Ruth Rollins is the Executive Director and Founder of We Are Better Together, an organization that connects women and girls affected by homicide and incarceration to interrupt the cycles of violence and victimization, foster healing, and promote unity while challenging systems. 

Ruth loves to spend time with her  granddaughter, travel, cook and spend time with her cat fefe.  

We Are Better Together, Warren Daniel Hairston Project was founded in 2017, after the murder of Ruth’s son, Danny Hairston, and the incarceration of her second son. She experienced the grief, shame, and stigma of losing a child and being a parent of children causing disorder in the community. Ruth realized that addressing the trauma of her past is essential to the healing process and though there were services available for homicide victim families (survivors), no services were available to mothers who lost loved ones to incarceration. Ruth found her voice and founded the organization to honor her son's legacy, engage and empower mothers on both sides of gun violence in the healing process. She is committed to using her expertise in service to help mothers heal and ensure that no families have to suffer in silence. 

Ruth has been a  domestic violence advocate for over 23  years,and has developed curriculum with the Boston Public health commission on community harm,removing the stigma surrounding families of victims and families of love ones causing harm that are traumatized by gun violence .Her community leadership and  deep connections in the community make her a powerful force for peace. She is also a co-founder for Operation LIPSTICK (Ladies Involved in Putting a Stop to Inner-City Killing) and is nationally recognized as a leader in addressing gun violence and community violence. 

She has broken barriers on how systems support communities impacted by gun violence .