haircuts, interview-ready clothing, tattoo removal, résumé assistance and more.

One of these groups, Second Chance Tucson, helps formerly incarcerated people find employment and housing and assists with civil rights restoration. The group also hosts a speaker’s bureau, giving people an opportunity to share their successes and struggles with the criminal justice system.

Frank Thompson with the Arizona Poor People’s Campaign attended the event to encourage people to raise their voices. The organization is dedicated to empowering the disenfranchised and encouraging them to vote to gain the political power to advocate for their economic and legal interests.

“What we’re focusing on next year is to get word out, to go out there and talk to the poor and then get the poor to talk and raise their voices and let everybody know what this country needs to get more moral, to create laws that will help the poor, the homeless, the disenfranchised,” Thompson said.

The group is also working to give people hope.

“People need the behavioral health side, but they also need the faith-based and spiritual side as a holistic way of approaching recovery,” said John Jefferson, an assistant chaplain at the Pinal County Jail. “I think it’s always important to bring people together to solve a big problem. It’s like that African proverb, ‘You want to go fast, go alone. You want to go far, go together.’ I think the goal of the Fresh Start team is to go far. And so they’re going together.”

Two-time Congressional District 7 candidate Daniel Butieriez attended the event to show his support and see people helping others get a second chance in life.

“I am one of Arizona’s wrongfully convicted. I fought to get my rights back, and I wanted to see others get their rights back,” Butieriez said. “I wanted to help them rise up and succeed.”

Holt said he hopes that the individuals served at the Fresh Start Expo leave with better lives, a smile on their face, joy in their heart and the freedom of not having to look over their shoulder.

“Every person I see come through that door is me,” Cortese said. “I want to treat them the way I wanted to be treated, and I would want available to them the things that I needed available to me for me to move forward.”

Ian Stash is a journalism major at the University of Arizona and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact him at istash@arizona.edu.

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