Road To Re-Entry" has been issued.
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Each year, almost 125,000 people are released from California State prisons. In 2006 close to 12,000 women were serving time in California State prisons. Two-thirds were serving time for a non-violent offense. Over 13,000 women were on parole in California in 2006. More than half of them will eventually return to prison.
For many women in today’s prison system, life is an endless cycle of destructive behavior, limited opportunities and broken promises. To break out of this cycle, they face hurdles and challenges many are unprepared for.
Overcoming addictions, finding employment, securing safe housing, reuniting with children and obtaining badly needed social services are only a few of the challenges they face. Yet after years of going in and out of the criminal justice system, many women continue to lack both the skills and the support needed to turn their lives around.
Though States have implemented some initiatives to assist women in their re-entry, most programs are underfunded, difficult to access and address only a fraction of the issues unique to women. As a result many women feel they have no choice but to put themselves back into compromising situations that, in most cases, land them right back in prison again.
With the second largest prison population in the U.S., California ranks second to last among States in the percentage of offenders who successfully complete their parole.
Twenty-five percent of parolees in California are released into Los Angeles County, specifically into the communities of South Central, Crenshaw, Compton and Watts. Less than half receive services that assist them once they are out of prison. Most are simply given their “gate money” ($200) and a one-way bus ticket, which drops them off in the heart of ‘skid-row’ in downtown Los Angeles.
One of the only organizations assisting women in L.A. County is a small grassroots, non-profit organization called, A New Way of Life. Located in the Watts area of Los Angeles, A New Way of Life provides women and their children with a clean safe environment where they can feel welcomed and supported in their transition to becoming independent members of the community. A New Way of Life can house up to 25 women and provides residents with three phases of services that include: pick-up upon release from prison, assistance in obtaining government documents like a Social Security and ID card, one on one counseling on a weekly basis, assistance in searching for a job and permanent housing as well as assistance in family reunification. Since it’s opening in 1998, A New Way of Life has succeeded in helping to transform the lives of over 220 women.
ROAD TO RE-ENTRY - all images and text are copyrighted to Greg Constantine
