Female inmates from Perryville prison complex give back

(ABC15/YouTube)

SCOTTSDALE, AZ (ABC15) – Twenty women from the Perryville prison complex make up the only all-female inmate firefighting crew in the state.

“I’ve learned so much about myself — how strong I am,” Elizabeth Gama told ABC15 while working on a maintenance project in north Scottsdale. Gama was sent to Perryville in 2014 after a drug-related conviction and joined the Perryville crew last year.

“It’s a way of giving back to the community,” she said. “We’re trying to repair what we’ve done before.”