A nationally acclaimed reentry program for women, A New Way of Life was established in 1998 by Susan Burton. Ms. Burton struggled to rise above a life of poverty, violence, and loss, and was enmeshed in the cycle of mass incarceration for nearly two decades. After being released from prison for the sixth time, Ms. Burton was finally able to access recovery services in an affluent area of Los Angeles. There she discovered and embraced opportunities that were never offered before. She became determined to bring those resources to areas plagued by poverty and over-incarceration.

From its humble beginnings as a single reentry home in South Los Angeles, A New Way of Life has grown into a holistic reentry program. We now have teams dedicated to housing, legal services, workforce and education development, and advocacy. Since our establishment, we have provided housing to over 1,500 formerly incarcerated women, helped reunite more than 400 women with their children, and provided pro bono legal services to more than 3,400 community members with conviction histories.