“I never thought I’d have a daughter in prison.”

That’s how Erica’s mom started her story, and honestly, it stopped me in my tracks. We don’t always get to hear from the parents, but they’re there, living through the quiet, heavy reality of incarceration alongside their children every single day.

She spoke about the life they had built. She described it as the kind of normal, everyday life most of us would recognize until that one singular, shattering moment that changed everything. “One bad decision… and suddenly the future you imagined for your child looks very different. And the truth is, that it can happen to anyone.”

I keep coming back to that. It’s so easy for people to put distance between themselves and the idea of incarceration, thinking it’s something that happens “somewhere else” to “someone else.” But it isn’t. And once you see that truth, the conversation stops being about how someone got there and starts being about how we help them get back.

That is the heart of our work.

April Is Second Chance Month 
In 2025, we saw something so much stronger than the year’s uncertainties: pure determination. More than 500 women walked through our doors to build new lives. And the results were fabulous! Eighty-one percent of those women transitioned into roles that fully aligned with their career goals, starting with average salaries of $38,208.

But as much as I love a good data point, the numbers don’t carry the real weight. The real story is the ripple effect. Sixty-two percent of the women we serve are mothers, which means our work touched the lives of more than 1,800 children this year. When a mom gets a second chance, her children are 11 times more likely to graduate high school and stay out of the justice system themselves. That is how you change the future.

We also tackled one of the scariest hurdles this year: housing. We launched our transitional housing program because we know that without a stable place to sleep, everything else—the job, sobriety, parenting—becomes a mountain. Thirty-six women received that vital support, and 29 of them moved into their own independent living within just six months. It’s a huge reason why our recidivism rate remains so incredibly low at 2.8%. Read our full 2025 Impact Report.

The truth is, we’re competing for your heart.
Look, I know how it is; non-profits everywhere are vying for your support and most of us naturally gravitate toward causes where we have a personal connection. We tend to give to what we know. And for most, incarceration feels like a world away. But I’m asking you to look a little closer and see the “Ericas” and their moms. Because when you choose to see the person instead of the prison bars, you realize they aren’t “those people,” they’re our people.

This year brought real funding pressures, but our community stepped up in ways that were just moving. More than 920 of you gave your time to make sure these women weren’t forgotten.

April is Second Chance Month, a time that symbolizes everything we stand for. It’s the perfect moment to realize that opportunity shouldn’t end at a prison gate.

Erica’s mom was right: this can happen to anyone. What matters…what defines us…is what we choose to do next.

If you’ve ever wondered what real second chances look like, I invite you to stay connected to this work. The stories, the transformation, the families being made whole again—it’s all happening every day.

Michelle

PS: You can still be part of this work. Consider sponsoring a woman or becoming a monthly donor through our Pathfinders program.