Topeka K. Sam was behind bars on a three-and-a-half year drug trafficking charge when she dreamed up a facility that could meet the need of women recently out of prison with no place to go but back into abusive relationships or other terrible options. Those dreams became Hope House, a transitional group home in rented apartments on a quiet street in the Bronx. Sam received seed money from fellow formerly incarcerated activist Susan Burton, who developed similar projects in Los Angeles, according to Vogue. The neighbors — mostly people of color — were not happy to have Hope House in their back yard. Some showed up at community board meetings with signs that read “No Hope for Hope House.” Sam’s response?
“Why don’t we have a right to live in a safe community just like everyone else?” Sam also founded The Ladies of Hope Ministries to help disenfranchised and marginalized women and girls transition back into society from prison through spiritual empowerment, education, entrepreneurship, and advocacy, Black Enterprise reported.
