GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Getting proper identification can be harder than you might think for some people. An event Friday at the Baxter Community Center in Grand Rapids focused on expanding access to IDs and helping people chart their path forward.
Taylor Made Re-Entry is a non-profit that travels to jails and prisons in partnership with the Secretary of State's mobile office to eliminate accessibility barriers to important state services and resources.
On Friday, along with the Secretary of State, the Kent County Friend of the Court and a number of employers, Taylor Made Re-Entry provided people who have fallen on hard times, or are returning from incarceration access to a number of resources.
"We want our community to thrive, we want people to have the resources they need. So we actually have to bring those resources to people," said organizer Dee Dee Taylor.
Taylor said she believes many government processes don't consider accessibility challenges.
"I don't think they think about how hard it is for some people to access even a real ID," said Taylor.
Attendees at Friday's event like Marshall Mansfield received hands-on help with their IDs whether they needed them renewed, replaced, or were getting their first one altogether.
"Since I met Ms. Dee Dee Taylor she has helped me, whether it was help me try to get something form the Secretary of State or just coming to support me as a person," Mansfield explained.
Mansfield, was released from jail just over a month ago, has been able to get himself squared away with the Secretary of State and received resources to help him get back on his feet since joining Taylor Made Re-Entry.
"Being incarcerated I thought that there wasn't no resource and I thought I was just going to be just come out here and be on my own. And since I had the blessing of meeting Ms. Taylor it's hasn't been like that," said Mansfield.
The event also featured vendors providing job opportunities and connections to housing, as well as services to a number of local resources.
"If we can come here and even get things started and show them that it's not like it was in 1970, that we're here to help and break down some of those broken parts of the system than that's what we're going to do," said Jamie Maclangs with the Kent County Friend of the Court
Organizers hope to make this an annual event, serving as a catalyst to help others get back on the right track.
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