The projects listed below consist of meetings, classes and mentoring with the participation of both community members and those who have been to prison. These projects are conducted in the Portland (Oregon) metropolitan area.
Core Team Meetings. The Core Team consists of PHOENIX members who have been trained as leaders.The meetings are designed to identify problems for those getting out of prison in order to create pro-social organized Actions to reduce these pressures. Meetings consist oftelling stories and Relational Meetings (on-on-one intentional conversations) in order to identify these common pressures. This team also serves as the liaison to MACG activities and provides feedback to them on their initiatives. Leadership Training is available to all PHOENIX participants through the MACG’s Leadership Institutes for Public Life (LIPL). People who participated in the in-prison version of this training often move on to become small group leaders and teachers in these community trainings. The LIPLs provide parolees with the best links available for connecting to other institutions, contacts, services and resources in the community.The Core Team meets the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month.
Problem-Solving in the Field. This class is an extension of our in-prison course. It meets in the evening on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month at Julia West House. Barry Anderson, Ph.D., is the facilitator. It is open to volunteers and mentees. With permission of their parole officer, students may count this class toward parole stipulations and develop plans specific to these requirements. This allows the relationship that we began with students in prison to deepen and increase the likelihood of their successful return to the community.
Mentor Project. This began in 2001 and has been a major area of growth. One community volunteer and one Cultural Advisor (a person who has made a successful transition from prison to the community) meet weekly with their mentee. The mentee develops an Individual Transition Plan in one of the Problem-Solving classes. Regular reports are generated to coordinate with local Post Prison Supervision (parole) officers. The mentor/mentee relationship lasts for one year. At that point, interested mentees may become Cultural-Advisors-in-Training.
Welcome Home! Celebrations. These take place whenever there is a fifth Monday in a month (roughly once a quarter). We celebrate and welcome those who have come home from prison in the previous three months. We also celebrate any other milestones in the lives of our members.
