Germantown-based organization gives formerly-incarcerated women the tools they need to survive and thrive - Grid Magazine

Germantown-based organization gives formerly-incarcerated women the tools they need to survive and thrive - Grid Magazine

First raped at age 12 and then throughout her teens, Reverend Dr. Michelle Simmons began using drugs. In her early 20s, thirsting for a new life, the Germantown native moved to Los Angeles. “I took my old behaviors with me,” Rev. Simmons says. Convicted of prostitution and a felony, she spent six years incarcerated in Los Angeles County. Released from prison in 1999 at age 27, she returned to her mother’s home near Philadelphia. That refuge gave…