Abolition is not limited to ending spaces and practices of
A nationally acclaimed reentry program for women, A New Way of Life was established in 1998 by Susan Burton. Ms. Burton struggled to rise above a life of poverty, violence, and loss, and was enmeshed in the cycle of mass incarceration for nearly two decades. After being released from prison for the sixth time, Ms. Burton was finally able to access recovery services in an affluent area of Los Angeles. There she discovered and embraced opportunities that were never offered before. She became determined to bring those resources to areas plagued by poverty and over-incarceration.reimagining new ways of life such that a world in which prisons, policing and other carceral systems as solutions to social problems
becomes unthinkable. Abolitionism is also not just about creating new responses to crises but creating a new world in which we thrive such that less crises happen in the first place.
The call “we keep us safe” reminds us that solutions should empower all people, including Disabled and Neurodivergent people, to exercise our self-determination with care and understanding. We all deserve the resources, support, training and education we need to love and protect
ourselves and one another.