Through tech and teaching, My Way Out provides a path forward

"I’m actually changing the oil. Right now, they’re giving us a speech about the PPE."Terence is one of about a dozen particpants in a virtual-reality class inside Milwaukee County’s Community Reintegration Center. The class is part of a six-week course for men and women residents provided by My Way Out, a program that provides reentry services to justice-impacted individuals.Ruben Gaona is My Way Out's executive director. The navy veteran launched the program after his own incarceration that followed an honorable discharge due to a back injury. He says he started selling drugs in 2007 to provide for himself and his family. In 2010, he was charged in a federal case. Now, his nonprofit hires staff that was formerly imprisoned while helping hundreds of people stay out of the justice system.“Obviously, when I came home, I didn’t know where technology was,” Gaona recalled. “So I started spending lots of hours with my laptop — learning, watching YouTube videos, learning how to use Excel, Word documents — because I also wanted to go back to school. I knew technology had advanced so much, so that started the passion of saying, ‘OK, there’s something here.’”To learn more about My Way Out and find all of our recent episodes, visit radiomilwaukee.org/ourstories.#####Episode host: Kim ShineUniquely Milwaukee is supported by our Radio Milwaukee members.