A New Way of Life’s Founder and Executive Director will speak to a public audience on March 8, 2012 at Stanford University as part of the Clayman Institute’s event: “Women Prisoners: No Right To Be A Mother.” More information can be found here.

The founder of A New Way of Life, CNN Hero Susan Burton, is featured in a new film:

“Visions of Abolition“

The film, which also features legendary civil rights activist, Angela Davis, is a documentary about the prison industrial complex and the prison abolition movement.

It will be screened this week at the Los Angeles Pan African Film Festival.

The Rave Cinemas 15, Baldwin Hills
Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
4020 Marlton Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90008
323.296.1005

Tuesday Feb 14, 1:30pm PST
&
Thursday Feb. 16, 4:00pm PST

For more details see: http://2012.paff.org/films/

Tickets:
Tuesday Matinee $9.50
Seniors & Students (with ID) $9.50
Children $5.25
Adult general admission (Thursday showing) $11.50

www.visionsofabolition.org

Grammy-nominated artist Melanie Fiona took time out of her busy schedule the evening of January 18, 2012 to drive to Watts in South Los Angeles.

Quietly and without fanfare, she met with formerly incarcerated women living at A New Way of Life Reentry Project (ANWOL). Fiona participated in a bi-weekly “Woman to Woman” gathering offered through ANWOL’s reentry housing project. This gathering allows ANWOL residents to come together and offer each other empowerment, support and encouragement in their journey through recovery and toward successful community reentry. ANWOL’s founder, CNN Hero Susan Burton, was on hand to facilitate the meeting and even provided enthusiastic vocal backup to Fiona’s soulful a cappella rendition of “It Kills Me”.

On a more serious note, Burton said, “When I was released from prison, I wanted to become a nurse; to take care of the elderly. I was told I couldn’t be a nurse because of my record. What I could do, was take other women like myself into my home and, knowing what challenges they were facing, help them into a new way of life. No one could tell me I couldn’t do that, so I did it.”

Fiona spoke of her personal experiences of negativity as a woman in the music business. She told of naysayers who tried to dictate how she should look, sing and promote her music. Fiona reminisced about her early struggles in the music business, “I was told it was a disadvantage to be too smart. I was even told that I sang TOO WELL; that people wouldn’t want to perform with me. I learned to be clear about who I am and what messages I want to share through my music. I want my music to be of the quality that 30 years from now, people will listen and say…..Hey! That’s good!” Fiona encouraged the women not to be ashamed of their pasts, but to use those experiences to create positive decisions in the future.

As Fiona shared stories from her life, she encouraged the women to share their stories as well. The women reported being touched by her warmth and positive energy. Fiona’s message of the value and strength of women resonated with ANWOL’s residents. “She’s just really down to earth,” one resident said. “She’s been through her own struggles and came through; she’s the real deal,” said another.

Originally posted in Look to the Stars

Caring magazine, a ministry of Salvation Army, published a story about A New Way of Life Reentry Project’s Founder and Executive Director, Susan Burton, in their Winter 2011 edition. Erica Andrews came out to visit one of the reentry homes and interviewed Susan. When asked about how it all started back in 1998, Susan had this to say: “There’s a culture and a connection among formerly incarcerated people that just lives. I began to reach out, write letters and visit parole offices. As I was moving about the community, I would see people and say, ‘you don’t have to be homeless, I have a home here and you can come and stay and we can just live together, be responsible together and recover together.’”

Read the whole story here: Susan interviewed by Caring magazine

Recording artists Brynne Zaniboni and Dan Whittemore have recently released a single Oh Holy Night.

As supporters of A New Way of Life, they intend to donate a portion of its sale to help us continue our work.

It’s available on iTunes for download now!

Melanie Fiona, Singer

A New Way of Life Reentry Project is a grassroots, non-profit organization in South Central Los Angeles with a core mission to help women and girls break the cycle of entrapment in the criminal justice system and lead healthy and satisfying lives. A New Way of Life’s goals are to:

• Provide clean, safe, sober home environments where formerly incarcerated women and their children feel welcomed and supported in their transition to becoming independent members of the community;
• Offer education, job training and skill-building opportunities for women to prepare them for self-sufficiency; and
• Serve as a leader and community advocate for the rights of women inmates, and formerly incarcerated people and their families.

Melanie Fiona urges you to support this amazing cause! Every donation counts and is greatly appreciated.

Melanie Fiona will be live in concert for one special night with her new band on Saturday, Dec. 10th! This show is in support of A New Way Of Life and to bring awareness to our mission.

Please contribute to A New Way Of Life’s Holiday Gift Drive and bring a wrapped new toy or toiletry set (lotions, perfumes, shower gels, etc.). As a thank you for your contribution, you will receive a special autographed item from Melanie Fiona.

Location

The Savoy Entertainment Center
218 S. La Brea Ave.
Inglewood, CA 90301

Doors open at 8pm
Performance starts at 11:30pm

Advance tickets for Only $20

Purchase tickets now at Savoy Entertainment Center’s website.

Over 350 people joined together in advocacy at the Long Beach Convention Center on October 26, 2011 for the Long Beach Peace & Justice Summit. Through the offices of Long Beach Councilman Dee Andrews, a panel of local community leaders listened to the testimonies of formerly incarcerated individuals whose lives have been directly affected by the failed war on drugs.  These individuals testified to the barriers they face as they try to reenter our communities.

No matter the special circumstances, people with a history of drug convictions and other felonies are routinely denied mental health care, public assistance, education, employment and housing. The summit provided an opportunity for these individuals to have a voice, and to use that voice to work to change policies that slow the process of a successful reentry. Given the opportunity, these individuals can and want to become productive members of society.

After registration, welcoming remarks were delivered by Councilman Dee Andrew’s Chief of Staff, John Edmond, A New Way of Life Reentry Project’s Founder and Executive Director, Susan Burton, Long Beach Councilman, Dee Andrews, and Los Angeles Chapter Organizer, All of Us or None, Fanya Baruti. Stephen Gutwillig, the State Director of the Drug Policy Alliance gave a presentation on “Alternatives to Incarceration & Criminalization on Drug Usage.”

Testimony was received from people directly affected in the areas of: disparities in mental health services, the welfare ban, lack of affordable G.E.D. education, lack of affordable housing/community resources, employment discrimination, Ban the Box campaign and the disease of incarceration.

Over lunch, the action panel, moderated by Saul Sarabia of UCLA’s Critical Race Studies program, discussed issues and came to an agreement of what can be done to address the issues presented. After listening to testimony, participants were excited to hear that panel members expressed a commitment to continue the dialogue. As a result of the summit, preliminary agreements/outcomes are:

1.     All of Us or None will:

• Provide Action Panelists with appropriate models and best practices for proposed policy reforms, including hiring reforms and clean slate programs; and
• Provide Action Panelists with guidelines and models for government agency implementation of the Bill of Rights for Children of Incarcerated Parents.

2.     Action Panelists Proposed:

• The Panel will advocate by all means to keep critical community-based programs during the implementation of realignment;
• Include formerly-incarcerated people and prisoners’ families in the formation of a county-wide Community Advisory Board, to advise the Board of Supervisors, Department of Probation, and Community Corrections Partnership in decision-making around criminal justice policies, particularly regarding realignment.  Made a commitment to develop a reentry plan with the CCP that emphasizes prevention/ intervention/ reentry;
• Identified the need for all stakeholders to have access to better training about identifying mental health problems in formerly-incarcerated people, and at-risk children and teens; and
• Create focus groups to solve specific policy problems through educational sessions with subject experts.  (Include formerly-incarcerated people as partners and experts.)

3.     Panel participant agreements:

Urban League:

• Will support economic development of small businesses and local industry based in the community; and
• Will cooperate and assist other workforce development agencies to support employment of formerly-incarcerated people, bringing local and regional employers and government together – perhaps for a training in which formerly-incarcerated people could participate as trainers and discussion guides.

Centro C.H.A.:

• Will advocate keeping services based in the community, especially in the context of realignment; (Case Management should be mandatory as part of providing assistance to people coming back from jail or prison.)
• Recommended that focus should be on prevention and intervention;
• Stated need for trained and specialized therapists; (perhaps an area for advocacy with Public Health Dept?)
• Facilitate employment opportunities for formerly-incarcerated people.

Long Beach Police Department:

• Will discuss and consider implementing the Bill of Rights for Children of Incarcerated Parents; and
• Will share its model of community policing with Action Panelists; and
• Will develop strategies to retain trained people and programs that have supported people coming out of jail and prison.

City of Carson:

• Will consider doing background checks after a conditional offer of employment has been made and are open to exploring other changes in their hiring policies, to improve employment opportunity.

Workforce Investment Board:

• Will work to streamline the process and eliminate barriers to acquiring a GED, including financial Pilot program for youth is being established for youth coming out of juvenile detention, with WIB cooperation and support.

Los Angeles Department of Probation:

• Will improve its public transparency, to clarify and possibly modify existing policies.
• Committed to emphasize preparation prior to release in its future policies.
• Requested additional training from A New Way of Life Reentry Project and Time for Change in regard to sensitivity training for parole agents so they are able to provide culturally competent services for their clients. (Tentative timeline is February of 2012.)

Long Beach NAACP:

• Will assist with developing school in Long Beach to access G.E.D. free of charge.

View pictures from the event on our Flickr stream

Read more about the Summit here:

• Southern California Radio, On Central News
• Everything Long Beach 1
• Everything Long Beach 2
• Long Beach Post

The Long Beach Peace & Justice Summit was sponsored by: The City of Long Beach; A New Way of Life Reentry Project; All of Us or None, LA Chapter; Legal Services for Prisoners with Children; The Drug Policy Alliance; AKONADI Foundation; Youth Justice Coalition; Black Workers Center; LAANE; CENTRO C.H.A.; We Got This 35 & Over Softball League; FAMILY Foundation; Long Beach/Harbor Area Sober Living Coalition; WLCAC, FACTS; Reentry Radio; Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network and Time For Change.

A New Way of Life Reentry Project graduate Tiffany Johnson shared her story of recovery and gratitude after serving 16 years in prison with Pace News, which published an article about her on November 25, 2011. Ms. Johnson was paroled to A New Way of Life in April 2010, and within 3 months found a job through the Department of Rehabilitation. She bought a car, and recently moved in to her own apartment. Tiffany has become a role model for other women, and has this to say to others like who are attempting to rebuild their lives after release from prison: “No matter where you’ve been. Trust God. Find the faith to renew your dream to go in a new direction and always remember there are always people out there to help you gain a new way of thinking and to get a new way of life.”

Tiffany also recently inspired an audience of over 250 at A New Way of Life’s 13th annual gala “Catching Falling Stars” with her story of hope and redemption on November 17, 2011. We are so proud of Tiffany and all of the women residents, past and present, of A New Way of Life for their courage.

To view the full Pace News article, click here: Pacenews November25 2011

Tiffany Johnson delivers an address at A New Way of Life's 2011 gala

A New Way of Life Reentry Project was one of three charities selected by GBK Productions to attend a celebrity gifting lounge on the weekend of the Emmy awards. The event was held at the W Hotel in Hollywood. Susan Burton and members of the Board of Directors of ANWOL got a chance to meet celebrities and spread the word about the work we do helping women coming home from prison.

Some of the celebrities we met include Jason Isaacs, Anthony Anderson, Kathryn Joosten, Niecy Nash, Cloris Leachman, James Woods, Joe Mantegna, Mayim Bialik, Janina Gavankar, Randee Heller, Jim O’Heir, Jordan Bridges, and Nia Peeples. Many of them expressed interest in our work in our upcoming gala “Catching Falling Stars.” Stay tuned to our event website to find out which celebrities plan to attend, perform, and present awards to our honorees.

View our entire Flickr album

Read an article about the event here, and another here.

The housing authority of the City of Los Angeles recently approved the first pilot program in the state aimed at reuniting former prisoners and their families who live in Section 8 housing. This important program will diminish barriers to reentry for formerly incarcerated women and men who were previously banned from subsidized and Section 8 housing. A New Way of Life staff worked closely with HACLA officials to design the pilot program, and we are so excited to see it go into effect! Read more about it here.