New Way of Life Reenty Project Fact Sheet

1. A New Way of Life Reentry Program
A LIFE-AFFIRMING SAFETY NET. A New Way of Life Reentry Project, based in
Los Angeles, provides formerly incarcerated women with a safe house for healing,
sobriety and tapping into systems to succeed. The program has helped hundreds of
formerly incarcerated women to find housing, restore their legal rights, receive
health services and counseling and reunite with their children.
 Founded in 1998 by Susan Burton
 Of the 500 women who have sought shelter in the Project, 75% have
remained drug- and alcohol-free for at least 18 months, 400 have been
discharged from parole, and 150 have been reunited with their children.
 The program now operates 5 homes, in Los Angeles with six full-time staff,
serving 40-50 women each year with counseling, housing, employment, social
services and legal support.
REDEMPTION, REFORM, REPLICATION. A New Way of Life operates under five
key principles for successful reentry:
• All people should be treated with dignity and respect.
• Treatment services better serve the individual and society than prisons and
punishment.
• With community support, everyone can excel.
• The power of mentoring helps people achieve their dreams.
• Empowerment is possible through critical analysis of the world around us.
1612 K STREET, N.W. SUITE 904, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20006 (202) 833-9771 office (202) 833-9770 fax www.McKPR.com

2. GROWING NEEDS UNDER THE RADAR. Susan Burton’s A New Way of Life
Reentry Project is part of the growing ranks of criminal justice reform organizations
which are forced to operate mostly under the radar – despite the critical role they
play to society, offering redemption, rehabilitation and a hopeful pathway. The
Project has reached the following milestones since its establishment in 1998:
• Provided transitional housing and support services to over 500 women.
• Founded Women Organizing for Justice, a unique leadership project that
has trained more than 95 formerly-incarcerated women to advocate for
themselves and others.
• Launched a Reentry Employment Rights Project, to challenge employment
discrimination through advocacy and education.
• Established the Reentry Legal Clinic, a largely volunteer-run effort that has
thus far:
o Assisted more than 700 people to dismiss their criminal records
o Trained 350 community members to work in collaboration with law
students as expungement experts
o Represented dozens of women seeking professional licenses,
challenging background check errors, illegal reporting and employment
discrimination through federal law
• Developed a membership base of hundreds of formerly incarcerated people
and allies through the Los Angeles chapter of All of Us or None, a national
movement led by formerly-incarcerated people to win full restoration of the
human and civil rights of people with past convictions.
A New Way of Life Reentry Project
Tel: (323) 563-3575 / Fax: (323) 563-1889 / Email: info@anewwayoflife.org /
website: www.anewwayoflife.org / Mailing Address: PO Box 875288, Los Angeles,
California 90087