Incarcerated women go through unimaginable things that only other incarcerated women could ever understand.
Many women face separation from children and family, inadequate mental health care, and lack of substance abuse treatment.
The prison system is not designed to help women with these personal traumas and this affects them negatively.
Unfortunately, women face a lot of hardships while incarcerated but it doesn’t stop there, navigating your life after incarceration is an adversity in itself.
Most women who get released from prison do not have anywhere to go.
Renting an apartment or a home is made difficult if the person is a felon, being a felon also makes it hard to obtain a job, a bank account, or even a credit card.
People are not given the tools that they need to sustain themselves in society, making it extremely stressful and discouraging to reestablish themselves as a citizen.
Women have to consider their safety in a way that men do not have to.
It is not only the physical incarceration that causes damage, it takes a lot of time to adjust to society because a lot of women incarcerated have been away for a long time.
In prison, your brain is being told what to do twenty four hours a day and when you are under that type of discipline for so long, your brain becomes dependent on commands and you often lose the ability to think on your own.
It’s important to shift your mindset and your way of thinking post incarceration.
Something that can help with this is relearning basic skills such as communicating and dynamics of customer service.
Learning skills can add value to your character and as someone who has been dehumanized through the system, value is extremely important.
Women need to rediscover themselves after incarceration.
When women get out of prison, they need to be rehabilitated, they need help and support and most of them do not have it.
Fortunately, we are not alone in any of our hardships or adversities as there are people who have been in similar situations as us, no matter how personalized or complex the situation is.
There are organizations tailored specifically to help women get back on their feet after incarceration such as “Women On The Rise”, an Atlanta based organization that specializes in organizing, basebuilding, leadership development, and civic engagement.
“Women On The Rise” helps re-enter formerly incarcerated women and focuses on rebuilding people who were once broken by the system.
Aside from this specific organization, there are many others in most states.
In conclusion, life in prison is dehumanizing and it is easy to lose important parts of yourself that you necessary to survive in the real world.
Women who have been incarcerated for decades most of the time get released out of prison and have no home or family to go to and this can be extremely discouraging for someone to want better for themselves.
We must do our best to protect women and make them feel like life is worth living and that their life is valuable after prison, because it is, and everyone deserves a second chance at a better life.