Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Hill.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Hannah. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Code/Out incorporated in October 2017 after a 14-hour shift driving for Lyft and the need to do something different. I am an ordained single mom who graduated with a M.Div and a pile of student debt just a few months before with the intention of entering Federal Prison Chaplaincy; however, after a hiring freeze by our administration, I became a typical gig-economy millennial. I was working for Lyft, doing contract work for local non-profits and the occasional social media marketing gig. It got me by and paid the bills but did little for my desire to give back to my community.
I’m a recovering addict with over eleven years clean and I have seen what drug sentences and addiction can do to a person and a family. On the flip side, I have also been subjected to violent crime; my own brother was murdered in 2000. In 2015 I was able to sit down with my brother’s murderer and have a conversation about justice and what I hoped for my life and his. I realized there had to be another way.
Our way was one of community change. We seek to reduce recidivism and generational poverty in Georgia by teaching women in the prison system to become computer programmers. We partner with local tech companies and curriculum platforms in order to provide top-tier training and excellent paying internships and jobs. We focus on women because they are the fastest growing population in Georgia’s prison system. Women are also highly sought after in tech. This means we give women the opportunity to change their lives (and the lives of their children) while simultaneously changing the face of tech in Atlanta.
Code/Out has now been humming along for a solid year and in that time we haven’t had a single class, but not for lack of trying. Reality dictates that resilience will be the theme of our story. After nearly starting class in two different facilities in Georgia and being paused, delayed and then canceled both times we started moving forward with a new mission: juveniles girls. The Department of Juvenile Justice has welcomed us with open arms and we tentatively have set a date to start class for five young women starting January 9th. For those five girls, we have already found tech organization in the Atlanta area, including Arke Systems, who are anxiously awaiting a chance to employ, mentor and intern our students upon their release in late 2019.
Meanwhile, we have developed an infrastructure over the last year that includes a housing partner (OpenDoorsATL), a curriculum partner (TeamTreeHouse), hiring partners (Arke Systems) and a team of lawyers, tech developers and volunteers who are committed to creating a change here in Georgia. This infrastructure translates into more than just a training program. Code/Out is a community and we are ready and willing to dive into the complicated systemic issues that our student have and may need help with as they progress through our program. We can’t wait to finally get started!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Obstacles to finding hiring partners means find people who are willing to hire felons and go through the process of figuring out what that means for their company culture.
Obstacles to starting classes means dealing with a complicated correctional system that is not geared toward programming that encourages rehabilitation. It means stumbles and barriers that are often unexplained or insurmountable because of a lack of communication.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Code/Out Inc. story. Tell us more about your organization.
We are a nonprofit dedicated to reducing recidivism and generational poverty in Georgia. We do that by teaching women in Georgia’s prison system to become computer programmers. We specialize in creating a community that is designed to address every systemic issue a person might face as they exit the prison system and address it head-on. From housing to therapy to custody of children; we dive into the gritty issues.
Beyond that, we challenge the tech community in Atlanta to change their culture around hiring practices and employment. We aren’t just changing the women’s live we’re changing the face of technology in Atlanta.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I am lucky to be white. In 2006, I was pulled over in the midst of addiction and arrested for a DUI; I blew a .208 going the wrong way on a local highway. Had the police found a reason to search my car that night (and in that area, people of color were disproportionately searched) I would have served at least ten years in prison. My luck that night meant I served about ten hours in jail instead of ten years and that deliverance means Code/Out can exist.
Pricing:
- Code/Out is free to ANY prison system that invites us in
- Code/Out is free to ANY prisoner who wishes to take our courses
- Code/Out is free to ANY company that wishes to hire our students
Contact Info:
- Address: Atlanta, GA 30306
- Website: codeout.org
- Phone: 470-258-6587
- Email: hannah@codeout.org
- Instagram: instragram.com/code.out
- Facebook: facebook.com/codeoutinc
- Twitter: @CodeOutInc
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
