Susan Burton is the founder of an award-winning reentry program for female ex-offenders in South Los Angeles. To date, her non-profit organization “A New Way of Life” has helped more than 500 women once incarcerated get back on their feet.
Susan knows how difficult life can be. After her 5-year-old son was accidentally killed in 1981, she ended up in prison six different times. She got clean in 1997 and never looked back.
This year she was nominated to be CNN’s Hero of the Year and is now one of the final ten candidates from more than 100 countries. The winner is decided in November by people who vote online here. The total prize is $125,000.
I interviewed Susan eight years ago for womensenews.org. I sensed then she was someone with very special talents. When I heard about her recent success, I was thrilled for her and wanted to find out about this Hero of the Year nomination and how her reentry program was doing.
” I just thought if I could help a few women like me who were trapped come back home to South LA, that was my goal. It just sort of took on its own steam and synergy”…. Susan Burton
When I spoke to Susan, she told me she was on her way to Harvard University. She’ll explain… Continue reading
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