Find Her, Feel Her, Free Her!

by Pamela Thomas

Find Her, Feel Her, Free Her, is a gender-specific re-entry program created by Pamela Thomas based on her own experiences of the criminal justice system. This program is a set curriculum that assists the needs of those re-entering communities by providing them with the resources they need.

programs-in-prison reentry

Interview with Sheryl Abel

by Sheryl Abel

In this interview Salome Chasnoff asks Sheryl to talk about her experience in prison and how she walked out the prison and is now walking back in without handcuffs and shackles helping the women she left behind. And how she became the CEO of H.O.P.E.

motherhood prison-life reentry

Interview with Pamela Thomas

by Pamela Thomas

In this interview, Pamela Thomas discusses her life, beginning with her life on the street as a teenager and her abusive relationship with an older man. She discusses her children, her relationship to her parents, and her path into drug addiction. She also describes her path out of prison, including a later parole violation that arose after she called the police for her personal safety, and her current work in the social services.

motherhood reentry substance-abuse

Interview with Lucretia Clay

by Lucretia Clay-Ward

Lucretia’s involvement in the sex industry began at the age of 12 when her mother sold her to a pimp. A mother of three, Lucretia has been incarcerated, has battled drug addiction, and is H.I.V. positive, but she is currently trying to go back to school to become a drug counselor and is working to develop new relationships with her children. Salome Chasnoff interviews Lucretia.

motherhood prostitution reentry

Interview with Joanne Archibald

by Salome Chasnoff

In this interview with Salome Chasnoff, Joanne Archibald discusses the impact of her federal prison sentence on her life, her relationship with her son, and her ability to move on with her life afterwards.

motherhood prison-life reentry

The Intersectionality of Race, Gender, and Reentry: Challenges for African-American Women

by Geneva Brown

Challenges faced by African-American women reentering society.

children-of-prisoners family gender health housing-and-homelessness public-policy racism reentry

Mapping The Way Home: Reducing Barriers to Women’s Reentry After Prison

by Patricia O'brien

O'Brien describes the difficulties that women face in returning to the community after prison. She addresses the major areas of concern in women's reentry: relationships with their families and children, housing, relationships, substance abuse and recovery, and employment. For each of these areas, O'Brien lists specific policy changes that could have a positive effect on women’s abilities to rebuild their lives upon their return.

family public-policy reentry substance-abuse

Excerpt from Banished Pride

by Gina Autrey

I have a hard time trusting others. My friendship is not something that is given freely. I can count on one hand the people who I truly consider to be my friend.

peer-support personal-narrative prison-life prison-industrial-complex reentry relationships

Bonnie, Frannie & Linda RIP

by Jerrye Broomhall

Every year the legislature approves the necessary extra millions to keep Oklahoma’s mass imprisonment binge solvent. Due to the economic downturn, however, the funds are no longer available and the mandate to fund Oklahoma’s prisons is no longer compelling to the cash-strapped legislature.