Posts by Women's Prison Association
Annual Report 2023-2024: The Impact of Our Critical Work
WPA is excited to share our 2023-2024 Annual Report, highlighting the past year of meaningful opportunities and lasting change created for those impacted by incarceration. As we embark on a new chapter at WPA, we are so grateful for the support we receive that leads to positive outcomes for women and gender-diverse individuals before, during, and after…
Read MoreHear from a WPA Clinical Intern, Fatoumata Magassa
Fatoumata Magassa (she/her) is passionate about bringing trauma-informed care into client-centered counseling at jails and prisons, advocating for the rights of incarcerated individuals, and helping her clients find hope and unyielding courage during incarceration and reentry. A Harlem native, Fatoumata is graduating in May of 2025 with a master’s in social work from Columbia University.…
Read MoreHow We Empower Formerly Incarcerated Women with Transformative Opportunities through Workforce Development
Every woman deserves meaningful opportunities that empower her to take charge of her life. At the Women’s Prison Association (WPA), our Workforce Development program gives formerly incarcerated women the resources and support they need to prepare for and pursue employment. “One of the greatest challenges people face after incarceration is securing a job; the hiring…
Read MoreTestimony of Meg Egan, CEO of the Women’s Prison Association, for the Committee on Criminal Justice Preliminary Budget Hearing
March 7, 2025 Good afternoon, my name is Meg Egan, and it is my great honor and privilege to lead the Women’s Prison Association. Chair Nurse and the rest of the members of the committee, I want to thank you for the opportunity to testify before the Criminal Justice Committee today. Throughout its 180-year history,…
Read MoreBooks Are Magic is Supporting WPA Through Purchases of Abolitionist and Feminist Books
Books Are Magic is supporting WPA through literature! For the month of February, 30% of sales from a selection of abolitionist and feminist books will be donated to WPA. All of these books, covering topics such as mass incarceration, capitalism, and racial discrimination, are written by or include the work of BIPOC editors and authors.…
Read MoreThe Rise: Affordable Housing for Formerly Incarcerated People in Brownsville, Brooklyn
The Women’s Prison Association (WPA) has a long history of driving change to positively impact individuals, families, and communities affected by incarceration. WPA continues this critical work through The Rise, a residential facility located in Brooklyn, New York. Most of the building’s subsidized units are home to formerly incarcerated women and their families, creating a…
Read MoreAlternatives to Incarceration Are an Essential Tool to Closing Rikers Island
A new NYC ATI/Reentry Coalition report shows a clear and urgent need to accelerate efforts to close Rikers & expand the use of alternatives to incarceration (ATI), including WPA’s JusticeHome program. “Alternatives to Incarceration are an essential tool to reducing incarceration and, ultimately, closing Rikers Island. But more importantly, they are essential to a safe…
Read MoreWomen’s Voices: Advocacy by Criminal Justice-Involved Women
Published in March of 2009 by the Women’s Prison Association & Home This publication emerged from WPA’s desire to chronicle efforts across the country that help formerly incarcerated women to prepare themselves to participate in policy debates about reentry, sentencing, child welfare, and myriad other issues that directly affect their lives. The program profiles in…
Read MoreThe Women’s Prison Association: Supporting Women Offenders and Their Families
Published in December of 1998 by the Women’s Prison Association & Home This Program Focus provides an in-depth look at the Women’s Prison Association (WPA), a nonprofit agency in New York City that offers a broad array of institution- and community-based services to incarcerated women through a portfolio of four programs, WPA offers peer education,…
Read MoreHARD HIT: The Growth in the Imprisonment of Women, 1977-2004
Most recent research literature devoted to analysis of women in the criminal justice system presents four distinct themes to describe the etiology of women’s criminal behaviors and their personal and social problems. First, most women in the criminal justice system come from neighborhoods that are entrenched in poverty and largely lacking in viable systems of…
Read More