You're not alone!

It's going to take a movement to raise awareness about felons not being a Protected Class, and the legalized-discrimination that implies.

The way I usually phrase it is:

  "What would you do if you were black/hispanic/asian and someone said:
    'Yeah there's nothing technically WRONG with you as an applicant.
    'But we just don't really house/hire YOUR KIND around here. Just policy, nothing personal, sorry.'"

And then watch the horrified look on peoples' faces.

This is just an expected occurrence as a felon, regardless of how long it's been.

But who is going to raise such awareness? Someone who can afford to lose their job?

Which unfortunately isn't me at the moment, and it sounds like isn't you.

You are conflating "the way you are born" with "something you've done" e.g. something you can't choose with something you can.

To be fair a massive amount of people end up with felony records based on bullshit, trumped up charges, or laws that now seem insane (selling small amounts of drugs which are now legal).

People from lower socioeconomic statuses are the majority of criminal convictions, especially with the trash public defender system.

Have you ever been so hungry that you literally had no choice in the moment between blacking out from low blood sugar or shoplifting? It's a very traumatizing experience, my time as an Emergency Medical Technician had less effects on me than abject poverty did.

Oftentimes the way you are born affects the chances that "something you've done" is recorded on a permanent record. If one race is more likely to be punished with felonies then policies that discriminate against felonies are indirectly discriminating against race.

Yup. It's not teaching these people how to code. It's getting them a job once they can. Most companies will not hire them.

We have had 16 people hired in under a year and without a website at that time.

Companies will hire if you use your network to make it happen.