What we do

Women of Worth will provide: 

• Experts hold workshops for you and your family in preparing you for what to expect and how to be incarcerated with the least amount of stress. Doing time in prison happens to you and your family. We will overview this experience in a half-day workshop. You will be provided with first-hand knowledge to assist you through these difficult times.

• Take action and learn more about the important work being done by Women of Worth. With a growing population of incarcerated women, now more than ever we need to understand the unique challenges they face. Attend our workshops led by experts and gain first-hand knowledge on what to expect and how to cope with the stress of incarceration. Hear from women who have experienced the system and learn about the emotional and financial costs to families and society. If you work within the penal community, join us for continuing education classes to better understand women's issues and help improve the transfer process.

  Support our programs by purchasing our children's books or make a donation, which will provide books to women currently incarcerated. We are also working to provide a safe haven for older women through our three-quarter way house, and partnering with businesses to help families work on budgets and access financial services.

  The statistics are alarming: 60% of women in prison are there for nonviolent drug crimes, and 67% are mothers of children under 18. We need to keep our eyes and ears open to their concerns and issues both now and in the future. Sign up with your email to receive news and updates, and join us in making a difference. Women who have experience with the system are available to give talks to any groups of interest. Our goal is to help the general public understand the unique differences that women face. What is the emotional and financial cost to a family, and to society - these are essential issues that need to have an open and continuous dialogue.

• Continuing education classes are being developed to help those working within the penal community. We intend to provide a one-day workshop. Those attending will understand more about women’s issues while in prison. We encourage a two-way string of information with them helping us understand what they need from you to be able to do their jobs when helping us. How do we improve the transfer from one part of the prison system to another while providing the information needed for the next step? Can this process be improved without changing the laws? These sessions are available to criminal lawyers, social workers, parole officers, psychologists, addiction counselors, and family counselors.

• Books will soon be available that extensively cover many things you need to know before going to jail. It provides more extensive data than what is covered in a workshop. The book includes sample forms and summaries of information from the class. The book supports the information provided in the course but is helpful without the workshop. Your family will find this information helpful too.

• Raise funds for these programs. We currently sell a children’s book. With each purchase or donation, we provide books to women presently incarcerated. We have already sent out hundreds of these children’s books to a variety of federal prisons. It is available in English and Spanish.

• We purchased our first three-quarter-way house. It will be ready to open by summer of 2023. It will serve older women needing a furnished, safe place to stay.

• We are working with another business to identify simple steps to help you work on family budgets both before and after you come out.

• We are working toward partnering with a financial institution providing credit cards and small loans that are currently difficult, if not impossible, to get.

• We continue to find other resources and services we believe we can endorse to provide you with the benefits, knowledge, and products that you need at this point in your life. We encourage and look forward to your input on these items as well. Things change and we are always looking for input.

• Finally, our ongoing goal is to keep our eyes and ears open to see and hear what is going on around us so that we can factually represent your concerns and issues both now and in the future.

From the Marshall Report

“There are more than 200,000 women and girls incarcerated nationwide, a number that has increased by more than 700 percent since 1980. Men still make up the vast majority of inmates, but women in prison face unique challenges. Most are mothers. Prisons limit or charge money for basics like tampons and pads. Women are also more likely to be sexually assaulted, particularly by guards.”

NPR October 2018

“Women can lose "good conduct credits" that would shorten an inmate's sentence, causing them to spend more time behind bars. In California, between January 2016 and February 2018, women had the equivalent of 1,483 years added to their sentences through good-credit revocations, and at a higher rate than for male prisoners, according to the data we collected.”

“Discipline for small infractions can also result in the loss of privileges like being able to buy food or supplies — including women's hygiene products — at the prison commissary. Or inmates lose their visitation and phone privileges. That can have a particular effect on women, because more than half of women in prison are the mothers of children 18 or younger.”