Non-Profit Offers Free Legal Representation, Services To North Tulsa Mothers

Oklahoma is sending the highest recorded number of women to prison, but a new non-profit program based in north Tulsa is trying to buck that trend.

The group, Still She Rises, is a team of attorneys that works specifically for low-income mothers in north Tulsa, representing them for free.

Letrice Parker was going through legal issues within her family and felt helpless when someone told her about Still She Rises.

"It was a blessing. It was a blessing that was unexpected,” she said.

Not only did the team offer Parker some legal advice, they also looked at her record and resolved the outstanding fines and fees that were bogging down her finances.

"I don't have that much income, and the little income I have, it would have took a lot longer," Parker said.

Still She Rises opened its doors in January. The purpose of the non-profit is simple - to represent women like Letrice, one of the most under-represented groups in the state, low-income north Tulsa mothers.

And they do it free of charge.

Executive Director Robin Steinberg said, "People need help actually getting back up on their feet when a community has been this marginalized for so long."

Steinberg said Oklahoma incarcerates more women than any other state, and she hopes her group will reverse that rate.

"I think that kind of access to justice and access to representation has long been denied to low-income people in this community, so we're delighted to be able to provide that to women," she said.

Still She Rises is already changing lives, one case at a time.

Parker said, "They really helped me a lot. I didn't know. I didn't know they were going to help me like that."

Still She Rises is funded by the George Kaiser Family Foundation with help from the Zarrow Foundation and private donors.

You can find more information on the non-profit here.