In Her Words

We celebrate and honor the experiences of the generations of women who have partnered with WPA. Their words drive our work.

“I want people to know I am a strong Black woman and a proud mother of four. I have a good heart and I refuse to fail at life again or be defined by my failures. I am a survivor.”

Tamanika

“WPA taught me that I am not alone in this journey - there are so many others who share pain and experiences similar to mine. Most importantly, there are members within our society, strong advocates for reform, willing to go the extra mile in order to promote change for women like me.”

Cecile

"Mass incarceration is impacting whole communities. It’s not just the person doing the sentence, it's the whole family, because you're losing people that could work, you’re losing caregivers. The children are traumatized, they're acting out in school because they missed their mom or their dad. So it really is impacting whole communities.”

Elaine

Karen
Photo Credit: Molly Hagan

“WPA was right there and always allowed me to express myself. It was a matter of being pointed in the right direction when I needed it and it was a matter of having family. Even living [at WPA], I got more than I gave because the women are supportive to each other. Women do that.”

Karen