Empowering Women Out of Prison
MEET THE WOMEN REBUILDING THEIR LIVES AFTER PRISON.
EWOP is the most robust women’s entrepreneurship program within TDCJ correctional facilities. Our graduates come home with a business plan, a network of mentors, and a path to work.
Graduation Day · Lockhart
We believe women are more than the circumstances that led them to prison.
Through education, entrepreneurship, mentoring, and community, women build lives marked by purpose, stability, and hope.
Who we serve
THE WOMEN IN OUR PROGRAM.
Most women in our program are mothers. They are returning to communities, neighborhoods, and family rooms that don’t have the support infrastructure they’ll need.
Most have never built a business. Many haven’t held a steady paycheck in years. They walk into our first session with the same question: where do I even start?
Twelve months later, most have a written business plan. They have a team of executive mentors who’ve worked with them every week. They have a path to paid work within 90 days of release.
That’s not a transformation we deliver. It’s one we equip them to build, themselves.
The case for urgency
Incarceration Doesn’t Stop at One Person.
Women are incarcerated in Texas prisons today.
Women return to Texas communities every year.
Of incarcerated women are mothers or primary caregivers.
The program
A TWELVE-MONTH LEADERSHIP AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM BUILT FOR WOMEN COMING HOME.
01 · Curriculum
Curriculum
A twelve-month leadership and entrepreneurship curriculum built on core business fundamentals.
02 · Mentorship
Mentorship
Executive volunteers from the business community work directly with participants, one-on-one, through every stage from idea to launch.
03 · Reentry Support
Reentry Support
Housing transition, transportation, and 90-day employment placement after release. The plan doesn’t end at graduation.
Success stories
IN THEIR OWN WORDS.
Thank you for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself.
I walked in with a question. I left with a plan.
EWOP gave me the structure to build something real.
Get involved
HOW TO BE ON HER TEAM.
01 · Volunteer
Mentor a participant. Teach a class. Show up on graduation day.
Executive volunteers work one-on-one with participants for the duration of the program. We onboard new mentors every quarter.
02 · Donate
Fund the curriculum, the bus pass, the housing transition.
Every dollar funds program delivery: books, transportation, the first month of rent for a graduate.
03 · Fair Chance Hiring
Hire alumni from a twelve-month leadership program, or learn what it takes to be a fair chance employer.
Our alumni are job-ready on release: vetted, trained, and supported by a team that doesn’t disappear. Employers new to fair chance hiring are welcome to learn about the practice before committing to a hire.
In partnership with
