It was a joyful surprise visit at snack time, as the women at A New Way of Life crowded around their mentor, Susan Burton. This house in Montebello is home to seven women, all with long histories of incarceration, alcohol abuse, and drug addiction. “I just told myself, what am I doing with my life? I need help,” said Cynthia Rios, a former meth addict who was eight months pregnant with her fifth child.