Felicity Huffman Wants to Work With Inmates Following Prison Release, Source Says

Felicity Huffman
Nic Antaya for The Boston Globe via Getty Images

After spending nearly two weeks behind bars, the actress has become motivated to help other convicts.

After spending nearly two weeks behind bars, Felicity Huffman wants to reach out and help those who are still in jail better their lives.

A source tells ET, the "conditions at the prison were very difficult" and that there were "no real programs or initiatives to help the incarcerated women who were there."

"Felicity felt like the women in that facility were being discarded and left behind; they were forgotten," the source continues. "She loved the women there and bonded with them. When she left she felt guilty leaving them behind."

The 56-year-old actress was released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, on Oct. 25 after serving 13 days in prison for her role in the college admissions scandal. Following her release, she began one year of supervised release.

She is also required to complete 250 hours of community service, an undertaking she's already commenced.

"She would like for her next community service work to be helping women who were recently incarcerated and need help re-entering society," the source says. "This work will be a long term commitment for her well beyond her community service hours."

"Currently, she’s working as a tutor at The Teen Project, that rescues girls who are trafficked on the streets. She’s been doing that for two years well before this case happened," the source adds. "She’s been tutoring those girls two times a week for two years and this has been an amazing experience for her and her daughter. Felicity is not your average Hollywood actress."

The Desperate Housewives star admitted to paying $15,000 to help get her eldest daughter, Sophia, into an elite college by cheating on the SAT. She formally pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud and honest services mail fraud back in April.

In a statement after her sentencing, Huffman said she accepted the court's decision and took full responsibility for her actions.

"My goal now is to serve the sentence that the court has given me. I look forward to doing my community service hours and making a positive impact on my community. I also plan to continue making contributions wherever I can well after those service hours are completed," read Huffman's statement in part. "I can promise you that in the months and years to come that I will try and live a more honest life, serve as a better role model for my daughters and family and continue to contribute my time and energies wherever I am needed. My hope now is that my family, my friends and my community will forgive me for my actions."

Huffman's first post-prison sighting came late last month when she and her husband, William H. Macy, were photographed visiting the Spring Street Courthouse in L.A.

Check out the video below for more on the actress' life post-prison:

RELATED CONTENT: