New Orleans, Louisiana – Each year, approximately 54,000 women are released from prison in the U.S. state of Louisiana, according to Operation Restoration, a non-profit organization based in New Orleans. The organization’s mission is to support women and girls impacted by incarceration as they strive to restore their lives.
However, for many women, the process of restoration proves to be extremely difficult. Shockingly, statistics show that 30% of these women end up back in jail within five years of their release.
“The number of barriers a woman faces when she is released from incarceration is unfathomable,” says Syrita Steib, the founder and president of Operation Restoration, in an interview with VOA. “From food and housing issues to finding employment, the challenges are endless.”
Shenica Jackson, a 43-year-old woman who was released from prison last year after serving more than 13 years, can relate to these concerns. Jackson was one of two individuals arrested in 2011 when an ongoing feud turned violent.
“I was full of regret, of course,” Jackson says. “Regret that I took someone’s life, regret that I was leaving my daughter without a mother to take care of her, and regret that I had robbed myself of my future.”
“When you’re incarcerated at 30 years old, you don’t imagine you’re going to have many opportunities after that,” she adds. “I thought my life was over.”
But Jackson’s outlook changed when she learned about Operation Restoration’s training program for women in prison to become laboratory assistants. To date, the organization has licensed 67 formerly incarcerated women, including Jackson.
“It gives me something to be proud of,” Jackson says. “It feels good to try to improve yourself and learn something new.”
Finding Second Chances
Operation Restoration offers more than a dozen programs, including housing, work training, education, food, clothing, and legal advocacy. These programs are exactly what founder Syrita Steib needed when she was released from prison in 2009.
Steib had served nearly 10 years for her role in a burglary and arson at a car dealership when she was a teenager. Upon her release, she felt overwhelmed and disoriented.
“The world moves on without you,” Steib says, “and it happens at a rapid pace. When you get out of jail, there are barriers everywhere.”
These barriers include housing and college applications, which often require applicants to disclose any past convictions. Steib’s college application was rejected because she answered honestly about her conviction. When she tried to find a job, she struggled with basic tasks such as email and social media and had difficulty finding appropriate clothes for interviews.
“I went in when I was 19 and came out when I was 29,” she shares. “I didn’t even know what size clothes I wore. But if I go to buy underwear, nobody knows I was in jail. Nobody knows my story. They just think I’m a 30-year-old who doesn’t know her bra size. And imagine how embarrassing that is. Eventually, it becomes too much, and you start to think, ‘Maybe I’ll just skip my job interview.'”
Steib eventually enrolled in college and graduated, but her success came with a price. Her restitution payments to the state increased because she now had a degree.
“They said my ability to pay had changed because I had graduated college,” she explains, “but I hadn’t even received a paycheck yet!”
Steib witnessed other women being released from prison facing similar challenges with little to no support. This realization led her to take action.
Adding Programs
One of the first issues Operation Restoration tackled was the one that had hindered Steib’s college application.
In 2017, the organization helped write and advocate for the passage of Louisiana Act 276, also known as “Ban the Box.” This law prohibits public colleges in the state from asking about criminal history in admissions decisions. Louisiana was the first state to pass this type of law, and seven states have since followed suit.
Steib and her team also launched a college-in-prison program in partnership with Tulane University, offering for-credit Bachelor of Arts degrees inside the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women. As of 2024, 34 incarcerated women were enrolled in the program.
Comprehensive Solution
In 2020, Operation Restoration placed nearly 200 families in safe and secure housing, donated clothing and hygiene products to over 350 women and girls,
