A New Way of Life Reentry Project

A New Way of Life Reentry Project (ANWOL) was founded in 1998, when executive director Susan Burton opened a three-bedroom safe house in the L.A. community of Watts. One year prior, Burton had returned from her sixth prison term and checked into a substance-abuse treatment facility in Santa Monica, California. This experience inspired her to found ANWOL. Her vision was to provide other women with the same crucial resources that she had received in Santa Monica, but which were inaccessible in her Watts community. What began as that three-bedroom safe house has grown into a nationally acclaimed organization, complete with wraparound services and powerful grassroots-organizing efforts.

Today, more than 1,000 women and children have benefitted from ANWOL's housing, treatments, and other support services. In 2007, ANWOL established its pro bono legal-service department, which has since expunged thousands of criminal records and reduced critical barriers to employment for previously incarcerated women. In addition to meeting the needs of individual community members and families, ANWOL engages in voter outreach to expand civic engagement and advocates policy change at the state and local levels.