Reentry Strategies Webinar Learning Series

Black women are currently overrepresented in carceral systems and yet underrepresented in conversations about what effective reentry looks like.

This is critical because many reentry programs have been designed with men in mind and may overlook the unique needs of women, including the fact that many women who have been incarcerated are survivors of trauma and gender-based violence. For Black women, who are already disproportionately incarcerated, systemic failures such as heightened barriers to employment, housing, healthcare, and family reunification and the criminalization of survival, make reentry even more challenging.

This learning series spotlights reentry strategies that support the needs of Black women reentering their communities after leaving confinement. The series features and is guided by the expertise and leadership of formerly incarcerated Black women who are championing the movement for culturally-affirming, gender-responsive, and trauma-informed reentry services for women. Learn more about our Sisters in Solidarity Reentry Network.

This learning series is designed as a useful resource for reentry service providers, policymakers, advocates, and community-based organizations seeking to better support Black women and girls returning home from incarceration.

Topics

Family Reunification, Part 1

August 25, 5–6 pm EST

Pamela Winn

Founder, RestoreHer

About 80% of women in jails and 58% of women in prison are mothers and many are the primary caregiver. Family reunification is often paramount for women leaving incarceration, and achieving reunification is inextricably linked with securing housing, employment, and more. This is why it’s important that reentry providers offer real support for motherhood and embed services that reflect women’s lived experiences—like parenting support, trauma recovery, and resources for building safe, healthy relationships. We will discuss this and more in this session.

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Developing Economic Empowerment of Survivors

August 27, 12–1 pm EST

Ashante Taylorcox

Founder & Executive Director, You Are More Than Inc

For Black women reentering society, economic empowerment is more than employment—it’s about reclaiming dignity, rebuilding independence, and disrupting cycles of harm. The barriers faced after incarceration are steep: a criminal record can limit access to jobs, education, childcare, and financial stability. All this while Black women already navigate wage gaps, racial discrimination, and generational poverty. That’s why it’s critical to center economic empowerment not just as a service, but as a form of healing and liberation. We will discuss this and more in this session.

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Family Reunification, Part 2

September 8, 12–1 pm EST

Fox Rich

Co-founder, Rich Family Ministries

This session will continue the conversation about the critical importance of family reunification for Black women leaving incarceration. About 80% of women in jails and 58% of women in prison are mothers and many are the primary caregiver. Family reunification is often paramount for women leaving incarceration, and achieving reunification is inextricably linked with securing housing, employment, and more. This is why it’s important that reentry providers offer real support for motherhood and embed services that reflect women’s lived experiences—like parenting support, trauma recovery, and resources for building safe, healthy relationships. We will discuss this and more in this session.

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Culturally-Affirming Services

September 16, 12–1 pm EST

Dr. Marilyn Jones

Founder & Executive Director, Because Black Is Still Beautiful

Best practices in working with Black women leaving incarceration include providing culturally-affirming services that uplift the identity, practices, and history of Black women and girls. This could look like using culturally rooted modalities such as storytelling, drumming, and ancestral traditions, while also creating spaces—visually and verbally—that reflect and affirm Black womanhood. To deliver more impactful support, services should respect and integrate spiritual and cultural practices, not erase or ignore them. We will discuss this and more in this session.

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