Code @ Palomar : A Coding Bootcamp

What it is:

Our goal is to empower survivors of domestic violence to find financial freedom and a fulfilling career through technology. Specifically, we want to bring the unique skills and diverse backgrounds of our clients to the web and software development teams in our community.

What makes survivors great candidates for software development:

They have excellent lateral thinking skills. They’re good at being resourceful and coming up with creative solutions to complex problems.
They’re experts at contingency planning. They are great at evaluating “what ifs” and planning for edge cases.
They’re experienced in anticipating needs. They know how to navigate complex sets of rules and requirements.
They’re extremely flexible. They have plenty of real-world experience with adapting to new and changing situations and problems.
They’re exceptionally tenacious. In spite of overwhelming and difficult circumstances, they know how to survive and thrive.

94%

of victims of domestic violence also experience financial abuse during the relationship, creating additional barriers to leaving

38%

of survivors of domestic violence will become homeless at some point, and depending on location, between 22% and 57% of homeless women cite violence as the immediate cause

25%

of computing jobs are held by women

$57,950

average salary for a web developer in Oklahoma

Dreaming big:

We know the biggest barrier to starting a new, financially liberating career in web and software development isn’t as much about the availability of courses as it is about the time and financial resources to access them. Students need supportive senior developers and instructors who can empower them to practice independent learning, but be available to guide and help troubleshoot when issues arise.

Our intention is to create an immersive, full-time program to prepare our students to be work-ready. In order to support our students, with help from community partnerships, it is our goal to provide a stipend for living expenses. Stipends will enable our brave students to focus entirely on their studies,

After several months in the classroom with enthusiastic and trauma-informed instructors, mentors and guest speakers, our program participants will begin to split their time between internships and in-class support. Upon successful completion of an internship, our graduates will be ready for full-time employment as front-end or full-stack developers.

Like many other code schools, we will ask our program participants to contribute a portion of their future earnings to the program and “pay it forward” so other survivors can follow in their footsteps. Our long-term vision is that graduates will continue to engage with the program as guest speakers, mentors, and one day, as employers for future graduates of the program.

I want to help!

I want to participate!

Great! We’d love to have you! Please fill out our application here:

Participant Application

I want to teach!

Great! We’d love to have you! Please fill out our application here:

Instructor Application