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" I went to pick my son up from school and walked him back and was in the house preparing dinner, and he came in the house and gave me this flower of chrysanthemum that was full of ants. And he went back out to play and ran out into the street and got hit by a car. The car happened to be driven by a LAPD detective. "

Susan Burton

Flower

Dinner

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" After six prison commitments, at the end of those, I was more broken than when I went into the system. "

" If you don't have a new door to walk through, the only thing is the old door. "

" It's important the sheriff and the D.A. work with the community to realize real-world solutions. If they make decisions in silos, it will fall short. "

" When you get locked up, you get locked out. "

" It would have been great if there were a trauma center located in our community, where you could access grief counseling and be able to address it in a healthy manner. "

" The person who has been convicted has served their time. Why would we continue to punish and exclude them from housing and jobs? Those are the primary areas that allow people to get their lives back on track. "

" Many times, I left the prison thinking, 'I'm smart. I can make it. I won't get caught up again.' But you get off downtown Skid Row, and you're a target for all of the environmental harms in that area. The pain and trauma in that area is so thick, you can almost reach your hand out and touch it. "

" I got caught back up in the underworld because the upperworld really doesn't have a place for people with criminal histories. "

" Morning meditation is important to start every day on a positive note. "

" Each time I left prison, I left with the resolve to get my life together, to get a job, to get back on track. And each time, the task became more and more and more daunting. "

" Telling your story is transformative. For both the storyteller and their audience, a new bridge to understanding is created. "

" Because a woman goes to prison doesn't mean she's a bad mom - doesn't mean that she shouldn't have her children. "

" Unless we address those that are leaving prisons, we can't begin to repair the damage of mass incarceration and make our communities whole and healthy once again. "

" I can remember, as a child, the happy days of us all piling into the car and going to the drive-in. And that was a weekly routine for my father. He was a proud black man, and that all sort of vanished as America began to export jobs. "

" People are released from prison so unprepared. They give you $200. We call it gate money. And you have to pay for a bus ticket back to L.A. You get off the Greyhound bus, downtown Skid Row, and you're supposed to make a life from that. "

" Insulin is a crisis medication. "

" There are so many bright people who just need an opportunity to help others and pay it forward. "

" The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery other than in prisons - but it was a lie that you regained your freedom once you left the prison gates. "

" Nothing good could ever have come of my life if I hadn't been able to get therapy and overcome my addictions. "

" We keep a woman in prison for decade after decade at a cost of $60,000 a year, and then give them $200 when they hit the gates for release. And, adios. People have to get their IDs, Social Security cards. They have to get clothing, housing, apply for benefits and services, and it's impossible to do with 200 bucks. "

" We all make mistakes. Sometimes people slip, but that doesn't mean they're not worthy of the support. "

" Everyone needs a place to live. Everyone needs a place to come home to every night. I don't understand why our society, our government, can think that you can lock a person away for months or years... and then release them back after they pay their debt without any support and expect it to be okay. "

" When I see a woman make it over all the obstacles, my heart just sings. "

" I knew hundreds and hundreds of women like me, who had traveled in and out of prison in a revolving door. They needed support and help just like I had received. And it could make a difference, just like it had made a difference in my life. I wanted to see them come back to the community and have a chance at a different life, too. "

" It seems like I was born into trouble. "

Susan Burton

I Was Born

Born

" In prison, you're issued a number of sanitary pads per month. And many times, even when you're issued a number of sanitary pads, the guards will just come in and rip your room apart, rip your locker apart and take them. "

" Our ancestors went through so much in a fight for us to vote. So I believe that we should engage in all civic participation. It's healthy engagement. "

" We continue to work on policy to end discrimination against people with criminal records. "

" Most incarcerated women have stories that are similar to mine. They suffered great trauma as children. "

" One of the things about incarceration is that you're deprived. You lose all of your identity, and then its given back one day, and you're ill-equipped to actually embrace it and work it. "