Maria Santiago spent 21 and a half years incarcerated. She came home May 28th 2020. Maria works for Exodus transitional services as a case manager. She lives in Manhattan, New York and is a legislative activist with a grassroot organization known as Mothers on the Inside. She is also a college student with Marymount Manhattan College and will be graduating in June with a Bachelor's of Sociology. She hopes to continue on in her education to obtain a Master of Social Work. Maria believes in helping others and that others should be given a second chance and not have the book thrown at them and the key thrown away. Maria feels that if a person has the correct help that they need, it will inspire them to change. She is living proof of that. She learned through her experiences in prison that there were people that cared about her, even correctional officers. One officer taught English from a Webster Spanish-English Dictionary. This is how she managed to get her GED and Associate's degree.