Ashley Karris is a mother, a daughter, a sister, and has a college degree. As far as she was concerned, her life was settled and her education was complete.
In May 2023, the life that she knew was suddenly turned upside down, as she found herself in the Walker County Jail for the first time. Ashley decided to take advantage of the resources available in the jail. Little did she know that her life was about to change, and she was about to find a new hope.
Jenny Odom, Director of the Pregnancy Test Resource Center, began female parenting classes inside the Walker County Jail in 2021, in an effort to hopefully reduce what (at the time) was an increasing number of infant deaths in Walker County. This quickly led to Jenny expanding her parenting class to include an Adult Education Class through a partnership with Bevill State Community College.
This program includes not only GED training, but offers Workkeys, as well as additional instruction related to several industries our local employers engage in.
Ashley says that taking those parenting classes was just a way to keep her mind busy at first, but she quickly became aware of the negative aspects of her domestic situation. She realized that living a new life would require her to have some job skills that she didn’t currently have. So, she enrolled in Workkeys training.
Since she’s been incarcerated, Ashley has completed over 40 different courses in a variety of different classes. This has allowed her to qualify for free college credits, and even a small financial stipend!
Ashley plans on continuing her education when she gets out of jail, and hopefully get involved in helping others recover from a life that she was all too familiar with.
“We are incredibly proud of Ashley’s hard work and accomplishments due to the dedication that Jenny has provided her,” Sheriff Nick Smith said. “We hope celebrating her achievement is the first of many of our incarcerated individuals, as they use the resources that are provided inside the Walker County Jail. Incarceration has a punitive side, but it’s amazing to see people put forth effort to never see the inside of a jail again.”
