Our Place DC: Helping Incarcerated DC Women Return and Reconnect to Community and Family

OUR MISSION

Our Place, DC (Our Place) is a unique non-profit organization in the District of Columbia (DC) dedicated to providing gender-specific direct services and advocacy to help formerly and currently incarcerated women come back home from prison. We operate with a mission to support women who are or have been in the criminal justice system by providing the resources they need to maintain connections with the community, resettle after incarceration, and reconcile with their families. Our Place helps women remain drug and alcohol free, obtain decent housing and jobs, gain access to education, secure resources for their children, and maintain physical and emotional health with a goal of helping women succeed in the community rather than engage in behaviors that result in re-arrest.

WHAT WE DO

Our Place began 10 years ago in response the stories women shared about their experiences in prison and in the community after their release, which essentially described a lack of opportunities.

HOURS OF OPERATION

Monday - Friday from

9:00 am- 5:00 pm

We are closed for lunch from 1:00pm - 2:00pm

LATEST NEWS

OUR PLACE, DC: A VOICE FOR FEMALE D.C. CODE FELONS

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes-Norton

(D-DC) and Ashley McSwain

WHO: House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia invited Our Place, DC's executive director and clients, The Urban Institute, Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency and The Bureau of Prisons to testify.

WHAT: Female D.C. Code Felons: Unique Challenges In Prison and At Home

WHERE: 2154 Rayburn House Office Building

WHEN: Tuesday, July 27, 10:00 a.m.

WHY: In a number of hearings on BOP and D.C. inmates, Norton is seeking answers to unprecedented issues raised by housing state prisoners in federal facilities for the first time. These issues range from ensuring that D.C. Code felons have the same access as other federal prisoners to BOP programs, on which Norton has had considerable success, to the special difficulty of keeping D.C. Code felons connected to their families here, a priority Norton believes the hearings are helping to resolve.

Our Place staff and supporters pose with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D-DC) after the hearing

Read Ashley McSwain's complete testimony here,

Congressional_Hearing_Testimony_7-10

View more pictures on our Facebook Page.

NEWS

Farewell to Frances Ford who served as the Employment Coordinator and Ashley Keller who served as the HIV Services Coordinator.

Frances Ford and Ashley Keller will both begin work on their Masters in Social Work this fall.

Frances Ford and Rebecca Milliken, a member of our Board of Directors.

After 3 years at OPDC, Frances and Ashley will truly be missed by staff and the countless women they supported through the years.

Last year was a monumental year for Our Place.

~We began 2009 in transition as we searched for a new executive director. We concluded our search with Ashley McSwain, MSW, MSOD.

~We strengthened our relationships with the facilities holding women from DC which is beginning to remove access barriers that have inhibited our service delivery in the past.

~We strengthened our programs as well. During the year, we began offering monthly pre-release classes within Fairview Halfway House for women.

~We expanded the legal services we provide to include more direct representation and a focus on domestic violence services.

~Through our HIV service program, we provided training and resources to increase women’s condom negotiation skills and are empowering them to protect themselves with the FC2 female condom.

~Also, we received a $367,000 award from the Bureau of Justice Administration to conduct a demonstration project allowing Our Place to provide case management to women while they are still incarcerated, follow them with support for six months after their release, and document the impact of our services on recidivism.

~We ended 2009 providing 5,591 services to more than 1,100 women (roughly a 20% increase from the year before).

After 10 years of reputable service delivery, Our Place is gaining recognition for its knowledge of providing gender-specific reentry support which is creating a larger forum for us to advocate for women coming back home.

SUPPORT THE WORK OF OUR PLACE AT ANYTIME USING YOUR CREDIT CARD THROUGH NETWORK FOR GOOD: ONLINE GIVING MADE EASY.