Our Story
Arms Around You began in 2017 inside the Washington Corrections Center for Women as a grassroots movement led by formerly incarcerated women who believed healing should not stop at the prison gates.
What started as peer support has grown into a trusted community-based organization serving King and Pierce Counties — supporting nearly 400 formerly incarcerated individuals each year.
We were created by people who lived it.
We are led by people who understand it.
And we exist for people rebuilding their lives after incarceration.
Our Mission
Arms Around You is a nonprofit reentry resource and referrals program serving formerly incarcerated individuals coming out of correctional facilities, the homeless community, victims of domestic violence and substance abuse, and those navigating unexpected life transitions.
We provide innovative, personal development-driven reentry programs and resources designed to increase public safety and reduce recidivism — helping the most vulnerable people become self-sufficient, productive, and contributing members of their communities through strategic coordination of pre- and post-release reentry services.
These services include employment training, substance abuse treatment, mental health support, transitional housing, mentoring, family reunification, and improved community supervision.
The life skills and therapeutic tools provided through AAY get to the heart of the matter — instilling confidence and heightened self-esteem in the men, women, and young adults who embrace their commitment to a second chance at life, transforming through their transition into productive, contributing members of their communities.
Our Vision
Our objective is to provide a safe environment of community support, education, and encouragement to those in the reentry phase of life — equipping individuals with the skills, emotional healing, guidance, and stability they need to succeed.
AAY will provide hope, training, and support to formerly incarcerated men and women and others transitioning in life — allowing them to redirect their lives with the goal of becoming productive, contributing members of their community.
When those in need come to Arms Around You, they are welcomed into a community of mutual kinship, compassion, and a wide variety of services geared toward rebuilding a positive foundation on the path to successful reentry. Transitional support is offered to the men and women who enroll in self-help classes that allow them to re-identify who they are in the world, as well as job training so they can reclaim solid footing in life.
Why Arms Around You Works
Arms Around You is unique among organizations serving our community in that we reach deeper — fixing the problem from the inside out.
We work with extraordinary community partners who help nurture the broken pieces of our participants and foster the skills, dreams, and confidence they need to redirect their lives. Support and therapeutic services are vital keys in successful transitioning.
We offer services in education, therapy, substance abuse treatment, legal assistance, and job placement. Arms Around You brings the entire community together — locking arms around those who need assistance to provide a more level playing field for people who just need someone to believe they can overcome.
We want to tap into the personal power these individuals may not even realize they have — because until now, many of them have been just a number to a local agency. At AAY, they are seen, supported, and surrounded by a community that believes in their ability to thrive.
Our Values
Belonging
Everyone deserves a community that sees them as more than their past.
Healing
We believe healing is foundational to breaking cycles of harm and reincarceration.
Accountability
True accountability includes restoration, responsibility, and support.
Dignity
Every person deserves respect, opportunity, and access to resources.
Our Impact
Here’s what we accomplished together in 2024 — and we’re just getting started.
These numbers represent real people — neighbors, parents, survivors, and community members —
who chose to take the next step, and trusted us to walk with them.
Our Leadership
Arms Around You is led by formerly incarcerated individuals and community advocates who bring lived experience, professional expertise, and deep compassion to this work. Our leadership team is rooted in the communities we serve — because the people closest to the problem are closest to the solution.
Executive Director
Avon Curtis — Executive Director
When single mother Avon Curtis founded Arms Around You, establishing a reentry resource program for individuals facing an array of personal obstacles post-incarceration was a deeply personal undertaking. During her 25 years living in the Bay Area, Avon experienced addiction, incarceration, and homelessness firsthand. Against painstaking odds, she built a strong support system that helped her emerge from the penal system and the homeless population.
Upon returning to her hometown of Seattle, the disregard and lack of support for incarcerated and homeless individuals — women in particular — was palpable. Avon witnessed people battling drug addiction, mental health issues, and domestic violence as they were released into an abyss of uncertainty, with little direction or ability to reintegrate into an unforgiving society.
A long-time advocate for the rights of incarcerated individuals, Avon founded AAY to assist people reentering society from corrections and homelessness. With many years of experience in project and case management, the Seattle native has firsthand knowledge of the obstacles individuals with criminal records face — including issues related to employment, education, housing, family reunification, and eligibility for social service benefits.
A Certified Manager of Housing through the National Center for Housing Management, Avon has over 20 years of experience in Residential Management and Case Management. She is passionate about AAY and about working with individuals to find a supportive community and lasting success after incarceration.
Board of Directors
Dr. Felisa Bryant
Board President
Sabrina Alford
Treasurer
Lindsay Osier
Secretary
Celeka Mouton
Board Member
Angelica Guillen
Board Member
With Your Help, We Can Reach Further
Every person deserves the chance to rebuild their life with dignity. But for many returning citizens, that chance depends on whether someone steps up to support them.
Your donation directly funds reentry navigation, healing programs, emergency stabilization, and life skills training for individuals who are working hard to transform their lives. No amount is too small — and every contribution makes a real difference in a real person’s journey home.
