YPSILANTI, Mich. – For people returning to their communities after years or even decades behind bars, learning how to navigate the digital world can be an important step toward starting over.
About a dozen formerly incarcerated people recently gathered inside the Ypsilanti District Library for a digital literacy workshop designed to teach skills that many people take for granted, including using a computer mouse, sending an email, and completing an online job application.
The workshop is part of From Prison to Pro: Bridging the Digital Divide, a program launched this summer by the nonprofit Nation Outside.
Organizers say technology can be one of the biggest barriers facing people who have spent significant time incarcerated.
“A lot of people spend significant time incarcerated, 10 years, 15 years,” said Nation Outside Executive Director Cecilia Zavala. “So they come out. The world is different. And today we rely on technology for basically everything.”
Without basic digital skills, returning citizens can have difficulty participating in everyday life, organizers said.
“If you don’t know how to use it, you can’t really be a part of functioning society without those skills,” Zavala said.
The program is designed to meet participants at their individual skill levels.
Organizers said someone who has never used a cellphone should be able to participate, understand the material, and build confidence.
“It’s presented at a level where you can be anybody, you know. You can be somebody who has never used a cell phone, and you can take in this information, and you can learn it. So it’s soluble. So it’s soluble,” said student Dave Clair.
The classes are held Tuesday nights in Ypsilanti and are scheduled to continue through Aug. 25.
The goal is to help participants gain practical skills they can use as they pursue employment and rebuild their lives after incarceration.
For Nation Outside, the effort is part of addressing a digital divide that can make an already difficult transition back into the community even more challenging.