When he got out of prison in 2020 and got the letter that his rights had been restored, it meant even more than being able to vote, for Eric Talley.
“It felt like I had a chance. Like I was coming home,” he said Friday, pausing for a moment from a volunteer gig cutting hair for other former inmates at the ROC Nation–Reform Alliance job fair at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.
Some three dozen employers with 1,500 jobs to fill, along with agencies and volunteers offering support, were on hand for more than 2,000 former inmates.
Talley has landed on his feet — he makes a living as a barber — but landing there isn’t easy for many when they leave prison.
At the ROC Nation-Reform Alliance job fair at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Friday, Eric Talley, left, and Travis E. Williams Jr. talk about what rights restoration can mean …