What happens when society moves online?
For former prisoners, many of the social services and job programs they rely on to achieve re-entry into their communities are inaccessible without a comprehensive knowledge of the internet.
nbcnews.to/2PqhI3x
#NBCNewsThreads (1/9)
For former prisoners, many of the social services and job programs they rely on to achieve re-entry into their communities are inaccessible without a comprehensive knowledge of the internet.
nbcnews.to/2PqhI3x
#NBCNewsThreads (1/9)
Advocates say that the dependence of society on technology is an issue that can be overlooked by organizations meant to help former inmates, who sometimes struggle to adapt to decades of technological innovations that passed them by while they served time. (2/9)
After leaving prison, Renaldo Hudson quickly realized he had entered a new world, one dependent on technology and innovation. The challenge he, and many others, face has been amplified over the past year as the Covid-19 pandemic has driven many more parts of life online. (3/9) 
"People would say things like they were so simple," says Hudson, who had been locked up for 37 years. "'Listen, go to your browser and open this up.' I'm like, 'Who is the browser?'" (4/9)
There are essential services many prisoners returning home need access to immediately. Prior to the pandemic, people could physically go to offices for them.
But now, everything is online and the obstacles in the way of gaining access to these services are far greater. (5/9)
But now, everything is online and the obstacles in the way of gaining access to these services are far greater. (5/9)
"A person will come home and we'll have to, like, really, really take the time to really show them how to navigate around everything," says Wendell Robinson, a program manager at Restore Justice. "Just all the preliminary steps of navigating through this fast-paced world." (6/9)
Another problem among former inmates learning to use contemporary technology is not knowing the basics and being too nervous to ask for help. (7/9)
"They literally do not know where to begin," Hudson's attorney Jennifer Soble says. “They don't know how to turn the computer on when they first come home." (8/9)
Some former prisoners turn to their youngest family members for tech help.
“My nieces and nephews, the little bitty kids, were like some of the best teachers when they came to helping me in, you know, those initial steps,” Wendell Robinson says. (9/9) nbcnews.to/2PqhI3x
“My nieces and nephews, the little bitty kids, were like some of the best teachers when they came to helping me in, you know, those initial steps,” Wendell Robinson says. (9/9) nbcnews.to/2PqhI3x
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