LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Imagine you know someone who has committed a crime, served time, and now they want to live a clean life and provide for their family.
But after paying a debt to society, many struggle with getting a job, even if they're qualified. That's because during either interviews or the application process, some employers ask if the applicant has committed or been charged with a crime.
Savvy Shabazz said the question is triggering for many who have been incarcerated.
"Anxiety and depression," Shabazz said in response to the question on an application. "And you can almost see the person's reaction."
One potential way past that barrier is expungement. Thursday, a Louisville café, Sis Got Tea, hosted an expungement clinic where law students helped guide people seeking help with their record.
"I think it's my civic duty to help these people move on," Alexis Cammack said.
Cammack is a second-year law student at the University of Louisville and said there are people of all ages with records that struggle to get them expunged.
"It's not just younger people or middle-aged people who have had these, it's older people as well," Cammack said. "This affects everyone."
The application for expungement is hard to navigate. An attorney with the Kentucky Innocence Project said the process can take months.
When she heard her alma mater, Bellarmine University, was hosting expungement clinics, Arielle Clark opened her café up to them as well.
"Because expungement in and of itself can be inaccessible," Clark, who owns Sis Got Tea, said. "So if I have the ability to break down a barrier, then I'm going to do it."
Clark describes her business on Barret Avenue as a safe space.
"We are very proud of being Black-owned, LGBTQ-owned, woman-owned, and disability-owned," Clark said. "It's not just about serving folks that look like me, share my identifies, it's also the folks that have marginalized identities that I may not necessarily have."
Every table inside was full, but no one seeking expungement felt comfortable sharing their name out of concern for security in their current job.
"And how much having a criminal record affects how you move through this world and this city," Clark said.
But now some are on the path toward removing an arrest, charge, or conviction from their record.
Shabazz served prison time for felony convictions, but has spent years working with others on re-entry and guiding them back to employment. He said he helps in life skills and voter education training.
He said expungement is just one stage to making the process easier for people seeking a way to provide for their families. He said the effort needs to continue with engaging lawmakers in Frankfort and Louisville.
Clark said she will be hosting another clinic at Sis Got Tea in May.
If you'd like to learn more about Clean Slate Kentucky and clearing your record, click here.
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