Giving women a second chance to restore their lives

The opening prayer was led by Marianite Sister Marjorie Hebert, CEO of Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans (CCANO), who does committee work with OR co-founder Syrita Steib on lowering barriers faced by women upon their release from prison. 
 

Sister Marjorie asked that all those who work at OR “seeking justice and charity, see themselves as working for the common good and find joy in their service to others.”
 

“(May) all of our efforts be for the greater honor and glory of God and the well-being of our neighbors,” Sister Marjorie prayed.
 

OR helps formerly incarcerated women through higher education, employment training, job placement and case management, while advocating for policy change at the state and federal levels. Steib, who was incarcerated for 110 months beginning at age 19, struggled to attend college upon her release after she ticked the compulsory box on her college application indicating her prior criminal history.

 

Her self-advocacy ultimately led her to successfully apply for admission to LSU Health Sciences Center and become a nationally certified clinical laboratory specialist.
 

Not wanting other newly released women and girls to be stymied by educational, housing and other barriers, Steib co-founded OR in 2016 with Annie Phoenix. The pair drafted Louisiana Act 276, which bans public higher education institutions from asking questions about criminal history for admission. The bill passed in 2017, making Louisiana the first state to pass such legislation.
 

Cornerstone Builders of CCANO also facilitates employment and other re-entry needs of both men and women. Led by program director Ronnie Moore, Cornerstone’s services include providing free family bus rides to area prisons and mentorship to children of the incarcerated.