About Us

NAOMI’S DAUGHTERS OVERVIEW 

BACKGROUND 

• Naomi’s Daughters Is a 501c3 organization whose mission is to support justice impacted women and their children. 

• The name Naomi comes from the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Naomi is the mother-in-law of Ruth.  Ruth describes the relationship of Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth following the death of Naomi’s husband and sons.  Ruth was married to one of Naomi’s sons.   It describes their journey of survival and their relationship.      

• According to the sentencing project between 1980 and 2022, the number of incarcerated women increased by more than 585%, rising from a total of 26,326 in 1980 to 180,684 in 2022.   From prison policy initiative, over half  (58%) of all women in U.S. prisons are mothers, as are 80% of women in jails, including many who are incarcerated awaiting trial simply because they can’t afford bail. Most of these women are incarcerated for drug and property offenses, often stemming from poverty and/or substance use disorders.  

• The founder, Donna L. Otis began over 20 years ago as a youth mentor from a local church taking youth into  Cook County Jail’s men’s division/women’s division and boot camp as a way to show them that jail is not a place they want to be. Around 2014, Naomi’s Daughters began  conducting monthly Bible study with women detained at Cook County Jail in Chicago, Illinois.  As a child, Donna remembers seeing pictures and hearing stories from the first African American chaplain in Cook County Jail, Mother Consuela York.    

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

• Every month Naomi’s Daughters supports the Reunification Ride which provides bus transportation to the Illinois women’s prison for children to visit their mothers, with items for the trips and being present to greet the children and caregivers before the bus departs.

• On a quarterly basis, go into Cook County Jail to support the women  and provide toiletry items.   Prior to COVID19, Naomi’s Daughters went into the jail monthly and it is the goal to increase to monthly before the end of 2025. 

• Christmas we hold events and provide gifts to the children of justice-involved women. 

FUTURE GOALS

• Develop a location for the women upon release, children and caregivers to obtain information and support such as legal services, mental health services, employment training and assistance with how to obtain  government benefits.  The location would also be a safe place for the women and children to gather with play areas, reading rooms, and meeting rooms. 

• Every month Naomi’s Daughters supports the Reunification Ride which provides bus transportation to the Illinois women’s prison for children to visit their mothers, with items for the trips and being present to greet the children and caregivers before the bus departs.