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Georgia Developer working in class

Persevere Turns Justice-Involved to Opportunity-Involved in Georgia

Atlanta Metro Correctional Facility helps 12 men go from justice-involved to opportunity-involved as they graduate with a full-stack coding certificate.

Persevere Turns Justice-Involved to Opportunity-Involved in Georgia

Georgia iconMarch 17, 2023 Atlanta, GA

In March of 2022, twelve men in Atlanta’s Metro Correctional facility began a journey and made a sacrifice. On the inside you get a minimal paycheck for jobs you work. But if you sign up for an educational program, that check is sometimes cut in half.  But these twelve men had a vision for the future and were willing to sacrifice now, for a better future.  They came to class for a year–5days a week, 6 hours a day–and dedicated themselves to learning a new skill.  Mixed in with the coding were life skills, career development and mindfulness.  It wasn’t always easy, but day in and day out they put in the work.

The graduation was filled with optimism from both the graduates and the community.  In addition to Persevere and Correctional staff, fourteen members of the community attended including the Atlanta Mayors office, State Representative Park Cannon, Jonesboro Mayor Dr. Donya Sartor and other community organizations and partners including Chick-fil-A, CEO Works, Microsoft, IBM and more.

Program Manager Julie Landers said, “The gentlemen in this cohort worked very hard to accomplish this and more: they were the first class to receive mindfulness training and mock interview training. They finished up strong, with increased  confidence, awareness, and skills. They are eager to get to work!

During their cohort the class created a mission statement and vision for what they would accomplish and what their future would look like:

Persevere’s Metro Division strives to create an environment that provides breakthrough solutions in our community and takes us from justice-involved to opportunity-involved by using our knowledge and skills in coding. This creates limitless hope and opportunities to impact our lives and the lives of those around us. Perseveres metro division works hard to challenge our minds both intellectually and emotionally to be as strong as our code, while developing as successful returning citizens who exemplify a positive transformation.
 

We enter into the world as professionals, setting the new precedent for what people can achieve. As a team, we will maturely pursue success with dedication, enthusiasm, respect and responsibility in order to accomplish our goals.  We will pursue excellence by showing that whatever obstacles we face in life…we will Persevere!

The dedication of our participants is amazing.  But their next challenge comes as they transition back to life on the outside.  They will face many barriers. Our care teams will help them traverse these barriers, but we can’t do this alone.  Our program is only as strong as our community of partners and supporters.  Join our fair chance movement because everyone deserves a fair chance to thrive.

Cheers and congrats to the Georgia Metro Cohort of 2022/2023! We can’t wait to see what you accomplish.  

  • Callie Unruh

    AZ Program Manager + Communications Coordinator | Callie is passionate about social justice, and the intersection of holistic solutions to systemic issues of poverty and works to create a society where everyone can thrive. She received her bachelors in Journalism and Masters in Non-Profit Management. Callie is ready to change the world through project management, community engagement, good stories and a good spreadsheet. On the personal side Callie grew up in Oregon and misses the rain. She loves coffee, community and creating a life of impact from the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona. But most days you will find her cooking, gardening and chasing after two crazy boys.

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