Parent and Baby Awards 2025 Best Incarcerated Pregnant Women's Support Advocacy 2025 Born out of her own lived experience of the US prison system, Pamela Winn’s RestoreHER US.America Inc. (RestoreHER) is a non-profit organisation based in Georgia, founded and led by and for justice-involved women of colour across the United States. RestoreHER addresses issues of criminalisation and social inequalities in the criminal legal system through a combination of education, leadership, civic engagement, and policy change to protect the health, safety, dignity and restore the rights of women impacted by incarceration or conviction. Pamela was on hand for more on her empowering journey. Pamela Winn, known as “The Face of Dignity For Incarcerated Women” is an activist from Atlanta, Georgia. The single mother of two sons is alumni of Harvard Kennedy School, Yale, Spelman College, Emory and GA State Universities. She dedicated more than a decade as a registered nurse specialising in women’s health before she was sentenced to 78 months in a federal prison for a white-collar crime while pregnant. During her incarceration, Pamela suffered the traumatic experience of being shackled while pregnant, during which she fell leading to a miscarriage before being sent to solitary confinement. Facing separation from her family, the revocation of her nursing licence, the closure of her business, and now a miscarriage, it would have been easy for Pamela to be consumed by grief and become a product of the failing system around her. However, Pamela allowed this hardship to fuel her resolve, empowering her to start a global movement and devote her life to advocating for all incarcerated women. The result is RestoreHER US.America, a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting health, safety, and dignity. “Our mission is to liberate justice-impacted women by enriching their lives and centring the ‘leadHERship’ of their lived experiences to end mass criminalisation, incarceration, and prison birth in the South, throughout the country, and globally.” Fighting for justice through a transformative peer-to-peer leadership model, RestoreHER comprises a small team and a general board with an advisory board of experts from fields such as medical and legal being led by the voices of those with direct experience. Through their collaborative efforts, the individuals behind RestoreHER work towards innovating principles and advocating for policies which address the overlooked needs of incarcerated pregnant women and women of colour. RestoreHER’s approach reflects a commitment to dismantling systematic barriers and paving the way for lasting change within the US’ criminal legal system. These transformations are necessary given some of the harrowing statistics, such as approximately 80% of women in jails and 58% of women in prisons being mothers to minor children and the majority primary caregivers before incarceration. Their imprisonment therefore shatters family unification and leads to generational trauma. Similarly, regarding pregnancy behind bars, Pamela shared that 4-10% of women enter custody pregnant, resulting in an estimated 2,000 births every year in US prisons and jails. Only around half of these incarcerated pregnant women receive constant prenatal care, and many face nutritional neglect and the practice of shackling pregnant women, as well as being separated from their newborns within the first 24 hours. A lack of postpartum care and breastfeeding restrictions instil further harm. Against this backdrop, RestoreHER enacts change by advocating for alternatives to incarceration during pregnancy and pushing for transparency on the data of maternal health and outcomes in custody. Alongside this, it delivers programmes such as HERhealth and HERhome, to provide wellness and stable environment for mothers reuniting with their children; as well as leadership-based fellowships such as Renew Rebuild Restore U and HERValue retreats to build resilience for mothers navigating societal re-entry. The results, as touched on above, have included changes in legislative reforms, like the Dignity For Incarcerated Women and Women’s CARE Act that include anti-shackling laws, solitary confinement bans, and sentencing alternatives being provided to pregnant women. Helping drive these transformations has been several media projects (such as the WINN Movie, The Box, and COUNTED), and Pamela’s appearance in publications such as Rolling Stone and Essence Magazine. She was even recognised in Forbes’ ‘50 Over 50’list and received a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for her efforts. With Pamela at the helm, the future is bright for RestoreHER as it continues its advocacy work for incarcerated pregnant people. The organisation's next steps include expanding the Women's CARE Act into additional states, launching ACC=SS (Active Community Connections = Safe Solutions) reentry mobile app, offering its reentry educational programme Renew Rebuild Restore U online, and even delivering the HERvalue Symposium & Retreat this October. These projects are helping RestoreHER to continue to boldly innovate. Having built RestoreHER US.America Inc. into something amazing from the most challenging circumstances, Pamela Winn is truly an impactful leader and an advocate whose work is leading to lasting change in an outdated system. On the back of her efforts and those of the people around her, it is our pleasure to recognise RestoreHER US.America as the Best Incarcerated Pregnant Women’s Support Advocacy 2025. Contact: Pamela Winn Company: RestoreHER US.America Web Address: https://www.restoreher.us/
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUyMDQwMA==