The Women Of Block 12 are not always happy to leave jail. Many of them have no place to go. Life on the outside doesn't wait while you're incarcerated. Landlords rent your apartment to someone else, furniture and possessions disappear, another person takes your job - sometimes they take your boyfriend.
Starting over is difficult, if not impossible. Where does the security deposit come from for the new apartment? How do you find a job with no telephone? How do you explain the gaps in your employment? There aren't enough shelters. There's not enough help.
Diana Ortiz spent 22 years in prison. Now she's a job developer at Exodus Transitional Community in Harlem. Read her story in the following article by Suzanne Weinstock, "Helping Ex-Cons Start Over." http://theuptowner.org/2009/12/30/helping-ex-cons-start-over/
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Read more about The Women Of Block 12: http://www.TheWomenOfBlock12.com
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