Month: September 2025

By VOTE Members Julia Cass & Danena Williams

When Danena Williams came out of prison in March 2023 after serving 16 years of a 20-year sentence, she wanted to prove to herself, her friends, her family and the world that she was going to get it right. “I was young, 20, when I went to prison. I came home nowhere near that naïve girl I was then. I came home as an adult with education and ready to live life and achieve things and make up for the time that was lost.”  

She was fortunate to get a place in VOTE’s transitional living facility for women- Diamond House – where she got support services and was able to live without paying rent for six months.

“It’s once you start job searching and apartment hunting that you run into roadblocks,“ she said. “Everybody wants to know: Are you a convicted felon? People don’t want to give you a chance because of your past. You want to start over and do right and be a productive citizen but you run into all these no, no, nos. It’s very discouraging.” 

Danena ran into these roadblocks when she looked for housing. She said she viewed a number of different properties, met with the people renting them and “everything was a lovely experience.” She felt she was on the brink of being accepted several times but after her background check came in, she would get an email: We can’t rent to you. Finally, one landlord gave her a chance and, she said, she never missed a check or was late on the rent.

She did not hit a roadblock when she sought a job. She decided to apply at the IHOP on Carrollton Avenue, not far from Diamond House. While she was in prison, she took a number of courses and in one, she was certified in Serve Safe, a food safety course. She met with the general manager and said she had Serve Safe certification. “I was almost hired on the spot.” She started out as a server. After about a month, she was promoted to food chief and then assistant manager. When the manager left for another IHOP location, she became the manager. She has been manager there now for more than a year and has since hired six other formerly incarcerated women. 

“We hired her as a server and she exceeded that role,” said Dhiya Esmail, the manager who hired Danena. He is part of the family that owns several IHOP franchises in the area. “She had the qualities of a leader. For example, I said we wanted the (condiment) caddy set up in a certain way and she focused on not just her tables but the whole restaurant. She is a genuine leader. This was not something we told her to do. This was what she came in the door doing.” He said franchisees can set their own employment policies, and his family does not refuse jobs for any category of people. “We always like to give people an opportunity to better themselves.”  

Danena believes more employers should give formerly incarcerated people a chance in part for their own, business reasons. “That person you won’t consider could be one of the best employees you ever had – always on time, always dependable, whatever task you give them, they do 100 percent – then you miss out because you judged off the past.” 

Society benefits too when people coming out of prison don’t have the odds stacked against them from the start. “Most people don’t leave prison thinking, ‘I’m going to commit a crime.’ The circumstances can dictate what comes next. I don’t think people realize how much messages impact people. But it’s a bad message that when get out, you’re not going to be able to get a job because you’re a convicted felon.” Employment is also necessary to obtain housing. Even if landlords didn’t reject Danena because of her record, they would not have considered renting to her if she had no income. 

In the two years since she was released from prison, Danena has become a manager.  She earns extra money with Door Dash – “When I’m not here, I’m Door Dashing” – and now owns a home in New Orleans East. She said her parents, who live in Texas, are, “As proud of her as parents could be. My mom was very disappointed when I was incarcerated. They had great hopes because I was in college. For me, being home and being 100 percent out of trouble and getting everything established and achieving what I have achieved, it’s about making them proud.” Even though Danena cannot really make up for lost time, she said, she has been able to “come home and show, not just say, but show that I can still make something of my life.”