Tiawana/BATB Working in the Community
Community Engagement | Advocacy in Action A must-see story of trust, advocacy, and second chances. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a young woman named Ebony reached out to Tiawana for help addressing outstanding warrants that had left her living in fear and constantly looking over her shoulder. Ebony wanted something simple but powerful: the opportunity to live in peace and move forward with her life. Tiawana answered the call—helping Ebony navigate the process, connecting her with support, and standing beside her as she took steps toward resolving the barriers holding her back. Ebony called Tiawana “her hero.” But for Tiawana, this is what community advocacy looks like: meeting people where they are, helping them navigate difficult systems, and reminding them that their lives and futures matter. This moment represents the heart of Beauty After the Bars—advancing racial equity and economic mobility while working to keep women and girls out of jail and prison. Listen to Ebony:
Beauty after the Bars-Partnership with Mecklenburg Detention Center-Detention, Reentry & Incarceration Prevention Beauty After the Bars works with women impacted by incarceration to help create a stronger pathway from incarceration to successful reentry, stability, and self-sufficiency. Through our detention and reentry programming, BATB provides education, mentoring, self-awareness, character and leadership development, and reentry preparation designed to help women recognize their value, identify barriers, develop goals, and prepare for life beyond incarceration. Our goal is not simply to help women stay out of jail. Our goal is to help women build lives they do not have to escape from. Programming and resource connections may address: Reentry planning and preparation Employment and career development Housing and basic needs Mental health and wellness resources Substance-use recovery resources Domestic violence and healthy relationships Financial wellness and economic mobility.
Community Engagement-Mecklenburg County Detention Center. Community Engagement | Mecklenburg County Detention Center A powerful moment from the first Women’s Summit hosted exclusively for women residents at the Mecklenburg County Detention Center. Tiawana Brown, Founder of Beauty After the Bars, had the honor of serving as one of the keynote speakers alongside other community advocates, including Kristie Puckett of Second Chance Federation, with Sheriff Garry L. McFadden joining the women for this special event. The summit created space for encouragement, empowerment, education, lived experience, and hope beyond incarceration. Representation matters. Lived experience matters. And the women behind the walls deserve to know that their futures still matter.
Why This Work Is Personal I will never forget the days I spent behind the walls of federal prison. I was a young Black woman, only 21 years old, pregnant with my second child, and facing incarceration for a nonviolent fraud offense. I entered a system that would change not only my life, but the lives of my children and my entire family. When I returned home, I was expected to rebuild my life—but I did not have the resources, support, stability, or opportunities necessary to successfully navigate reentry. I made mistakes, and I take responsibility for the choices I made. But I also learned firsthand that simply releasing someone from prison does not mean they have been given a real opportunity to succeed. I returned to federal prison for a second time. And once again, I was separated from my two young daughters. That experience changed me forever. I know what it feels like to be incarcerated. I know what it feels like to come home and struggle to rebuild.
Tiawana talks
Her Story. In Her Own Words.
Tiawana Brown speaks candidly about her journey through two periods of federal incarceration, becoming a mother while incarcerated, and the painful separation from her two young daughters.
She shares how those experiences shaped the woman, advocate, and leader she would become—and ultimately inspired the creation of
Beauty After the Bars.
Through BATB, Tiawana has committed herself to amplifying the voices of women impacted by incarceration, supporting successful reentry, and working to prevent women, girls, and youth from entering the criminal justice system.
Her story is one of accountability, resilience, transformation, and purpose.
Read the article and learn more about the journey behind Beauty After the Bars.https://medium.com/@nicolerodgers/beauty-after-the-bars-keeping-black-women-out-of-jail-af004e2eb5a0
Take the Label off of us. We are Humans
Changing the Narrative. Removing the Barriers.
The way society views people who have experienced incarceration must change.
Returning home should mean having a genuine opportunity to rebuild. Yet too many formerly incarcerated and justice-impacted people continue to face barriers to employment, housing, education, financial stability, and other resources necessary for successful reentry.
A past mistake or period of incarceration should not become a lifetime sentence of rejection.
At Beauty After the Bars, we are working to change the stigma surrounding incarceration while helping individuals access the resources, relationships, and opportunities they need to successfully move forward.
We believe in second chances without permanent labels.
Because successful reentry doesn't just transform one person's life—it strengthens families, improves communities, creates economic opportunity, and helps break cycles of incarceration.
People are more than their past. They deserve the opportunity to work, live, grow, contribute, and thrive.
Tiawana's Family: then & Now-Family Support while in Prison
Tiawana and daughter Antionette.
Tiawana with family in Alderson West Virignia Federal Prison Camp. She was 6 months pregnant with Tjema and holding her daughter Antoinette.
Tiawana's Family (Left-Right) daughter Antoinette, Mom, Sister Chunta, Tiawana, daughter Tjema.
Tiawana's daughters Antoinette & Tjema after visiting her in federal prison.
Tiawana's daughter Tjema photo of her in grade school. (her mother gave birth to her while in federal prison)
Tiawana's daughter Antionette photo of her in grade school. (she was only 2 years old when her mother was sentenced to her federal prison for Fraud)
Welcome to the New Hope. Love.Healing Homes for Women
Beauty after the Bars, new HOPE. LOVE. HEALING. HOME-is a faith-centered, trauma-informed supportive housing and reentry resource created for justice-impacted women to apply for services before, during, and after incarceration. Our mission is to provide stability through housing, emotional healing, hope, life-skills support, and pathways to independence so women can rebuild their lives with dignity, purpose, and community.