EARLY YEARS: Formerly-incarcerated man creates non-profit to help other dads re-enter society with marketable skills

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) -On the surface, it appeared that Sean Hosman had it all.

“I had a beautiful wife. I had beautiful children. I had a beautiful house. I had investments. I owned a company. I had employees,” says Sean Hosman, founder and CEO of Persevere Now.

But his success led to drinking during business trips, and he says a personal tragedy later led to a dependency on drugs. It was then when his life took a downward spiral.

“I’m in a very dangerous apartment. I’m in a very dangerous apartment building. I’m in a very dangerous part of town,’ says Hosman.

The father of two was arrested more than a dozen times for drug and alcohol related crimes.

Now sober, Hosman is helping other through his non-profit called Persevere Now, which offers those formerly incarcerated a second chance.

“We do that by offering a one year boot camp on computer programming. And so our participants leave with a really solid set of skills and access to a high- demand industry,” says Julie Landers, the Persevere Now program manager for Virginia.

Studies show the children of incarcerated parents are five times more likely than their peers to commit crimes.

By helping parents get back on their feet after prison, with marketable skills, Persevere Now is also helping the next generation.

“It’s not just about breaking the cycle of recidivism and returning to prison, but also breaking cycles of poverty, cycles of criminality and helping them change the trajectory of their entire families’ lives,” says Landers.

If you’re interested in learning more about Persevere Now, or would like to volunteer or donate, here’s a link.

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