CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- A nonprofit program in Chattanooga has been finding success in helping female felons prepare for life outside of prison.
According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, since The Next Door Chattanooga started in 2011, 329 women have completed the program.
Only seven percent have been sent back to jail within three years, and just 18 percent -- about 59 women -- who have been out for longer than three years have gone back to jail.
In Tennessee, 42 percent of women released from prison between 2001 and 2007 landed back in jail within three years. That's according to a 2010 study by the Tennessee Department of Correction, the latest data available.
Donna Stephenson completed The Next Door Chattanooga program and said it gave her a "lot of hope back." On October 18, she has been set to mark five years free of drugs.
(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
