80 former prison inmates have now passed through RAW - a Waikato residential programme helping women find self-worth on the outside.
RAW (which stands for Reclaim Other Women) was founded in 2014 by fashion designer Annah Stretton and her sister Rebecca Skilton, a mental health nurse.
Photo: Annah Stretton
Women who go through the RAW programme have been in the justice system most of their lives and seen their parents, grandparents and tamariki go in and out of prison, Annah says.
'The pathways of criminality, chaos, of drugs and alcohol and crime becomes normalised very quickly and [the prison system] can seem a very safe place for wahine to return to," she tells Kathryn Ryan.
RAW's initial approach to supporting these women was "very very green" and failed to properly take into account the realities of where they'd come from, Annah says.
"We totally know that change is incredibly hard. As humans, most of us can't even stay on a diet, let alone make a lifelong journey into an environment that is not inclusive or collaborative or accepting."
RAW's point of difference from other prison rehab programmes is they commit to the women for life, Annah says.
The women enter the programme while they are still inmates, then once they're out spend three months at a rural property just out of Te Aroha which houses eight people.
After that time, they start to explore work and study pathways.
While helping each woman find housing and employment is necessary and important, helping them establish a sense of self-worth is one of RAW's biggest goals, Annah says.
Many who've been through the programme are now studying (some law and psychology) and others have launched small businesses, often in the beauty industry.
A big determinant of whether an individual woman will succeed on the outside is the relationships they're attracted, to which determines the environments they're in, Annah says.
"So many of us gravitate to what is familiar and normal and where we feel safe. And that'll often put them back in criminal and chaotic environments that are not conducive to a positive life journey."
Stepping away from what's familiar takes courage, she says.
"We totally know that change is incredibly hard. As humans, most of us can't even stay on a diet, let alone make a lifelong journey into an environment that is not inclusive or collaborative or accepting.
"[From our perspective] it's a journey of understanding, of slow connection, of time, of understanding that people will stuff up and knowing we're in it for the long haul."
Read / Listen - Annah Stretton: bringing hope to women in prison
