A pair of lives that diverged down different paths have now become unlikely partners, merged within a common cause.

60-year-old Willette Benford spent 24 years—nearly half her life—in an Illinois prison until a change in state laws expedited her release.

While behind bars though, Ms. Benford earned her GED and an associate’s degree, became an ordained minister, and provided much-needed counsel to support her fellow inmates.

When she was released, she entered a residential program called the Grace House, a nonprofit ministry that provides housing, counseling, and other critical support for women who are exiting the Illinois Prison System.

Stacking successes, she was soon hired as a legislative assistant for a Chicago alderman, Walter Burnett Jr.

“I am what it looks like to give someone

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