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Bethel's Place

 

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Darryl began his digital education when he entered Bethel’s Place Job Assistance Program, which was created to assist unemployed with job searches, resume building and interviews. Because Darryl is an ex-convict, he knew most employers would be hesitant to hire him. Darryl quickly realized he would need computer skills to market himself—however, he’d never used a computer.

Within the prison system, recidivism means relapsing into criminal behavior within three years after release. Studies show a relationship between recidivism and employment, yet the employment rate and job wages are dangerously low for ex-convicts. In Texas, the average ex-convict income is below the poverty line. Further, only 40% of employers are willing to hire ex-convicts, according to the Urban Institute. “He was desperately seeking a job, but with his past many employers were not interested in hiring him,” Technology For All Program Specialist Matt says.

Darryl, however, is devoted to changing his life. When the Job Assistance Program helped him build a resume in the computer lab, he saw how much he needed computer literacy. Instead of accepting defeat, he took Technology For All’s computer basics course with Program Specialist Matt. As he began bettering himself, he found more confidence in his job search—and more results. Within three weeks, he had already found a job with a moving company. “With his new job, he is able to begin a new journey in life,” Matt says. “He is able to travel, pay bills, have an apartment, establish credit and volunteer at his church.” When he isn’t working, Darryl still visits the lab to better his new computer skills.

If you’d like to support people rebuilding their lives through new skills, you can help.

Bethel’s Place is a nonprofit organization supporting financial literacy, adult education and other community needs in southwest Houston, Texas. For more information, call (713) 728-4445 or visit at 12525 Fondren Road.

Linda always wanted to be a minister—she almost went to divinity school—but was never able to fulfill her goal. So she found a way to preach her beliefs in less-official but still expressive methods. “I make anything,” she says. “Magnets, book marks, name cards.” She holds up a green laminated card, a Driver’s Prayer she wrote, designed and made herself. “Everything I do, I do for Him,” she says. “You do it for you, it won’t last.”

With this attitude, Linda never lets a barrier limit her; technology access is just a minor obstacle. Linda began using the open computer lab at Bethel’s Place, a nonprofit site of Bethel’s Family, to create a website and social media for House of Je' Rapha, her line of handmade religious icons. Technology For All’s Program Specialist Matt helped her research, create, and design her website. “He’s an angel,” she says fondly. Since she wouldn’t have regular access to a computer, the Internet, or the knowledge to create a commercial website, using the lab is “a blessing.”

Her work has spread throughout the world: she used to sell handcrafts at Army bases in Louisiana and Texas. Soldiers carried religious tokens throughout entire careers, and her old customers still remember her. “Someone just got married, or had a newborn, and they call asking for a name card for them.” Her e-commerce website and new Facebook fan page will be a huge help for those trying to find her, she says.

It will also help her conduct business despite her new disability: Linda is a recent amputee. Having lost her foot to complications from diabetes, she must learn how to be mobile in a completely new way, making technology that much more instrumental in connecting with clients. This doesn’t stop her—it doesn’t even slow her down. Her work and her beliefs give her a purpose, she explains. Because publishing her website marks the end of her rehabilitation, she is ready to get back to work. "It is a learning process, but I welcome the challenge."

If you’d like to support entrepreneurs like Linda, you can help.

Bethel’s Place is a nonprofit organization supporting financial literacy, adult education and other community needs in southwest Houston, Texas. For more information, call (713) 728-4445 or visit at 12525 Fondren Road.