Women on the Rise is a membership-based organization led by and for Black women impacted by the criminal legal system. Our model involves a transformative organizing approach where we seek to transform systems while also transforming ourselves and our communities. Since we understand our political power to be in our base, we develop the skills and leadership of our members. Increasingly, we are offering political education, organizing and storytelling trainings. This also often provides a pipeline into paid positions within the organization as we hire from our membership whenever possible. With half of our staff being formerly incarcerated, two cultivated directly from membership, and all being Black women, we ensure we continue to be led by Black formerly incarcerated women and hold our experiences at the center of our work. Our outreach model includes strategies to reach formerly incarcerated women already in our communities, as well as doing outreach inside state prisons and offering direct services to women recently returning home from prisons and jails to increase their capacity to organize. We also support formerly incarcerated women through our biweekly support group and Welcome Home Fund, which offers direct financial support and bailouts for women ensnared in the Atlanta criminal legal system.
