(InvestigateTV) — For the more than 600,000 people released from America’s prisons each year, a second chance at life often hinges on a government-issued ID.
Without it, the doors to housing, employment, banking, and even a reliable cell phone are firmly shut. Yet, for many former inmates, obtaining this crucial document is a nearly impossible task, creating a “paper prison” that traps them in a cycle of poverty and recidivism.
Timothy Bender, an inmate at the Ingham County Jail in Michigan, knows this struggle firsthand. “It is a very long time in and out of jail,” he says, explaining that his drug use and transient lifestyle have left him without a legal ID for three years. Now in a treatment program, he sees getting an ID as the first step toward rebuilding his life. “I’m able to open up doors that were closed to me,” he says…