Hope for Women helps formerly incarcerated women with re-entry into society

URBANA, Ill. (WAND) — Hope for Women was started when co-founder MyKeshia Lipscomb was released after a five-and-a-half year sentence.

“When we saw the need and we saw that there was actually a real need to have some type of bridge for formerly incarcerated women and that we just thought we would want to be a part of that,” said Co-founder Valeri Nesbitt-Howard.

Now, the agency is helping women is Champaign County with housing, new ID's, bus passes, and much more.

“We did find out that there’s no one to actually bring your children to see you unless you have a support system. There’s no one to put money on your books unless you have a support system,” said Howard.

Hope for Women is currently assisting multiple women and with funding from the City of Urbana, they're hoping to help even more.

“We’ve helped six women, but we’ve added since then. They’re coming in droves and for me, I knew women needed the help and the assistance. I just didn’t know it was beyond measurable,” said Howard.

For more information, contact Mykeshia Lipscomb at 217-778-7121. Contact Valeri Nesbitt-Howard at 217-402-1400.