Debugging our past.
Deploying our future.
We teach returning citizens the digital fluency, AI foundations, and real coding skills that schools and employers now expect — and the support to actually move forward.
Cohort 3Fellow voices.
“Firme Coding was my foundation. It opened doors I didn't even know existed and helped me step into a tech pathway.”
— Cohort 1 Fellow
“I never felt judged for asking questions. The support from the instructors made it easier to keep going.”
— Cohort 2 Fellow
“I used to think tech wasn't for me. Now I see myself in this space and know I belong here.”
— Cohort 3 Fellow
“When I came home, everything was digital and I felt left behind. Firme helped me catch up and feel confident.”
— Cohort 2 Fellow
“This program gave me direction when I was rebuilding my life. It helped me believe I could go back to school.”
— Cohort 1 Fellow
Justice-impacted people learn the digital and AI skills schools and employers expect — with the confidence and dignity to use them.
Digital Fluency
Email, web, mobile, and the everyday tools schools and jobs assume you already know.
AI Foundations
What AI can do, where it falls short, and how to use it in real work.
Education Access
Applying to college, earning certifications, and continuing to learn after the program.
Workforce Readiness
Coding basics, computer literacy, and the workflows tech-adjacent jobs run on.
Confidence & Dignity
Coming back to a world that moved online without feeling left behind.
Second Chances
Real, countable outcomes: finished projects, paying jobs, college acceptances.
Four steps. Every one builds on the last.
Digital Fluency + AI Fundamentals
Devices, software, the internet, and how AI works. No prior knowledge assumed.
Critical Thinking
Break problems apart, work in teams, write what you mean.
SwiftUI Development
Build a working iOS app from scratch on Apple-provided hardware.
Building AI Agents
Build agents, automate workflows, ship something real.
Second chances that ship.
For people coming home to a world that moved online. “Ship” means real outcomes: finished projects, paid jobs, college acceptances. We give you the training, community, and equipment to make them real.
- Coffee and snacks during every session
- Stipend to buy a MacBook at the end of Pillar 1
- Industry mentors paired up at Pillar 3
- Staff who've lived reentry, not just studied it
Maria came home — and built the thing she needed.
She earned a BS in Computer Science and an MBA, and is now a Software Engineer at Disney. She is openly, publicly formerly incarcerated — because representation matters, and because someone has to be first so the next person knows it’s possible.
Firme Coding is the organization she needed. So no one has to figure it out alone.
The people doing the work.
Not charity cases. Not feel-good stories. Determined people who want to move forward.
Ready to make an impact?
Apply as a fellow, mentor with us, or fund the work.