Purpose after prison: How raising orphaned wildlife helped one woman heal

Purpose after prison: How raising orphaned wildlife helped one woman heal

POWELL — Sharon Young estimates she cared for more than 4,000 orphaned Ohio animals in a 14-year timespan — all while incarcerated. For 43 years, Young lived at the Ohio Reformatory for Women before her release in October 2025. Now at 69, Young works as a recovery support technician at Fresh Start Recovery Center in Columbus, where she helps women in recovery and their children. “I didn’t think I could make it out, let me just be honest with you…