Education and programming are essential components of rehabilitation, and have been statistically proven to improve re-entry outcomes for incarcerated people. Despite our proximity to Silicon Valley and our evolving digital economy, Santa Cruz County jails rarely if ever offer computer, coding, or design classes for incarcerated students. Over the last year, the Everett Program’s Gateways Project has been hosting digital design classes at no cost for a cohort of incarcerated students in Santa Cruz jails. Our classes expose students to essential computer skills, as well as to a variety of industry standard design programs. We also teach students to communicate their new skills in resumes and job interviews. For the past year, we’ve relied on temporary loaner computers from a variety of programs, but have struggled to secure enough funds for the program.. These temporary computers are unreliable and we need a dedicated fleet of computers for Gateways students.The total cost of 20 laptops is $21,580. We also hope to raise additional funds for software and supplies, bringing our total goal to $25,000. In meeting our goal of $25,000, the laptops will enable us to expand to other jails in Santa Cruz County and give incarcerated students more programming and class opportunities. 

Learn more information by visiting https://everettprogram.sites.ucsc.edu/current-projects/gateways/