Here's the scenario: you're a woman in jail, knowing only that you'll eventually be released.
But what about after your release?
The prospects tend to look pretty thin, but during your time in custody, you have a chance to learn about financial literacy, something that could be very beneficial. Enter Ali Ibrahimov, a PhD student from Texas A and M University- Corpus Christi. His collegiate background is in education, but his involvement in a financial literacy boot camp in Stanford got the ball rolling.
"I am teaching finance. It is I'm researching the ways how to teach finance within easier ways that everyone can understand, because if you look at it, there are so many resources and there are so many materials and so many jargons and financial terms, but I take it, all those knowledges, and put little abracadabra and make it easier to learn," Ibrahimov said.
Bringing the tools he learned back to Corpus Christi, he promoted the topic, and had support from the local literacy council. A judge on the group's board suggested the information could impact inmates to get back into society. That led to financial literacy classes at Nueces County Jail, which focuses on helping female inmates keep track of finances once they're out.
"And I gave the presentation about how financial literacy can impact incarceration rate, how it can also help inmates right after they get back to the society," Ibrahimov said. "And it is going to teach not just theoretical knowledge, but it will also teach practical knowledge.
Ibrahimov has since been involved in multiple sessions with inmates, but not just lecturing about finances, but developing hands on activities to deal with real world financial issues.
In a recent class, he focused on teaching the inmates about compounded interest, how to read a bank statement, the difference between banks versus credit unions, and credit card use.
Despite the classes, Ali recognizes that for the inmates he's working with, dealing with real world post jail time could be an uphill climb.
"In the society's eye, we consider as a felon, it is hard to find a job for us, it is hard to find an apartment for us, so on, so forth," he said. "But I explained that I completely get it. But that doesn't mean it's end of everything. There are so many ways to re-enter the society, and managing your finance well is one of the biggest steps that you can take."
Ibrahimov acknowledges that there are some similar programs to his, but adds the other programs merely provide materials while his classes have more one-to-one involvement.
"I really like the idea of even if I can help one particular person . . . once the individual reenters to the society, that means a lot to me, if I can help even one person," he said.
In the long run, Ibrahimov says the program not only offers financial insight for the inmates at Nueces County Jail, it also provides hope in Corpus Christi.