In the News
“I always say that I want to write a book. My journey has been insane, beautiful, scary - everything, you name it, I've been through a lot. I love what I do at WPA and my job is like my therapy." – Merlyn, WPA
“I remember being treated like I wasn’t on par with the common human. I needed advocacy, but didn’t always know where to find it and who to turn to. I remind women that they made a mistake, but that mistake is not who they are.” - Lisa, WPA
“People don’t choose their circumstances and I think we need to stop punishing people like they do. I think it’s important to share my story to talk about why rehabilitative measures are more successful than punitive measures. A lot of the time you were a victim before you ever got a chance to be a criminal yourself.” – Kamilah, WPA
“I’d love to see us moving away from ‘alternatives’ to incarceration and focus on front-end, pre-arrest efforts to ensure public safety. This means that we would stop criminalizing women—and men—for being poor, sick, or hurt.” - Georgia Lerner, WPA
“Most women enter prison with histories of trauma, mental illness, addiction, and parental stress. Nothing about prison helps them address those things. Prison only mimics the violence, isolation, and lack of control women have experienced before they arrive.” - Miriam Goodman, WPA
“Supporting survivors with healing and growth can be challenging — and we are committed to providing patient and enduring partnership so that women can claim their freedom, safety and independence.” – Georgia Lerner, WPA
