WASHINGTON — April is National Second Chance Month, and some DC groups are coming together at a hackathon to find solutions to the challenges returning citizens face.
Mission: Launch first started organizing these hackathons eight years ago.
Teresa Hodge founded the organization in 2012 after she got out of prison.
“I served a 70-month federal prison sentence, and when I came home, I created the solutions that I felt like I would need," Hodge said.
One of her focuses became on harnessing technology to help others facing a similar situation she did.
“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."
So these hackathons leverage business experience with technology and people's lived experiences, like Eric Weaver.
He founded the National Association for the Advancement of Returning Citizens in DC.
“Spent 22 years in jail. Been 14 years I've been home," Weaver said. "Since I've been home, just advocating and trying to help our population.”
Hackathon sponsor Aventiv Technologies has been working to put technology in the hands of people who were incarcerated for years.
"It's absolutely essential to be able to get tools in people's hands for better outcomes," CEO Dave Abel said. "The only way that we're going to be able to reduce incarceration, the only way that we're going to be able to reduce recidivism is making success much more likely, when an individual is through serving their time. We can't continue to punish people long after their their serve time is done."
That's especially because Mission Launch says at this pace, 1 in 2 working-age adults will have an arrest or conviction record by 2030.
“We're doing great things here in DC," Weaver said. "But then I'm hoping the conversations of being like okay, what more can we do? Things like synovitis and employee lawyers to high return sentences or if you have a contract through DC, governmental something that you got to hire a certain percentage of return citizens just privatize and reentry.”
It's a passion project for Weaver and Hodge.
“What keeps me motivated today is I have a five-year-old grandson. And quite frankly, I just want to create a better world for him," Hodge said.
She said they are also working on a context-driven background check called the R3score that provides employers with a risk score as well as a readiness and stability score…so they can look beyond someone’s criminal record.
The hackathon is Wednesday from 4-8 p.m. and Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon.