Inspiration
Thousands of people in the United States' state and federal prisons are released each year with little support in reintegrating back into society, leaving many struggling to make ends meet. Unemployment, homelessness, difficulty accessing healthcare, reduced federal benefits, barriers to education, and social isolation are just some of the issues faced by formerly incarcerated people today. This is a major contributor to the high recidivism rate in America, with almost two-thirds of people finding themselves back in prison within three years. I wanted to build a solution that could help people through the process of reentry, giving them access to communities that could allow them to get support both from each other and from external resources.
What it does
ReenterNet serves mainly as a social media site, where users can connect with others to find community and friends. The website has a page that contains many forums that users can join and chat in. These forums are specific to sub-communities within formerly incarcerated people — for example, some forums found on the website may be Atlanta Support Group, Formerly Incarcerated Veterans, and Housing Assistance. Specific forums such as these help users find communities and connections that can help them with their specific needs or struggles in the reentry process. There is also a private chat feature, where users can chat with friends that they have added on the site to form stronger connections. The site enables users to find and add friends who live near them and to message them to connect with people who may be experiencing similar struggles and who they could even form in-person bonds with. ReenterNet also has a page that allows users to access resources and programs both locally and nationally. They can search the city, state, or area they live in to locate the programs nearest to them. This is beneficial for situations in which they are looking for housing or employment in their area and they require more localized support. The page also contains general resources for employment, housing, education, legal services, and healthcare.
How we built it
I designed ReenterNet using HTML, CSS, and Javascript.
Challenges we ran into
This was my first time using HTML, CSS, and Javascript, so it was initially challenging to learn how to code in these languages and to build a website. This was also my first time participating in a hackathon, so working under a time crunch to brainstorm ideas, plan out my design, learn these languages, and build the project was a new, challenging experience. I experienced many difficulties in debugging my code as I was learning to code a website for the first time, but I was able to persevere through this and build a product I still feel proud of.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
I feel very proud that I was able to build a website and learn to use HTML, CSS, and Javascript for the first time. I feel that I was able to create a design that is easy to navigate and user-friendly in a short amount of time. I also believe that this project, if further expanded upon, has the potential to make a significant difference in fostering unity and solidarity among formerly incarcerated people and providing them with a stronger sense of community. Supporting the incarcerated population in the United States is a social impact goal I have been passionate about for years now, so I am proud that I was able to utilize coding to make a project related to the topic. There are still many ideas and features I would like to implement in this website that I did not get the chance to work on, and I am excited to continue adding to it and working to make it more impactful.
What we learned
I learned the fundamentals of coding a website using HTML, CSS, and Javascript. I also was not able to implement the feature in time due to the time limit, but I learned a bit about using PHP and mySQL to build databases that can be used for websites. Through researching the issue throughout the development process, I also learned quite a bit about the various issues formerly incarcerated people face, as well as how those issues can intersect with other issues they may face as a result of being a part of other marginalized groups. I learned about the types of resources and programs that currently are in place to help this group of people as I searched for resource links to add to my website. I also learned about how to make websites the most user-friendly and visually engaging as possible. Finally, through the process of working in the hackathon format, I learned how to manage my time, prioritize the most important elements of my project, and persevere through obstacles that are inevitable in the development process.
What's next for ReenterNet
As I built this project in a short period of time, a lot of features I worked on were left incomplete, so I hope to work to fix those issues, including allowing users to type in the forums and chats, allowing users to add to their list of friends, and allowing users to develop profiles and view profiles of other users. I would likely use PHP and mySQL to build a database of users and a database for forum and chat history to implement this. I also hope to create an intensive database of resources that users can search within when looking for local resources. I would like to learn how to utilize Google APIs to allow users to search for resources near them based on their location. Furthermore, the website currently also focuses on allowing formerly incarcerated users to connect to programs that offer support, but I would like to be able to give those programs the ability to connect with users through the website, as well. For example, giving employers who offer jobs to the formerly incarcerated the ability to post jobs on the platform would help to foster a two-way connection between people in the process of reentry and external communities. Finally, I hope to conduct more user research to learn from people who have gone through the process of being incarcerated and readjusting back after release and to learn the kinds of resources and features they believe would be most beneficial for them. By connecting directly with this community, I can learn how I can best build a product that will make a real social impact.
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