An Open Air Proposal: Limited Internet Access for Inmates
The more I turn this over in my head, the more I want to propose this as a revenue stream to the Florida Department of Corrections.
I would love to have an opportunity to access the Internet, to read news from news sites in fields that interest me, to research job opportunities that will happily employ those of us with felony convictions, to research off-grid living and resourcefulness needed to survive on a minimal income, and to access books to increase my knowledge.
However, I live in an anachronistic bubble that actively hates the Internet, refusing to acknowledge that Internet isn't a pretty bauble -- it's a bloody utility that would be beneficial and can potentially reduce recividism by giving people information they can use once they have left prison.
Think about it:
Use Case No. 1
(Maurice) is getting out of prison soon. He feels like he's going to have to live in a tent in the woods because he lacks even minimal education credentials, making it harder to get gainfully employed in an era of needing a diploma or a degree to swing a hammer or feed animals.
What if those here who care for him wanted to help the guy with ideas for legal employment sources where he meets the skill level, find resources and agencies that work with returners like him to get him housing, find him access to education (because we haven't had that at a useful level in prison since the mid-1990s, when Pell Grants went away for nearly three decades) and maybe even give him a concept or plan for a small home that can be built with limited financial resources?
By instilling knowledge and hope in him now, in his last year of incarceration, it displaces so much of the despair and worry that comes to the forefront; existential dread is a real, true thing that a prisoner faces after leaving the world for several years.
To that end, I've imbued him with as much knowledge as I remember from my days outside, like the statewide services that help job seekers gain meaningful employment and education, a reminder that he will very likely qualify for public assistance initially.
Now imagine if he could view and verify that information independently with the power of the Internet.
Use Case No. 2
We just got access to the Edovo service a week or so ago. Compared to what we had before, it is actually amazing for those of us wishing to learn.
Unfortunately, neither Edovo nor our Securus tablets include or offer a couple of essential tools:
- a word processor.
- an integrated development environment (we have a few courses on coding, amazingly).
In this age of Everything-as-a-Service, Progressive Web Apps, etc., being able to use (and in certain cases, familiarize ourselves with) a word processor to type out thoughts, or compose a letter would be amazing.
Yes, welcome to Florida Department of Corrections prisons, where we still write everything in pencil or pen if we can find one, and hope for the best. There aren't even common user area typewriters.
But what if I could learn about free word processing apps or programs by looking into them on the Internet myself?
What if I could use that knowledge to argue a sane, salient case for the Department of Corrections to allow us a word processor?
What if I could research the past history of this Department of Corrections with regard to access to word processors or typewriters, and compare them to other states as part of the process?
What if I could present salient rebuttals to expected objections because I can actually look into them and cite sources?
Oh wow, tool user!
I can only laugh sardonically at this situation, but...
Let's turn it into a truth.
To anyone that is listening, let's turn these correctional facilities and institutions into hubs of learning, giving those here an actual second chance instead of putting them onto a merry-go-round and laughing at them.
The world out there is drowning in technology; let some of it in here.