Coverage spread: 2 sources — 2 unrated
Lean ratings via AllSides / Media Bias-Fact-Check. How this works.
Where they agree
- TimeDone held a free community resource event in Glendale, Arizona, offering job placement, housing help, mental health and substance abuse support, and legal advocacy for people with criminal records.
- National director Saad Soliman attended and spoke about the goal of giving people who’ve taken accountability a fair chance to rebuild their lives.
- Attendees with criminal records described real, ongoing barriers to jobs and housing even after completing their sentences.
- The event is tied to a broader push for policy reform to reduce obstacles facing formerly incarcerated people.
Where they differ
- FOX 10 cites roughly 500,000 affected Arizonans, while ABC15 cites over a million — the sources don’t reconcile this large discrepancy.
- ABC15 identifies this as TimeDone’s official Phoenix chapter launch with 27+ service providers, while FOX 10 describes it more generally as a community resource event without that framing.
- ABC15 features detailed personal accounts from Steve MacLeod (20 years for armed robbery) and Jack Daniel (8 months for drug possession), while FOX 10 focuses on shorter quotes from attendees identified only as Everett and Eric.
- ABC15 covers TimeDone’s specific policy goals, including Ban the Box legislation, a detail absent from FOX 10’s coverage.
TimeDone, a national network for people with arrest and conviction histories, held a free community resource fair in Glendale, Arizona, to launch its first Phoenix chapter. The event drew a capacity crowd and brought together more than two dozen service providers offering help with jobs, housing, mental health care, substance abuse recovery, food and pet assistance, and legal advocacy for formerly incarcerated people.
What is TimeDone and why did it come to Phoenix?
TimeDone is a Just Safe initiative and, according to ABC15, the nation’s largest network of people living with arrest and conviction histories. It held its launch event at a car museum venue in Glendale, pulling together more than 27 organizations under one roof to provide direct, face-to-face help. National director Saad Soliman said the full-capacity turnout reflects how much unmet need exists in the Phoenix area. “The community in Phoenix is desperate for this connection because the opposite of barriers is access, and we’re here to facilitate that access,” he said.
How many people are affected by old criminal records in Arizona?
The two outlets give different figures for the scale of the problem. FOX 10 reports that roughly 500,000 Arizonans live with old or low-level convictions that create long-term barriers to housing, employment and financial stability. ABC15 puts the number far higher, saying over a million Arizonans are living with the consequences of old records even after completing their sentences and paying their fines. Neither outlet explains the source of its figure or why the two differ so widely.
What barriers do people with records actually face?
Attendees described obstacles that go well beyond finding any job at all. Soliman said many people can land what he called a “for-now job” that still doesn’t cover their bills, trapping them in a cycle with few exits — he said some people have told him prison was easier than life after release. Steve MacLeod, who served 20 years in prison for armed robbery, said rental applications routinely go unanswered and that people with records often need someone without a record to co-sign in order to get an apartment. MacLeod also noted that some attendees at the fair had never been able to open a bank account, which makes it hard to cash paychecks or build any financial footing. Jack Daniel, who served eight months for drug and paraphernalia possession and is now in a transitional living program through SMC Recovery, said the fair showed him that someone in the community actually cares.
What is TimeDone pushing for beyond the one-day event?
Soliman said the group is also pursuing longer-term policy changes, including “Ban the Box” legislation that would remove criminal history questions from initial job applications. ABC15’s article is cut off before detailing the second policy priority Soliman mentioned.
How do the two outlets’ coverage compare?
FOX 10 frames the event mainly through personal stories — an attendee named Everett hoping the event opens new job doors, and a formerly system-involved volunteer named Eric who now helps connect others to resources. ABC15 goes further into the mechanics of the launch, naming TimeDone’s parent initiative, giving a specific count of service providers, and detailing MacLeod’s and Daniel’s individual paths through incarceration and reentry programs. FOX 10’s coverage reads as a brief human-interest segment tied to a TV broadcast, while ABC15 provides more organizational detail and policy context.
Why this matters
Advocates argue that criminal records continue to restrict people’s lives long after their sentences end, limiting access to stable jobs, housing and basic financial tools like a bank account. Events like the Glendale fair aim to shrink that gap by putting reentry services in one place, while organizers like TimeDone are also working toward policy changes meant to reduce those barriers on a broader scale, such as limiting when employers can ask about criminal history.
Sources
- FOX 10 Phoenix — Glendale event offers second chances for Arizonans with criminal records · New program helps expunge old and low-level criminal records
- ABC15 Arizona
Featured photo: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)