Philadelphia has a new museum celebrating the formerly incarcerated

Driving the news: Visitors have flocked to F.I.R.M. since it opened last week, says Rev. Michelle Simmons, who runs the museum. It is part of Why Not Prosper, a Germantown nonprofit that helps formerly incarcerated women.

• Simmons tells Axios she received a ton of help curating the space, which features artifacts, exhibits and art from formerly incarcerated people, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning podcaster.

Zoom in: Simmons served six years in prison on drug-related charges and was released more than three decades ago.

• She started her nonprofit to give formerly incarcerated women a soft landing spot that she didn't have when she got home.

What they're saying: About six months ago, Simmons was walking through her neighborhood when the idea hit her to convert the nonprofit's storage building.

• "The Lord just lifted up my head and said, 'Look straight in front of you. There's your museum,'" she told Axios. "Everything I do is a stroke of divinity."

If you go: Free, but donations welcome. Open Monday-Thursday, 10-3pm. Tours on Saturday.