(Reprinted with permission from Portland, Oregon, July 27, 1999)

Program Helping Ex-Offenders

Celebrates Its First Anniversary

Graduates of Better People say it's been a life preserver

By Tonya Y. Parker

Staff Writer, The Skanner

When John Huff left prison for the last time in 1997, he did not want to fall into the dead-end cycle of working at temporary and part-time jobs.

It is often the fate of many ex-offenders once they are paroled. Huff himself had served a total of 3 years off and on at many of Oregon's correctional facilities mainly for drug-related convictions.

Still, he thought the strong educational background and significant work experience he gained before he got into trouble would help him find a living-wage job. The 46-year-old just needed that big break.

Better People was the one to provide it. For a year, the private, nonprofit organization has helped ex-offenders like Huff find and keep jobs only with companies paying at least $8 an hour plus health benefits.

The employment and counseling program reached its one-year milestone June 15. Since opening its doors in a small second-floor office at 4839 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., the program has placed 43 ex-offenders in living-wage jobs.

Its motto is "Better People -- Not just better workers." Huff is a living example.

He works as a sawyer for Oregon Iron Works in Vancouver, Wash., which builds things such as boats, barges and bridges for clients worldwide. Huff is part of a crew working on a major retrofit project of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.

"I've never had a hard time finding a job, but it doesn't last any time," he said. "Better People promises you a good job, not just a job. After all these years, it's good to have something like this."

In fact, the Northeast Portland man has done so well in his six months with Oregon Iron Works, he is being considered for a promising apprenticeship program, shop foreman Mark Gibson said.

"We don't just put anyone in that program," he said. "They have to be dedicated and take it seriously.

"John is progressing well. He shows up to work and works hard."

William "Chip" Shields, founder and executive director, said Better People actually has more jobs available than clients thanks to a grant the Meyer Memorial Trust recently awarded the program. The $75,000, payable over three years, will help expand the effort to reduce recidivism -- offenders returning to crime -- in Multnomah County.

Now, Better People is trying to get the word out to ex-offenders and those soon to be released that it can open new doors and steer them in the right direction, recruitment specialist Clariner Boston said. Up until about a month ago, the program had a waiting list; last fall, about 40 ex offenders' names were on the list.

Besides offering good-paying jobs, Better People's services include a 12 step approach called Moral Reconation Therapy, which gets offenders to focus on how they think and make decisions and encourages moral growth. The only cost to participants is $25, which is mainly for the curriculum.

The cognitive-behavioral therapy is in use in 32 states and has been shown to reduce recidivism from 60 percent to 25 percent in various independent studies. Since its June 1998 inception, Better People is the first in the nation to combine job search services with MRT, Shields said.

To celebrate the program's first year, the staff put a birthday card outside its front door. Otherwise, they were just too busy to do anything else, Shields said with a laugh.

If all goes as planned for Better People's second year, they will be even busier. Shields said some of the program's goals are to make 13 more job placements than in this past year; have 70 percent of job placements still employed by the next anniversary; develop further the alumni club for program graduates from 12 to 20 dues-paying members; and work with landlords to find housing for ex-offenders.

"Ex-offenders have a hard time renting from landlords, so they end up staying on the couches of friends and relatives," Shields said. "Sometimes, this can cause them to fall back into a negative circle of influence."

Huff -- who was making about $6.75 an hour when he first heard about Better People -- said he's glad he decided to take his parole officer's advice and check it out. He even has referred some people he knows to the program.

"I told them, 'I don't know what you have in mind or what you plan to do, but if you want a good job, go to Better People,'" Huff said. "What I try to get them to understand is that it's exactly about what it's called: better people."

Call Boston at 281-2663 for more information. Male and female ex offenders 18 and older with no mental illness and who are 30 days clean and sober are eligible for the program.