About the Challenge

Every year, families of incarcerated people pay billions to stay connected with their loved ones. The prison telecom industry charges rates that can reach $1 per minute for phone calls, video calls, and electronic messages, forcing families to choose between staying connected and meeting basic needs.

Code for Connection: Open Lines, Open Source brings together engineers, designers, and directly impacted community members to build an open-source communications platform that correctional facilities can adopt to provide free communication for incarcerated people and their families.

What Makes This Hackathon Different

This isn't a typical hackathon. Instead of competing in isolation, you'll work within collaborative guilds, each focused on a core component of the platform: voice calls, video calls, electronic messaging, or administration.

Each guild contains paired teams that must work together to deliver a combined prototype. Your success depends on how well your work connects with others.

Example: How a guild works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ VOICE GUILD │ │ │ │ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ │ │ │ Team Alpha │ │ Team Beta │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ User-facing │◄─►│ Admin tools + │ │ │ │ interfaces for │ │ backend │ │ │ │ families + │ │ services │ │ │ │ incarcerated │ │ │ │ │ │ individuals │ │ │ │ │ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ │ │ │ │ Shared API contracts + schemas │ │ Regular syncs throughout the day │ │ Combined demo: "Here's what we built" │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

We anticipate approximately 75 participants across all guilds. Detailed assignments and technical briefing materials will be shared with accepted participants before the event.

Centering Lived Experience

Formerly incarcerated individuals and impacted family members aren't consultants here, they serve as UX guides, giving feedback to every team, ensuring the platform reflects the real needs of the people who will use it.

Who Should Participate

Software engineers (especially experience with WebRTC, real-time communication, or mobile development)
UX/UI designers
Product managers
Formerly incarcerated individuals
Family members of incarcerated people
Legal professionals familiar with corrections
Anyone passionate about criminal justice reform and tech for good

Event Details

Saturday, March 7 — Day 1

Opening session, technical briefing, guild formation, and a full day of building with cross-guild sync sessions. Lunch, snacks, and dinner provided.

Sunday, March 8 — Day 2

Continued building, integration time, code freeze, guild presentations, awards, and closing. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks provided.

A detailed schedule will be shared with accepted participants closer to the event.

Documentary Screening: March 5, 2026

Join us the Thursday before for a documentary screening exploring the prison telecom industry, followed by a panel discussion. Open to all. Separate registration details coming soon.

About Worth Rises

Worth Rises is a non-profit organization dedicated to dismantling the prison industry and ending the exploitation of those it touches. The organization works to expose the commercialization of the criminal justice system, advocate for policy reform, and build alternatives that center the needs of directly impacted communities.

Learn more at worthrises.org

Code for Connection: Open Lines, Open Source

Organizers