More Than a Card: Why an ID Can Change Everything

Written by Karl Vogl ll

For many people, a driver's license or state-issued identification card is something that quietly sits in a wallet until it's needed. It's used to apply for a job, sign a lease, visit a doctor's office, or cash a paycheck. Most people rarely think about what life would be like without one.

For many of the individuals served by Alston Wilkes Society at Pathways Community Center, however, obtaining an ID is anything but simple. It is often one of the first, and most difficult, steps toward rebuilding a stable life.

JoAnn Blackwell, who works directly with individuals navigating the identification process, sees these challenges every week. Through Alston Wilkes Society's partnership with Bethel Shelters and other organizations on the Pathways Community Center campus, she helps clients work through a system that often requires documents they no longer have in order to obtain the documents they desperately need.

"It's kind of like a back and forth," Blackwell explained. "To replace a Social Security card, you often need an ID. To get an ID, you may need your birth certificate. To get your birth certificate, you may need your Social Security card. Everything fits together."

For someone experiencing homelessness, reentering society after incarceration, or recovering from years of instability, those essential documents may have been lost, stolen, or expired long ago. What many people assume is a quick visit to the DMV can instead become months of paperwork, appointments, waiting periods, and setbacks.

One of the biggest misconceptions, Blackwell says, is that obtaining an ID is a one-day process.

"A lot of people think you just go to the DMV and it's one and done. It's not always that way."

Instead, clients often make multiple trips to government offices, only to discover another document is needed or another appointment must be scheduled. Replacing a Social Security card alone can take six to eight weeks before someone is even seen. Every delay postpones employment, housing, healthcare, and financial stability.

For some, the journey lasts far longer.

Blackwell shared the story of one client who has been working to obtain the necessary documents for more than a year and a half. Paperwork has been mailed back and forth, notarized, resubmitted, and delayed repeatedly.

"It's been over a year for him," she said.

For someone trying to rebuild their life, those months represent more than waiting, they represent opportunities postponed.

An ID is about far more than proving who someone is.

It is often the first key that unlocks every other opportunity.

With proper identification, clients can apply for employment, obtain replacement Social Security cards, secure housing, establish healthcare, purchase insurance, and begin rebuilding financial independence.

"They've got to have employment in order to move forward," Blackwell explained. "They can't get a home unless they have money, and they can't get money unless they have a job. It all comes together."

Without identification, even the most determined individual can find themselves unable to move forward.

Every month, Blackwell meets clients through partnerships with Bethel Shelters, accompanying many of them through the identification process.

Rather than simply sending someone to the DMV, she often goes with them, helping interpret requirements, asking questions, and ensuring they understand each step of the process.

Sometimes the biggest obstacle isn't a lack of effort—it is simply understanding a complicated system.

Having someone who knows how to navigate that system can make all the difference.

One client remains especially memorable.

After serving many years at Kershaw Correctional Institution, a gentleman was released only to discover his driver's license had expired while he was incarcerated. He attempted to renew it on his own but left the DMV confused about what was required.

Remembering what Blackwell had taught during reentry classes, he called and asked for help.

She met him at the DMV, listened carefully to the conversation with the clerk, and realized the information being communicated wasn't what the client believed he had heard.

Together, they worked through the process. He renewed his license, retook the written exam, and was eventually able to pursue his commercial driver's license.

Today, he is employed by a local trucking company.

That renewed driver's license became much more than identification—it became the first step toward stable employment, housing, supporting his family, and rebuilding his future.

"It's a big thing having the proper things that you need," Blackwell said.

Blackwell hopes the community remembers that individuals experiencing homelessness or returning from incarceration are often working much harder than people realize.

From the outside, it can appear as though little progress is being made.

In reality, many spend months gathering records, attending appointments, completing paperwork, and overcoming barriers that most people never have to face.

She even reflected on her own experience obtaining a federal identification credential, a process that took nearly nine months despite having resources and support.

If obtaining identification can be that difficult under normal circumstances, imagine trying to do it while experiencing homelessness or rebuilding life after incarceration.

Her message to the community is simple: "Be patient with the homeless population and those with criminal backgrounds."

Sometimes it's simply the paperwork standing between someone and a second chance.

Through the work of Alston Wilkes Society and the collaborative network at Pathways Community Center, those barriers are slowly being removed—one document, one appointment, and one life at a time.