A NEW WAY OF LIFE RE-ENTRY PROJECT
An exhibition of photographs by Greg Constantine
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In 2004, the population of women in California State prisons stood at
over 11,000. With over two-thirds of these women having been
incarcerated for non-violent offenses, the female population in
California prisons has increased over 300% since 1986. Locally, more
than 8,000 women entered Los Angeles county jails last year. Although
close to 60% percent of women in prison will return to the criminal justice system once they are released from their current sentences,
some are able to break out of the cycle of incarceration. In this
journey they will have to overcome both personal and societal
obstacles and if not for the efforts of small community based
organizations, many would come out of prison to find little or no
social safety net to help them in their re-entry back into their
communities. Located in Watts, A New Way of Life Re-Entry Project has succeeded in helping to transform the lives of over 120 women. The photographs in this exhibit are part of an on-going project by photojournalist Greg Constantine, which aims to expose the struggles women face after having spent much of their lives trapped in the criminal justice system. Photos are currently on display at the Library. A selected sampling is below.
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