vOICES FROM THE IF PROJECT

Women from the Washington Corrections Center for Women who are part of the IF Project provided their written testimony related to reentry:
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• "After taking the steps to reach my goals and having worked hard to achieve them, I’d like to leave the stigma of my past decisions behind me. When people know you’ve been to prison… the doors are slammed in my face."
• "I am tired of not having stability in my life. In order to maintain a job, and to start living a normal life, having a home is crucial. To be stable is crucial."
• ​"Because of our incarceration, our children already have the odds stacked against them. For many of us, the desire is to get out and be the parents our children need. The desire to provide a better life for my children not only drove me to accomplish things I never thought I could, but also inadvertently raised my self-esteem, taught me who I am and what I can do, and perpetuated positive choices and change in my life. But what is all that good for if everyone just sees me as a felon?"
• ​"I would love for my landlord to look at me like a person, not a felon. I paid my debt to society and now I would like to be welcomed back into it without so many obstacles."
• "When you have a criminal background, and yearn for a job and your own place to live, you feel so hopeless. I am responsible for my bad choices, but it seems like you never stop 'paying' for them. It never goes away."
• "Housing is so important. Where we live is really the beginning of our transition in the community."