NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The threat of a recession has some people worried about recently released inmates going back to jail.
That's where the nonprofit, Persevere, is stepping in to make a difference. They teach prisoners coding to fill gaps in the tech industry.
For Alex Marston, when he was behind bars, there wasn't a lot of hope for the future.
"Even though I knew I wasn’t going to be in there forever, I felt like I was, and I didn’t know what I was going to do when I got out," Marston said.
While incarcerated, he started taking coding classes through Persevere. And now that he's out, he has a job through the program.
"I see a different future for me, and it has nonstop growth," Marston said.
Amid inflation and rising rent, he feels software development is recession-proof.
"Technology is always going to be there, and it’s always going to be growing," Marston said.
Persevere's founder, Sean Hosman, started the nonprofit after he was in and out of jail.
"We want to give people something so they can see the way to a better life,” Hosman said.
Hosman said inflation and recessions are bad for recidivism.
“For those who are used to some level of illegal activity, and making money that way, that’s going to be a fallback for them and another way out. So, to put people in prison and not give them any new skills or any opportunity when they come out and then expect them to somehow provide is unrealistic,” Hosman said.
Currently, they're preparing to launch more computer classes in Tennessee prisons. The Tennessee Prison for Women is one of them.
They recently received millions in federal funding.
"We’re bringing other dollars to the state, and it’s growing where we teach, who we teach — and it’s going to be placing roughly 1,800 people over the next 3 years into technology jobs," Hosman said.
Marston said he now lives in Shelbyville and is getting married in October— a second chance he's not taking for granted.
"It takes a while to rebuild," Marston said.
