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| Invest in re-entry programs, not in prison cells |
| By oregonlive.com - Ed Blackburn |
| Published: 11/01/2011 |
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A long with my co-authors, I'm writing to wholeheartedly concur with The Oregonian's Oct. 14 editorial "Head off the prison boom." You said, "There must be a better, different way." There is. The Portland Partners Re-entry Initiative program that has operated in this area for the past five years and is gearing up for another two years beginning this fall. Central City Concern, SE Works, Volunteers of America Oregon and the YWCA have changed the lives of hundreds of Oregonians exiting the prison system. The Oregon Public Safety Commission expects an additional 2,000 nonviolent offenders -- many of whom will have substance abuse problems -- over the next decade. This is precisely the same population the PPRI program works with. Over the past five years, we have reached 809 individuals who exited the prison system. Our clients served an average of 2.2 years before exiting to our case management, mentoring and employment assistance programs. All of the program partners also work to connect clients to other needed services from housing and recovery treatment programs to addressing basic health care needs. The vast majority of our participants were eager to work, make restitution (financially and otherwise) and rejoin society. At our organizations, these individuals engaged with intensive case management that helped reframe their responsibility to the community and strengthen their confidence. They participated in mentoring relationships that supported their entry back into the workforce and committed themselves to the hard work of hunting for a job. Among the impressive transformations of our clients was Michael, who enrolled in the PPRI program in July 2010. He had been incarcerated three different times since 1986. When he enrolled in the program, he was also placed in outpatient drug and alcohol treatment with the Volunteers of America Oregon. Read More. |
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