MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — More women are being placed in handcuffs -- Some are separated from their kids, while others carry them inside.
"I was pregnant while incarcerated," Kristie Puckett, with Forward Justice, said.
It's a hard reality for Mecklenburg County Detention Center, as more women continue to fill up their cells.
"We are finding out now our population of females is going up, now they're doing the crime with their boyfriend," Sherriff Garry McFadden said. "It's sad."
Data shows the number of men incarcerated in comparison to this time last year increased by about 10%. For women, data shows a more than 67% jump compared to this time last year.
It's an issue Puckett is working to get ahead of. She knows firsthand the struggles of being imprisoned.
"I remember what it was like to be disappeared and disconnected," said Puckett.
Puckett said many women often depend on men in their lives for financial and economic stability.
"If the man in our lives is involved in illegal activities, so are we for survival," Puckett explained.
Puckett said that’s why she fights for women just like her with the organization Forward Justice. One of their goals is to prevent girls from entering the system.
"We try to address people who have vulnerable situations and people who are subjective to violence," Puckett said. "That includes people who are homeless [and] people who are not working."
Freedom Fighting Missionaries is another local organization working to help formerly incarcerated women get back on the right track.
"There are a lot of single-family households where the women are the head of the household," Maurice Collins with Freedom Fighting Missionaries, said. "It creates chaos within the household while they're gone."
The organization assists with supportive services including identification, health care, employment, and housing.
The essentials serve as a starter kit to success.
"We want to make sure they have the support they need going forward," Collins said.
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