Many studies and findings indicate that education can greatly decrease crime rates and lower the likelihood of people going back to prison after they are released.
If someone in prison receives the opportunity to learn an industrial skill or acquire knowledge in a specialized field, not only do they rarely return to prison (less than 10%), but they also go on to build businesses, create jobs, and inspire their local communities.
This might not be new to any of us.
We all understand that education can work well.
But how does it really look for people who are in prison.
How does education really make a difference in their lives.
Below are three stories of individuals who turned their lives around and illustrate the impact which illustrate the impact that applied education can have for career building and community impact — even after incarceration.
Sean Pica, Hudson Link for Higher Education
Sean entered prison as a 9th grade New Yorker with a 24-year sentence.
He said he had little hope in himself or any sort of redemptive future.
But, when he began reading children’s books to fellow inmates and teaching them how to write letters to their loved ones, he witnessed how learning created a flicker of joy amid the isolation.
Later, he joined a program called Hudson Link, which gives degrees in prisons, and attended college classes.
He learned that education can make people change how they think and feel, and it helps them understand themselves and what they can achieve when they are released.
After Sean was released, he went on to earn 400 credits from Nyack College and two master’s degrees from New York Theological Seminary and Hunter College.
In 2007, Pica returned to lead Hudson Link as its Executive Director.
Today, Hudson Link’s programs help thousands of people in prison get a college education.
Less than 2% of these people end up back in prison, which is much lower than the national rate of 68%. Pica’s work helps save taxpayers in New York State more than $21 million every year, and this amount keeps growing.
By the time he was 18 years old, Ohio-based Tim had 27 convictions on his record and spent the next six years incarcerated.
“By everyone else’s account, I was a failure.”
But when he reached the age of 25, someone decided to give him an opportunity despite his previous mistakes and offered him a permanent job.
He attended a real estate school and asked plumbers and electricians about how they fixed things.
He learned fast.
In 2008, he started Lawn Life, a charity that hires young men who used to be in jail and teaches them how to work and run a business.
Today, Lawn Life has hired over 700 at-risk youth in five different cities.
Growing up with an absent father, Kenyatta’s dealing with drugs and robbery with firearms led him to a life sentence in the San Quentin, California prison at the age of 22.
But when he turned 25, someone gave him a chance despite his past and hired him full time.
He went to real estate school and asked plumbers and electricians questions like, “How did you fix that?”
He learned quickly.
In jail, Kenyatta discovered The Last Mile, a program that helps inmates become entrepreneurs.
The Last Mile inspired Kenyatta to launch Code.7370, an education program that teaches incarcerated individuals how to code.
To overcome the challenge of no internet connection, Code.7370 created a proprietary programming platform that simulates a live coding experience.
Once inmates graduate, they’re invited to join TLMworks, the first web development agency to provide individuals coming out of prison with the opportunity to earn a living, professional wage.
Kenyatta now assists big companies to hire and keep employees who have been in prison.
This offers more jobs for those who deserve a second chance.
Education can change lives, but we often underestimate its significant impact.
The three people mentioned above are great examples of how education helps disadvantaged individuals regain hope and self-esteem, acquire knowledge and skills, and make a positive impact on others using their own experiences.