KFTC members talk about voting rights on the air

 Central Kentucky KFTC members Matthew Heil and Tayna Fogle joined Department of Corrections Deputy Commissioner Kim Potter-Blair on UK's student radio station WRFL 88.1 to talk about obstacles that former felons face when they reenter society.

 Tayna shared with folks her personal experience as a former felon, what is was like to look for a job when she got out of prison and to reestablish herself in the community - "It was hard, I have a BA degree from the university of Kentucky but I couldn't find work in my field." Today Tayna works as a reentry specialist for the Central Kentucky career center.

Department of Corrections Deputy Director Kim Potter-Blair also came on the show to talk about various programs within the DOC to help offenders gain the skills and training they need in order to be successful when they return home.

In addition to having trouble finding employment and housing, former felons in the state of Kentucky aren't able to vote. Kentuckians for the Commonwealth has been working for the last five years to educate the community about the importance of voting and why former felons should have that right just like anyone else. KFTC member Matt Heil talked about our work around voting rights in the general assembly and the difficulty we've had getting Sen. Damon Thayer from Georgetown to allow discussion about the restoration of voting rights bill, HB70 in his committee. However, despite Sen. Thayer's reluctance to hear HB70 in 2010, KFTC members are going to lobby strong for it during the 2011 general assembly. February 24th is KFCT's big restoration of voting rights lobby day. If you're in Lexington and would like to come along then contact the CKY organizer at [email protected].