Overview:
Page County has a significant population of incarcerated residents in recovery with few employment opportunities available. Located in a largely agricultural area in northeast Virginia, the Page County Economic Development Community Action Team is interested in starting an agricultural-based social enterprise that would work with residents to acquire skills and jobs. They would like to understand the practicality of this goal before applying for grants to start the social enterprise. The Page Count Cooperative Extension agent and Virginia Tech researchers are creating data insights to identify the areas to assist Page County’s formerly incarcerated residents, including alleviating food insecurity, homelessness, low job skills, and substance abuse recovery.
Teaser Video:
Fellows:
Josh Beverly
Virginia Tech, Agricultural and Applied Economics
Interns:
Talib Grant
Virginia Tech, Data Analytics
Laura Pranteddu
Virginia Tech and University of Trento, Data Science
Afrina Tabassum
Virginia Tech, Computer Science
Mentors:
Susan Chen
Associate Professor, Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech
Ford Ramsey
Assistant Professor, Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech
Conaway Haskins
Extension Specialist, Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech