Opinion: As a 58-year-old who was in prison for 40 years, I didn’t even know how to use a cellphone

Perez is an apprentice at Rise Up Industries and lives in San Diego.

After serving almost four decades in prison, I look at my wonderful life and can’t believe how blessed I am to have a career, a home and a loving fiance. It wasn’t a given, and it took hard work and a commitment to learn that helped me get on a career path.

While I was incarcerated, I had goals for my future. I knew I wanted to have a career. I just didn’t know it would be.

Soon after I was released from incarceration last April, I heard about the Center for Employment Opportunities, or CEO, a national nonprofit that provides employment services to individuals impacted by a criminal justice history. It was a personal and provisional turning point for me.

I began CEO’s training curriculum, and I learned the basics of using a computer, navigating different operating systems, finding files, and using Microsoft Word and Excel, and Google.

This may seem basic to some, but as a 58-year-old who was in prison for almost 40 years, I was way behind on technology. I didn’t even know how to use a cellphone. But I was curious to learn. We were given tablets while incarcerated and using mine further piqued my interest. So when I got out, I was eager to explore more to advance my computer literacy.

Within two months, I was hired by San Diego’s Rise Up Industries. Rise Up is modeled after Homeboy Industries, a gang intervention and reentry program.

Now I’m seven months into a paid, 18-month apprenticeship with Rise Up, training to be a computer numerical control machinist for which I need a certain level of computer literacy because the whole system is set up on the internet and we use computers to program the machines to cut specific parts.

In fact, I wouldn’t have been qualified for this position if I didn’t have the digital skills training to familiarize myself with basic computer skills.

Not only am I paid well in this position, but my co-workers and I also get all the support we could ask for, including counseling and financial advice. I love my co-workers, too.

Work isn’t the only place I use the digital skills I learned, though. They’ve been vital in all parts of my life. I learned how to operate my cellphone, including using GPS navigation, which I use every day to drive the streets of San Diego. I use Bluetooth technology to play music over my car stereo. I even need these skills for my wellness. For example, most COVID-19 vaccine appointments have to be scheduled online. I’m grateful I had the ability to do that.

I’m really proud of how far I’ve come in a short time. Professionally, I’m learning and excelling at whatever I set out to do. I was even hired for a second job working at a machine shop in El Cajon.

Looking ahead, I plan on completing this apprenticeship program and getting my certification.

Eventually, I hope to purchase my own milling machine, pursue a contractor’s license and start a business. While in prison, I earned my degree in business management from Palo Verde College in Blythe. While my goals may sound lofty, I have the wherewithal to make them happen.

There are still a lot of things related to computers that I don’t understand — sometimes a problem comes up with the Wi-Fi that I don’t know how to fix, and I’m still confused by phone data. However, I know enough basic information to know how to ask for help. And that’s what’s most important.

I owe a lot to the people and organizations that have supported me since I left prison, including CEO and its digital skills program. In just a couple of months, with what I learned, I was able to go out on my own and get a job with another company. I’ve been able to accomplish so much in the past year, and I’m excited to see what else I can achieve from here. I can only hope others who are returning to their communities realize they also have the opportunity for a wonderful life.