How I’m helping thousands rebuild their lives after prison | Susan Burton

0:03You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. A quick heads up, this talk includes discussion of the loss of a child, along with addiction and incarceration. What happens when you really listen? For criminal justice reformer and author Susan Burton, listening can change everything. After the death of her son sent her into a spiral of addiction and incarceration, she walked into an AA meeting and for the first time found people who just listened.

0:39Susan Burton: I kept talking and they kept listening. I shared all the thoughts I had spent decades trying to silence. As they listened, I began to heal. Listening saved my life and it opened a door. In this talk, Susan shares how that moment set her on a different path. When someone listened to me with compassion rather than judgment, it changed my life. My story since that day in 1997 shows what is possible when people have support, hope, and determination. For years prior, Susan had been cycling in and out of prison. One time, she even asked a judge if there was any help for her and was told there wasn't.

1:31So after receiving life-changing support from her community, she decided to pass it forward. Working out of a house in Los Angeles, Susan made women just like her a single, simple offer. A safe place to land after leaving prison. That one house became a new way of life re-entry project. now a network of women helping each other across the country. Susan's talk is a testament to how being truly heard at the right moment can change not just one life, but many. That's all coming up after a short break.

2:10Brought to you by the Capital One Saver Card. With Saver, you earn unlimited 3 % cash back on dining, entertainment, and at grocery stores. That's unlimited cash back on ordering takeout from home or unlimited cash back on tickets to concerts and games. So grab a bite, grab a seat, and earn unlimited 3 % cash back with the Saver Card. Capital One. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See CapitalOne.com for details.

2:42This episode is brought to you by Dell. Back to school starts now. Get long-lasting battery life on the Dell XPS laptop, powered by Series 3 Intel Core so you can work from anywhere. Now starting at$699 with exclusive student pricing starting at$599. And it's lightweight, portable, and packed with enough processing power to make multitasking a breeze. So say goodbye to distractions and hello to more free time because you finished your work faster. Complete your setup with savings on select monitors and more must-have electronics and accessories. Limited time deals and free shipping on PCs and more await you at dell.com slash deals.

3:22That's dell.com slash deals.

3:28This episode is sponsored by Defender. Summer is on its way and now is the time to start planning your next great outdoor adventure. If you're setting your sights on higher peaks, deeper rivers, and bigger dreams, embrace the impossible with Defender. Built with legendary capability and tested on some of the most difficult terrain, Defender brings the toughness you need in a vehicle to take you to faraway places with the comfort and smart tech that makes the journey feel luxurious. Choose between the sleek two-door Defender 90, the purposeful Defender 110, or the Defender 130 with seating up to eight people for bigger expeditions.

4:08Defender's robust materials mean you can adventure without compromise, and innovative driving aids like ClearSight technology help you view the world around you in powerful new ways. With the available three models, you have the potential for up to 89 cubic feet of cargo space. This summer, adventure with confidence. Explore the full Defender lineup at LandRoverUSA.com.

4:35And now, our TED Talk of the day.

4:38Susan Burton: On October 4th, 1997, I walked into a room unlike any room I'd ever entered before. People were standing up sharing their stories. A wave of relief watched over me. I got a cup of coffee. and just took everything in. At that point, I was at the lowest point in my life. I was out of ideas, and I didn't know how I was going to make it out of the condition I was in. Before that date, my life had not been easy. When I was 25 years old, I gave birth to a son. We called him KK. The next thing that happened changed my life forever. He was struck by a car. That is the day I lost him. At only five years old, he was gone.

5:42Susan Burton: His laughter, his love, his energy was all taken from me. My life became a downward spiral. I began to drink. Drinking led to substance use. for the substance use, I was in prison. Every time I left prison, I swore I wouldn't go back. But I did, over and over and over again. I remember one day standing in front of a judge and asking that judge, is there any help for me? And the judge sentenced me to prison one more time. No one cared. No one was listening. But when I walked into that room in 1997, I was ready to be heard. In the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous, they listened. I took a deep breath and stood up and said, look what drugs and alcohol have done to me.

6:59Susan Burton: the immediate compassion empathy and love that rolled off these complete strangers was enough to put a sizable dent in my pain my shame my guilt and all that sorrow I kept talking and they kept listening I shared all the thoughts I had spent decades trying to silence. As they listened, I began to heal. Listening saved my life, and it opened the door. I got sober in Santa Monica, an affluent part of Los Angeles. And I noticed something there. people in Santa Monica they weren't going to prison for substance use for alcoholism and I thought why didn't that judge give me a paper and say Miss Burton go to AA was I not worth a piece of paper was I not worth direction toward a solution so as I got stronger in my recovery I thought about women just like me cycling in and out of prison looking for safety and not finding it so I got a job a minimum wage job and I saved$13 ,000 and I took$3 ,000 of it and put down on a house and I bought some furniture.

8:52Susan Burton: Every morning I'd wake up and I'd go down to the Greyhound bus station where women leaving prison were dropped off. And I knew that station well because I had been dropped off there so many times myself. And as they got off the bus carrying a trash bag of belongings and hoping their heart, I would walk up to them and I'd say, Girl, I have a house. And if you want to come live there, it's a safe place to be. You can come live there. And before long, there was 11 of us living in that house. We cooked together. We went to meetings together. We shared resources. We laughed together. We cried together.

9:44But most of all, we healed together.

9:49Susan Burton: Before long, people saw what I was doing and they joined me. And we created a team. Today, there's 12 houses across Los Angeles.

10:04Susan Burton: Thank you.

10:08Susan Burton: What we built was a house of women helping women. Each house is staffed to support its residents. who pay rent, do chores, buy groceries, and learn to be accountable, responsible members of the community. We help them find jobs, learn financial literacy, and help them with any legal issues. As a result, thousands of women have came back to the community, and hundreds of mothers have been reunited with their children. In 2017, I published my memoir, Becoming Miss Burton, from prison to recovery to leading the fight for incarcerated women. In order to tell my story, I held book talks all over the nation, behind prison walls.

11:10there

11:11Susan Burton: I would listen to women they were pleading for a place to go after they were released they were sitting with tears streaming down their faces wanting to rebuild their lives be reunited with their children find a job in their community break free from the criminal justice system every year in this country around 2 million women are released from prisons and jails. They walk out with a trash bag of belongings hoping someone will listen, hoping someone will help. When there's no help, when there's no safe place to land, too many of them will go back. I knew I could not provide resources of a new way of life to all those women.

12:10Susan Burton: So I created SAFE, Sisterhood Alliance for Freedom and Equality. To replicate my motto, our first training was with 13 women. To date, we've trained over 700.

12:32Susan Burton: to listen, to create support, to give hope. When women like me have safe housing, families reunify, recidivism drops, and communities stabilize, I started with one house of women helping women. Today, there is an entire network of women helping women in 20 U.S. states and also in Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria.

13:17Susan Burton: We have replication down to a science. The leadership is there. The demand is there. And the goal is clear. More houses in more cities. More mothers reunited with their children. More women breaking a cycle that has lasted generations. I believe we all share a responsibility to heal the harms caused by the criminal justice system. This is public safety. This is family preservation. This is community repair. when someone listened to me with compassion rather than judgment. It changed my life. My story since that day in 1997 shows what is possible when people have support, hope, and determination.

14:32Susan Burton: I cannot bring my son back. But I know every time a woman walks through the doors and finds safety, every time a child is reunited with his mother, every time a woman breaks free from a cycle that once held me, his legacy goes way beyond his years. I believe he's smiling down on my efforts, and I hope he's proud of his mother. I am so grateful to be on the TED dot.

15:23Susan Burton: And this happened because someone listened with compassion rather than judgment. Thank you so much.

15:42You are listening to Susan Burton at TED 2026. If you're curious about TED's curation, visit ted.com slash curation guidelines. And that's it for today. TED Talks Daily is a podcast from TED. This episode was fact-checked by the TED Research Team and produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Lucy Little, Emma Taubner, and Tansika Sungmarnivong. Additional support from Daniela Ballarezzo, Christopher Faze-Bogan, Valentina Bohanini, Banban Chang, Brian Green, and Lainey Lott. Learn more at podcasts.ted.com. I am Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed.

16:23Thanks for listening.

16:35Thumbtack presents Uncertainty Strikes. I was surrounded. The aisle and the options were closing in. There were paint rollers, satin and matte finish, angle brushes, and natural bristles. There were too many choices. What if I never got my living room painted? What if I couldn't figure out what type of paint to use? What if I just used Thumbtack? I can hire a top-rated pro that knows everything about interior paint, Easily compare prices and read reviews. Thumbtack knows homes. Download the app today. When it's time to scale your business, it's time for Shopify. Get everything you need to grow the way you want.

17:12Like, all the way. Stack more sales with the best converting checkout on the planet. Track your cha-chings from every channel, right in one spot. And turn real-time reporting into big-time opportunities. Take your business to a whole new level. Switch to Shopify. Start your free trial today.

17:58What's in your wallet? Terms apply. Lounge access is subject to change. See CapitalOne.com for details.