announcer: right now, on "matter of fact." parents are desperate to find affordable childcare. >> you can't get a job if you don't have childcare. announcer: as the industry struggles to find workers. >> when taco bell is starting you off at $15 an hour, i can't do that. announcer: how will the nation fully recover if we can't provide care for america's children? plus, who will help the women being released from prisons and jails? >> people believe that family will house you. but if your family is in poverty like mine, they're barely surviving. announcer: and --

>> there's no way i would expect a white police officer to get invested in my life as a black violent criminal. >> i just saw something a little different in him. unlikely friendship. gerrel jones: i'm proud to call you my friend. announcer: and how it transformed their lives. soledad: i'm soledad o'brien welcome to "matter of fact." welcome to matter of fact. finding and affording childcare has become a nightmare for families. the pandemic worsening an already crumbling system. the average cost was $10,200 per family. it's a lot of money but does not help day care providers cover the cost of food and facilities. and day care workers are some of the lowest

paid in america and some tames making little more than minimum wage. in mississippi, one family struggling to make it work. >> my husband is in the military and we moved to mississippi. >> reporter: her husband's overseas and their family moved to mississippi for a new assignment with the army. >> reporter: cat who did you know when you moved here? >> absolutely nobody and that happens every time we move. >> reporter: without a support system to fall back on, she knew finding childcare was essential. >> nobody would take him because childcare is limited in the area. >> reporter: one complication is sebastian is on the autism spectrum. >> i toured some schools and as

soon as i said there were needs and recommendations, their response was, we are not able to provide what he needs and it was very stressful. >> reporter: adding to the stress, she was jobhunting looking for a position similar to the one she left behind. >> you can get a job without childcare and how do you have time to apply and do the process for the interviews without childcare. >> reporter: at a city of 25,000 they are struggling to find childcare. the owner of fun times preschool says they are all feeling the fallout. >> reporter: counted the pandemic impact you hear. >> we had a total of 400 children and we went from that enrollment 253 or 63 in a matter of like two weeks.

>> reporter: this made it difficult for fun time. >> we had the capital set aside have floated us until we were able to get the loans. a lot of the staff took voluntary leaves of al joens because of health issues that were not comfortable working in person. >> reporter: finding qualified workers is tough with financial constraints. employees make $13 or $14 per hour which is above the state's average of $7.25. families pay $170 per week per child. >> if you are started off at $15 per hour, i can do that without increasing tuition on families and our families are not in a position to pay more for childcare. >> reporter: not being able to pay for qualified employees makes it more difficult.

that is an issue for the ceo of childcare america. >> we did not have enough childcare and early education programs to meet the needs of parents who wanted to work or go back to school. >> we saw thousands of programs close permanently. there is a significant challenge with the price of care and access to that care. there are significant challenges in supporting the workforce, what is the solution? >> the first part we need to address to come to a solution is to make sure we are aware and that we acknowledge that childcare is an issue that everyone needs to focus on. >> reporter: at any given time, there is a 100% list of kids that they cannot help because of staffing issues. >> we would like to provide the

services but if we are not able, they go elsewhere. then after seven months on a wait list, she was able to secure a subplot for sebastian. >> there will be a lot more quality of life. >> for matter-of-fact, i am laura chavez. next on, women coming out of prison and struggling to find a place to call home. >> no one wants to rent to you. >> reporter: see the housing solution created five other formally incarcerated women. >> what happens to a hotel once you check out? how one man's idea is helping to clean the world.

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soledad: the number of women in prison is growing. each year, about 1.9 million are

released from prisons and jails. the number of women in prison is growing each year and about 1.9 million women leave the criminal justice system. they are 10 times more likely to be homeless than the general public. a handful of programs around the country are trying to meet the needs of women returning to their communities. some of the most innovative are run by formally incarcerated people. i travel to new orleans to see operation restoration and talk to a single mom of a five who was arrested four times for shoplifting and spent almost 8 years in prison. >> people believe that they will house you and clothe you and feed you and give you money. but, if your family is in poverty, like mine, they are barely surviving and you are a

burden that is added. then, you begin to feel like a burden because you are, you are a burden. the strain is there. >> reporter: two years ago they opened hope house with five bedrooms, kitchen and common gathering spaces and even a pool . newly released women can stay up to one year until they get back on their feet. >> let's be honest, women, especially black women, we are expected to come out and get your children and do the right thing. >> reporter: what's the right thing? >> for me, the right thing was staying out of prison no matter what. >> reporter: that's what she wants for other women and she believes it starts with a place like hope house. 15 women have lived here since it opened two

years ago and none of return to prison. 10 years after her release from prison, martin closed on her own home, prove that she believes anything is possible. >> my last time in prison was my last time in prison and the best way to stay here is to keep helping the women coming behind me. i have to be here, we have to be here. >> reporter: the founder of the ladies of hope ministries, one of the nonprofit organizations behind hope house nola. you were talking to the women about the need for family support and how critical it is for successful transition. >> louisiana is one of the top places in the world that have the highest per capita in prison and in jail. when you think about the lack of

resources, you think how can we help women transitioning from violence with physical abuse and human trafficking and aging out of healthcare. that is safe and affordable housing. it was important for us to do. we do great with housing but other organizations who have been previously incarcerated and offer housing and give hope to other sisters. >> reporter: it sounds like a lot of women coming out of incarceration do not have that at all. >> that's right, when you don't have that, we are able to create that for sisters. that's what i have done, i have created an opportunity for sisters to reach out to us. we have case managers and reentry

coordinators. if we need housing , we connect them to that. >> reporter: what keeps women coming out of incarceration for mending up on the streets, homeless? >> we need our basic human rights met. it is safe and affordable housing and access to healthy food. how am i going to eat and how am i going to feed my children? >> workforce development and growth opportunities. changing the idea of diversity and inclusion. we include people not only based on race, religion and gender, but lived experiences. access to healthcare. it should be a basic human right in this country. previously incarcerated women want the same thing. >> reporter: thank you for your time, i appreciate it.

>> thank you, i appreciate you. >> a 30 year friendship between man he arrested. >> you need compassion and if you don't, things won't change. >> their unlikely bond.

soledad: we have an update about the story of an unlikely friendship between a police officer and the man he arrested, we have an update on the story of an unlikely friendship between a police officer and the man he arrested. one that withstood a murder trial in prison time and as lasted three decades. before we get to that, jessica gomez has the remarkable story.

>> i kind of grew up in a leave it to beaver family with the white picket fence and everything else. i was fortunate to have great parents. >> i came from a legacy of murderers in my family. addiction and alcoholism men physical abuse and sexual abuse, you are scared all the time. >> the story of david marsh and jarrell jones begins here outside of atlanta, georgia, nearly 30 years ago. >> i used to build roads right here. >> reporter: an officer with one year on the job arrested him with misconduct. a 24-year- old addict with a long rap sheet . >> he would see me on the street and i'd be selling drugs

and by drugs and he would stop the car and pat me down and talk to me about changing my life. >> i saw something different in him. i can explain it and don't know why. >> reporter: he left for his hometown of birmingham, alabama with a bus ticket that dana bought him. he did not take long for his troubled past to catch up with him. staying in his great mother grandmother's house, today an empty lot. he had a conflict with her husband and stabbed him to death. >> it was surreal and i couldn't believe i had done this and i sat there shaking. then, i basically made a decision that i was going to turn myself in. i called the dana and i told him i had just killed a man. >> he said, i've got to take accountability. it's the only

thing i can do to change my life . >> reporter: despite dana testifying on his behalf, jarrell was sentenced to life in prison. >> there was remorse but he realized the only way to make his life something was to help others get back out. >> reporter: moving through four states, he took accountability classes and studied psychology and counseled other inmates. from the outside, dana, busy with a young family continued to support him. >> he visited and sent money and went to arians and whatever he could do, he treated me like a brother. >> reporter:'s impact on others earning him his release. >> words are spirit and words for life.

>> reporter: he helped neighborhoods like the one in which he grew up he'll. he is now attracting attention of birmingham's top cops and prosecutors. always there is his friend dana marsh. >> what would you tell a young police officer who may be encountering the same situation today? >> you've got to have compassion and if we don't, things won't change. >> we've learned that from each other. his compassion toward me translated to compassion toward others from me. >> i was a violent criminal and to think that this is what redemption looks like. sitting at this table with the police officer that arrested you . miracles are real and so a toast to miracles. >> i'm glad to call you my friend. >> thank you. >> reporter: in fayetteville, georgia for matter-of-fact, i

am jessica gomez. now to an update on the story. recently that montgomery county board of parole pardoned jarrell jones and his friendship with dana marsh is still ongoing. what you refugees start over in america. stay up-to-date with matter- of-fact and sign up for our newsletter at matter of fact tv . tttter.

soledad: welcome back to "matter of fact." last week in afghanistan, the taliban ordered women back welcome back to matter of . last week the taliban ordered women behind the fail. issuing the order that all respectable afghan women should wear a hit job. it is one more restriction placed since the taliban took over. almost 78,000

afghans are in the united states and the largest numbers have moved to northern virginia, the d.c. area, northern california and texas. it is one way for americans to help afghan families. here is how it works. five or more at adult support group for a family. they must raise money and clear background checks. they pledge cash support, food, and shelter for the families for almost 90 days. the circles are operating in 25 states. in addition, universities, nonprofits, and churches are helping with the settlements. and up next, how an experiment in her garage launched a global effort to

help children in need. i'm mark and i live in vero beach, florida. my wife and i have three children. ruthann and i like to hike. we eat healthy. we exercise. i noticed i wasn't as sharp as i used to be. my wife introduced me to prevagen and so i said "yeah, i'll try it out." i noticed that i felt sharper, i felt like i was able to respond to things quicker. and i thought, yeah, it works for me. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. super emma just about sleeps in her cape. but when we realized she was battling sensitive skin, we switched to tide hygienic clean free. it's gentle on her skin, and out cleans our old free detergent. tide hygienic clean free. hypoallergenic and safe for sensitive skin.

soledad: and finally, that hotel soap you leave behind after check-out now has a second life saving the world thanks to shawn seipler who got the idea to finally the hotel soap you leave behind after checkout has a second life, saving the world. thanks to sean who got the idea of recycling used hotel soap back in 2008 30 got hotels to consider reusing the soap. they cut off the used parts and melted it down and made new soap . they donated the soap to countries where children die from hygiene related illnesses. clean the world is given out 68 alien bars of soap in 68 countries. they have 800,000 hotel partners and they have kept 23 million pounds of plastic and soap waste out of landfills.

i am soledad o'brien and we will see you back here next week . e ek on fyi, pluto, and youtube. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] \ ♪ i'm mark and i live in vero beach, florida. my wife and i have three children. ruthann and i like to hike. we eat healthy. we exercise. i noticed i wasn't as sharp as i used to be. my wife introduced me to prevagen and so i said "yeah, i'll try it out." i noticed that i felt sharper,

i felt like i was able to respond to things quicker. and i thought, yeah, it works for me. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

today on asian pacific america, we talk about i knew fully ends fired asian book to honor aapi. and that the magic theater at ft. mason called monument or four sisters, a flop play. an attribute to the asian pacific heritage award. i am host for your show here on nbc ba area and