His mother, with whom he lived after his grandmother’s death, brought home a flier for Per Scholas, a nonprofit organization that offers free technology job training to people with low incomes. Per Scholas referred Mr. Jones to the Community Service Society of New York, one of the seven organizations supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund. The society provided him with an unlimited MetroCard for two months.

Mr. Jones excelled at Per Scholas, graduating in 2015 and earning a pair of certifications for various operating systems that allowed him to apply for I.T. positions.

However, the next steps were not easy. Mr. Jones’s grandfather died later that year, and he had to sign up for food stamps until he could earn a steady paycheck.

In fall 2015, he landed a paid position integrating the computer systems of two New York real estate companies. He then worked as an intern at Praxis Housing Initiatives, a Manhattan-based organization that provides transitional housing to homeless people who are mentally ill or have H.I.V. or AIDS.

Mr. Jones then accepted contract positions with the School Construction Authority, which is responsible for the building and maintenance of New York City’s public schools, and Standard & Poor’s, the global credit ratings agency.

Then, in May 2016, Open Systems Technologies, a staffing firm that provides recruiting services to financial and technology companies, screened Mr. Jones and selected him to interview for a temporary position with Christian Louboutin, best known for its tall, expensive, red-soled high heels.

Mr. Jones was told he was being hired as a system analyst on a three-month contract. Christian Louboutin was not sure whether the job would turn into a full-time position, so it extended his contract until November 2016.