P.E.P. Talk Group proudly launched our first in-prison Trucking & CDL Career Pathway Program at Solano State Prison, in partnership with Wheels of Freedom – Reentry Trucking & CDL Entrepreneurship Program.

This groundbreaking program marks an important milestone in our mission to prepare justice-impacted individuals for meaningful, stable careers before they return home.

The Trucking/CDL Career Pathway Program provides incarcerated participants with:

• Industry knowledge and CDL permit preparation
   
• Career planning and job-readiness coaching
   
• Entrepreneurship pathways, including owner-operator training
   
• Personal development and life-skills education
   
• Support through release and transition into the workforce
   

Participants begin developing the mindset, discipline, and technical knowledge needed to succeed in one of the nation’s strongest, most reentry-friendly career fields: commercial trucking.

The trucking industry offers:

• High-demand, stable employment
   
• Opportunities available immediately after release
   
• Clear advancement into entrepreneurship
   
• Strong earning potential
   
• Employers who welcome justice-impacted workers
   

This makes it a natural fit for individuals looking to rebuild their lives, support their families, and contribute to their communities.

As with all P.E.P. Talk programs, this initiative is rooted in:
 

• Identity restoration
   
• Emotional wellness and self-accountability
   
• Community-driven leadership
   
• Lived experience and real-world opportunity
   

Participants were selected because they have shown dedication, growth, and commitment through the P.E.P. Talk Pre-Entry Program inside Solano.

This program bridges the inside and outside world by providing:

• Continued support upon release
   
• Placement opportunities with reentry-friendly trucking companies
   
• Access to the Wheels of Freedom CDL program
   
• Mentorship from formerly incarcerated trucking professionals
   

Our goal is to ensure participants leave with a plan, a pathway, and a community behind them.

The launch of this program represents more than a training course — it represents hope, opportunity, and the power of lived-experience leadership.

It reinforces P.E.P. Talk’s deeply held belief:

This is just the beginning.
Over the next year, we plan to:

• Expand the trucking curriculum inside Solano
   
• Add hands-on simulation and permit coaching
   
• Create direct employment pipelines for participants
   
• Strengthen support during the first 90 days post-release
   
• Build additional career-training pathways inside and outside the institution
   

P.E.P. Talk Group is committed to creating equitable access to meaningful employment and building a future where justice-impacted individuals have the tools to succeed.