In a Pensacola house, a group of women have been rebuilding their self esteem, while finding strength in one another to combat addiction and self-destruction tendencies that have defined their pasts.

Since March, Re-Entry Alliance Pensacola (REAP) has provided housing for women recently released from prison in a transitional home on West Strong Street. Two beds to a room, the house can accommodate upward of eight women at a time.

REAP already had 10 transitional homes dedicated to men, but only a single residence for women, and eight beds weren’t enough.

Having witnessed the success of its female-only transitional housing program titled Impact 100’s Women Portal, REAP opened a second home for recent releases Wednesday on North A Street.  

The first REAP house for women: New Pensacola transitional housing available for women leaving prison

“A lot of these women are mothers who have lost their children,” said REAP Women’s Program director Rosetta Taylor. “You can’t really find services when you’re a woman out here on your own, and you’re able-bodied.”

Taking a holistic approach, REAP seeks to provide safe transitional housing for its female probationers while simultaneously imposing daily structure and substance abuse counseling and nurturing job skills, self-presentation and camaraderie.

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