Elm City ID Card Helping Former Inmates

Four summers ago, New Haven began issuing the Elm City Resident Card.  The program was controversial at the time because the city encouraged illegal immigrants to get the IDs. And many did because they had no U.S identification As WNPR's Lucy Nalpathanchil reports, the city has found another over-looked population to connect to the ID card.

About 125 former inmates return to the city of New Haven each month and often times the only form of ID they have is  their prison release papers. That's a barrier for them according to Amy Meek, Coordinator of the city's Re-entry Initiative.

"It can be a real challenge for someone who's getting out and is looking for a job because you need two forms of ID to get a job, whose looking for even basic food stamps when you often need  a birth certificate to apply. To access any of those services or programs you need proper identification."

So in 2010, the Re-entry Initiative partnered with the city's Vital Statistics office to connect former inmates to the Elm City ID card. Meek says the outreach helps them make a smoother transition back into the community.

"It's accepted more places than their correctional release papers and it's also much more empowering for them as they're applying for jobs and trying to make positive choices to be able to show who they are without having to show a piece of paper that marks them as somebody whose been released from prison."

The city also waives the $11 ID fee, a courtesy given to any resident who has no real source of income.