Read the full article by Kate Gonzales at Sacramento News & Review and The Sacramento Observer
Anyone who’s pursued a path to change knows that at least three things are needed to make it happen: the right environment and resources, and the will.
Sacramento nonprofit Saint John’s Program for Real Change, which has operated a shelter for women and children facing homelessness for nearly 40 years, is home to a voluntary reentry program for women incarcerated in California prisons who are eligible to carry out the remainder of their sentences in alternative custody — between 45 days and 32 months before being released on parole or probation.
A rotation of about 50 women who live in a private location known as “the house,” take slow but important steps toward change, like learning to manage their emotions and earning cell phone privileges, so they can make bigger strides, like enrolling in college or starting their careers. Each with different goals and backgrounds, the women are surrounded by the support of therapists and other professionals as they approach life after a prison sentence.