JLUSA leaders holding D.C. “hackathon” for returning citizens

For Second Chance Month, Leading with Conviction 2015 graduate Teresa Hodge and 2019 graduate Eric Weaver are holding a “hackathon” in Washington, D.C., on April 12-13 to find solutions to the challenges returning citizens face. Hodge is the founder of Mission: Launch, which first started organizing these hackathons eight years ago, and Weaver is the founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Returning Citizens.

“‘Before going to prison, I was a technology early adopter. And while I was in prison, you know, I always laugh and tell people that Twitter, the whole social media buzz happened while I was in prison. I couldn’t understand like, what’s a tweet? Who’s tweeting? What’s going on?’ Hodge said.

“‘When I came home, I recognized that technology was void in this space. And I felt like that’s why reentry was really inefficient.’ …

“‘We’re doing great things here in D.C.,’ Weaver said. ‘But then I’m hoping the conversations are being like, OK, what more can we do? Things like incentivize employers to hire returning citizens or if you have a contract through D.C. government or something that you got to hire a certain percentage of returning citizens. Just prioritizing reentry.’”

Read more at WUSA9.com