Who Could They Have Been?
Hey, Reader!
First, I want to say thank you for being here. The thousands of you who gather in this community each month make me feel safe enough to share my innermost thoughts—not just as a founder, but as someone whose life has been shaped by the very systems we work to change.
Lately, I have been tormented by thoughts of women and girls I have never met, yet whose stories have consumed the news.
For generations, we have supported the lucrative economy of true crime. The commodification of death and the macabre has become as American as apple pie. It is one of the primary ways our culture engages with women’s stories. Too often, the dead girl can become anyone and anything we need her to be because she is no longer here to defend herself, tell her own story, or insist that she was more than the worst thing that ever happened to her.
That is what I think about as I watch the relentless media coverage surrounding the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. That is what I think about when I read of Glendy Marisol Gonzalez de la Cruz, the Missouri mother of three daughters murdered in a field with her husband in Guatemala after reportedly self-deporting to avoid being separated from her daughters under current U.S. immigration practices–her one-year-old baby girl was found crying over her corpse. That is what I think about as my hometown of Alexandria, Louisiana, prepares to house a women-and-children-only immigration detention facility while pregnant women and teenage girls in ICE custody are given no medical care and transferred from state to state, separated from their families, communities, and advocates.
I keep coming back to the same question:
Who could they have been?
It is the question that haunts me and our work.
Who could the women we serve or the women we read about every day have become if they had been protected instead of exploited? If they had been believed instead of dismissed? If they had been given resources instead of punishment? If they had been seen as worthy of investment long before they became a headline.
And for the women and girls who are still alive but locked behind prison walls or detention center fences, the question shifts.
Who could they still be?
Every woman is more than the worst moment of her life or the worst things that have happened to her. Every girl is still becoming. Every mother is still someone’s source of comfort. Every woman we abandon carries gifts, brilliance, creativity, and possibility that our communities desperately need.
This month, I hope you’ll sit with that question alongside me.
Who could they have been?
Who could they still become?
And what responsibility do we have to ensure they get the chance to answer those questions for themselves?
Thank you for believing, alongside us, that every woman deserves the opportunity to write the rest of her story.
Love y’all.
G.
Fundraising
Woman 2Woman 2026
Thanks to our amazing TPF community around the nation we have raised $16,527.24 from over 115 donors for our 2026 fundraiser so far! Our goal is to reach $75,000. We are so grateful for the support you all have given us that keeps us going!
This is our long-running fundraiser and we hope to cross the finish line by New Year’s Eve.
Learn more and donate here: https://tpfwoman2woman2026.funraise.org/
Girl Code
Georgia On Our Mind
We are still in the process of getting the Girl Code initiative launched at the Metro Transitional Center in Atlanta, GA. It will be the first facility we serve in the State of Georgia and we are eager to ensure all of the women housed there are able to menstruate with dignity and the proper period supplies they need.
Program Stats To Date:
- 380,323 organic menstrual products provided to justice impacted women and girls
- 12,673 Women & Girls Helped
- 13 (Soon to be 14) Correctional and non-correctional residential facilities served
- 6 States (Soon to be 7) with Girl Code Partner Organizations and Facilities
Mother’s Day 365
Congratulations to Our June and July Winners!
In honor of the amazing women who have made a difference in our lives, The Thurman Perry Foundation will be providing housing payment relief in the form of direct giving to deserving moms year round!
Congratulations to the 7 winners of the June and July 2026 cycles of our MD365 program!
- Nicole M.
- Tiffany M.
- Evelyn H.
- Sofia J.
- Julia H.
- Karen G.
- Lataures E.
These women are the new residents of the A New Way of Life Reentry Organization’s recently opened North Carolina facility!
The Thurman Perry Foundation is proud to support ANWOL in our home state of Louisiana and decided to give the first residents of their new facility in NC a headstart at returning home by naming them our June and July winners for MD365.
Next MD365 Cycle Opens August 2nd!
Please note: We are not a rapid response organization and do not respond to individual emergency requests for rent assistance. Everyone must go through the application process equally and then must be chosen by the organization to receive housing assistance.
All upcoming cycles are only announced on our official social media, newsletter, and website.
To learn more and apply: https://thurmanperryfoundation.org/md365/
Program Stats To Date:
- $43,839 in funding awarded
- 88 Mothers in 22 states around the US
- 76% Parents of a minor child
- 23-72 Average age range
- 92% Charged with a felony
- 73% Identify as Black
- 13% Identify as Hispanic
The Perry ‘Second Chances’ Scholarship
The 2026-2027 cycle of The Perry ‘Second Chances’ Scholarship Opens in November!
To learn more and see the requirements: theperryscholarship.org
Program Stats To Date:
- $200,000 in Scholarships Awarded
- 58 Women and Girls around the US
- 22% Attend HBCUs
- 45% First Generation in College
- 8% Currently Incarcerated
- 15% Identify as LGBTQ+
What’s New at TPF
TPF Highlighted in Gambit Magazine
The Thurman Perry Foundation was featured in Gambit Magazine for our groundbreaking partnership with FIT Clinic Initiative to help formerly incarcerated women ease the financial burden of accessing proper dental care after release.
“Formerly incarcerated women often lack access to basic dental care, which becomes another barrier to employment, confidence and successful reentry,” said Danielle Metz, co-director of FIT Clinic, in a news release. “Restoring a smile is a matter of dignity, not luxury.”
Aunt Flow Highlights TPF!
Our organic menstrual pad manufacturer, Aunt Flow, is highlighting The Thurman Perry Foundation for their nonprofit spotlight series on social media! We’ve been a signature nonprofit partner with Aunt Flow since 2023 and have donated hundreds of thousands of their products to correctional facilities throughout the U.S. helping over 12,000 incarcerated women get the period supplies they need.
To learn more about our Girl Code initiative: https://thurmanperryfoundation.org/girl-code/
Check Out Our Updated One Pager!
As we move through our 5th year doing the work of creating an equitable world for women and girls impacted by incarceration, we want to highlight all the amazing work TPF has done nationwide. Our new one pager is a fantastic way to learn more about what our organization does at a glance. Feel free to save and share it!
Foundation Impact
Program Beneficieries Located in 33 States Nationwide
Thank you for continuing to be such a strong part of our community this year. We are endlessly grateful for your support!
Sincerely,
Gabrielle A. Perry, MPH
The Thurman Perry Foundation Executive Director
The Thurman Perry Foundation Needs You
With 95% of those incarcerated destined to come home, The Thurman Perry Foundation is committed to ensuring successful reentry for women and girls through direct financial and educational support.
Help us change the lives of women & girls impacted by incarceration Nationwide by donating today!
Join Us On Our Social Media!
Founded in memory of late U.S. Army Master Sergeant Thurman Perry Jr., The Thurman Perry foundation was created by his daughter, Gabrielle Perry, MPH, to support women and girls impacted by incarceration. We are a 501c(3) nonprofit organization. EIN 86-2519876.
