New Beginnings Law Center

http://nblawcenter.org

A North Bay attorney who provides a safety net for people who are seeking a new start in life after serving their prison sentences is the recipient of the CBS News Bay Area Icon Award.

Elissa Lasserre guides people with criminal histories to new beginnings, giving them hope.

"Yes! Absolutely. 'Cause they're worth it," she said.

Her story began 10 years ago. As a criminal defense attorney for indigent defendants, she argued for a burglar's rehabilitation outside of prison.

"Probation had recommended that my client not be sent to state prison, but the judge disregarded that and sent the client to the maximum amount in state prison," Lasserre told CBS News Bay Area.

The case hit her hard.

"I was devastated. I was crying for like three days," she remembered. "I decided I had to do something to help people stay out of the criminal justice system. And that's how New Beginnings Law Center was born."

Since 2015, Lasserre and her staff at New Beginnings Law Center have helped some 500 people re-integrate into their communities after finishing their prison terms.

Her San Rafael nonprofit supports the health of the whole person: mind, body, spirit, emotions, and community.

She collaborates with other organizations to make sure her clients get what they need in areas that include education, housing, job skills, legal help, substance-abuse treatment, reconnecting with family and more.

In California, the most recent state corrections department numbers indicate four in 10 people who are relased from prison end up back behind bars.

But among Lasserre's clients, she said there is almost no recidivism among them.

"The reason we're successful is because we're compassionate, but we have accountability," Lasserre faid.

Chivonne Bozarth's long rap sheet in drugs and burglary kept her from getting a car sales license until Lasserre helped her prove her sobriety and rehabilitation.

Inspired by Lasserre, Bozarth has now discovered new purpose working at a nonprofit, helping people in recovery find jobs.

"What I would've imagined to be an impossible task, I feel like Elissa has conquered, not just for me, but with me," Bozarth said.

The services the center provides are not free. Clients pay on a sliding scale, according to federal poverty level guidelines.

And there is no time limit. Lasserre says she's there as long as clients need her.

So for wrapping her arms around hundreds of people with criminal histories seeking new beginnings, this week's CBS News Bay Area Icon Award goes to Elissa Lasserre.