PRESS RELEASE -- MAY 2, 2001
Contacts:
Chip Shields, Executive Director, 503-281-2663
http://betterpeople.org
Better People Awarded Grant
To Serve Ex-Offender
Food Stamp Recipients
Better People, a Portland non-profit organization dedicated to lowering recidivism rates in Oregon, was awarded a $75,000 grant by Mt. Hood Community College this week.
The grant, which runs from May 1 to September 30, is aimed at helping adult ex-offenders without dependents who are receiving food stamps.
Sam Jackson, Jr., a Better People board member and NE Portland activist, says the grant will open more doors for ex-offenders with companies that pay a living wage. Part of Better People's mission involves placing ex-offenders in living-wage jobs as they pass through a highly touted counseling program run by Better People called Moral Reconation Therapy.
"It says a lot about the foresight of Mt. Hood Community College and its Steps to Success Program that they are reaching out with these funds in an effort to improve the quality of life in Oregon in an innovative and meaningful way," said Jackson.
Steps to Success, in partnership with Adult and Family Services, Mt. Hood and Portland Community Colleges, the Oregon Employment Department, and others, is a provider of employment and training services. Steps to Success is dedicated to helping people living in poverty reach economic self sufficiency. Part of that mission involves collaboration with groups like Better People that specialize in education, training, employment, and health and social services.
Better People, based in Northeast Portland, provides living-wage employment and counseling for probationers and parolees. The organization works only with companies that pay at least $8 per hour plus health benefits. A recent study by the organization found that ex-offenders who participated in the program are significantly less likely to be re-arrested, re-indicted and re-convicted. [The study is available on Better People's homepage.]
"Our goal is to reduce crime by significantly reducing recidivism," said Clariner Boston, the Better People's recruitment specialist who authored the study with technical assistance from Annette Jolin, Ph.D. "We do that by helping people improve their lives, by helping them become responsible, respectful and productive citizens. That's the kind of action that makes our communities safer, and this grant will go a long way toward that goal."
Ex-offenders who want to learn about the program should call Clariner Boston at 503-281-2663.
Companies that want to find and keep good help -- and which pay at least $8 an hour plus health benefits -- should call Dave Applin at the same number.