Help currently and formerly incarcerated women during this time of need.

Operation Restoration is on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis. OR is based in New Orleans, one of the US cities hit hardest by the pandemic. OR’s staff fulfill many of the unique needs of currently and formerly incarcerated women through educational programming, policy work, advocacy, and case management services. When women and girls are released from prison, detention, or jail in Louisiana, OR staff help them access resources immediately and provide necessary items for their transition. The majority of OR's staff is formerly incarcerated; the organization is truly by and for formerly incarcerated women.

Now more than ever, our work is vital. Every day, we encounter women facing the devastating consequences of COVID. The virus has reached Louisiana’s state prisons that house women. Yet women’s soap allowance has not been increased. OR is actively working to secure soap donations so that incarcerated women can engage in life-saving hygiene practices.

OR's Safety and Freedom Fund, in partnership with New Orleans public defenders, has facilitated an emergency bail-out of 93 people at Orleans Parish Prison, where there are escalating concerns about how quickly COVID-19 could spread among a vulnerable jail population living in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions. One pregnant woman cried when she was released; she was terrified of falling ill inside the jail.

But freedom is not enough; OR continues to offer crucial, immediate assistance, including clothing, hygiene products, groceries, and transitional housing, when women are released into communities where jobs and other means of financial support are now even harder to come by.

We are also helping formerly incarcerated women who have been in the community for some time. Many of the students in our HiSET/GED program work in the service industry have lost income due to the crisis. They need our help applying for benefits and accessing resources. Black transgender women have also been especially hard hit by the pandemic; OR staff members are working to distribute food and other resources to this often neglected population.

Please donate today to help OR maintain its commitment to help currently and formerly incarcerated women recognize their full potential, restore their lives, and discover new possibilities.

Operation Restoration

Fundraising Campaigns

Help Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women through COVID-19

Operation Restoration - Louisiana