Speaking Up, Speaking Out

Hakim is compassionate and sees herself as a servant of God. Hakim, a former resident at A New Way of Life, was arrested at 15 and incarcerated for more than two decades. During those years, Hakim lost hope that she would ever be released. Finally, after almost 25 years, Hakim was granted parole. After release, Hakim became a resident at A New Way of Life Reentry Project. A New Way of Life offered a judgment-free environment to reenter society and marked a new start for Hakim.

Evie Ponder has a zest for life and is motivated to help others who have suffered painful experiences. While incarcerated, Evie read “Becoming Ms. Burton,” which inspired her to change her life. Within the short time at A New Way of Life, Evie has made great strides in her personal and professional life. Evie accepted a position in the Administrative Department at A New Way of Life and continues working towards her dream of opening her own SAFE House, just like Ms. Burton. Evie aims to transform her pain into purpose.

Hamdiya returns to Testif-i to discuss her work as the founder of Founding Mothers Incorporated, a SAFE House Network member, which provides a safe space for formerly incarcerated women to live and grow. Hamdiya’s life purpose is to give back to the community she left and offer a safe place for formerly incarcerated women.

Bethany Little was inspired to make a change due to her own experience with the criminal justice system. She began to pursue transitional housing for women and the LGBTQ population who were being discharged from treatment or released from incarceration. Today, Bethany is the founder and president of Women in Need (WIN) Recovery, a SAFE Housing Network member. Through WIN, Bethany builds an environment based on love and trust, allowing residents to move forward with their lives. Bethany envisions WIN Recovery homes throughout Illinois. She hopes to invest in other people’s dreams the way Ms. Burton invested in hers.

Ivy Beverely-Hilton is passionate and motivated to succeed. Years ago, Ivy’s 6-month-old daughter died in a tragic accident. This experience impacted Ivy’s mental health, and the stigma surrounding the accident affected many aspects of her life. Instead of offering Ivy support to deal with the trauma of her child’s death, she was incarcerated and found guilty. While incarcerated, Ivy dreamed of owning and operating her line of natural products. Today, she is the founder and CEO of Nonni’s Naturals, an alternative health product company that takes a holistic approach to preventing and reversing disease.

Moonlight is full of life and laughter—never a moment of boredom when she’s around. After Moonlight was released in 1985, she struggled to find reentry services and resources. Moonlight cycled in and out of incarceration —after years of this, Moonlight found herself with a life sentence. Moonlight was sent to a prison far from her children and family—no one could visit, and she rarely received phone calls. For years, Moonlight asked to be transferred closer to family and was told no time after time. Moonlight knew she wanted a different life and found A New Way of Life Reentry Project. Moonlight refers to the program as a blessing for supporting her transition back into society. Now, after 26 years, Moonlight is reconnecting with her family.

Natha is friendly, easy-going, and recently released after serving 44 years behind bars. Natha shares their experience with abuse from a young age and how they became entangled in the criminal justice system. One day before board, Natha saw a friend on TV talking about A New Way of Life Reentry Project, which gave them hope. A New Way of Life has offered Natha a home and other reentry resources. Even with this support, Natha has difficulty finding a job and housing outside of A New Way of Life. Society has minimal resources for the formerly incarcerated and even less for formerly incarcerated senior citizens. Natha wants to get involved in advocacy and hopes to help systems-impacted youth.

Hamdiya Cooks-Abdullah has over 30 years of experience working on issues facing women in prison. Having served 20 years in the federal prison system, while incarcerated, Hamdiya led Muslim women prisoners in the struggle to honor their religious practices, including headgear and fasting. Hamdiya is currently the Administrative Director at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children in San Francisco, CA. Her responsibilities are wide-ranging as she works to eradicate systematic discrimination practices against formerly incarcerated people.

After years living in Skid Row in Downtown Los Angeles, Amber Helphingstine knew that once she was released, she could be back on the streets and to old habits. It wasn’t until she read “Becoming Ms. Burton” when she found a role model who had gone through the same. She wrote a letter to Susan Burton and to her surprise, got a reply inviting her to join A New Way of Life Reentry Project. Now, after living at ANWOL, Amber has moved onto independent living and is enrolled at East Los Angeles College where she is studying to become a drug and alcohol counselor. She hopes to use her experience and past to help her community, just like Ms. Susan Burton.

While serving her second conviction, Michelle Perkins realized she was ready to choose a different life. She asked to be placed in a treatment facility which sent her down a road of sober living. She reentered society determined to work on herself and build upon the education she received in prison. Michelle wanted to do everything in her power to save as many people as possible from a life of drug and alcohol abuse. Now, Michelle has started a reentry service of her own called Turning Points Women’s Reentry Program where she provides every resident with access to resources that assists and prepares them for a functional life after incarceration. Now she can use her experiences to empower the lives of women coming home from prison, a vow she made to herself when she was released.