Welcoming Home Women Released from Prison

Ebony Howard, a certified recovery mentor and formerly incarcerated mother, and Jessica Katz, the director of the Family Preservation Project, describe a new project they are launching to honor and support women as they release from Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, Oregon's women's prison.  Women releasing from Coffee Creek often do not have the help or support needed to get back on their feet. Many release with only one outfit, provided by the Department of Corrections, and nothing else. The goal of the "Welcome Wagon" project is to provide additional outfits, hygiene supplies, and a warm welcome back into society.  This Welcome Wagon will be a cargo trailer beautifully renovated (with the help of community agencies) into a mobile boutique, complete with a dressing room, new clothes and cosmetics, a hairstylist chair, and fresh coffee. The vision is to have the Welcome Wagon be run by formerly incarcerated women who have lived experience and expertise of navigating re-entry, who can meet women at the prison gate with a warm welcome, a make-over, and a fresh start that provides them with a sense of dignity and hope.  Once up and running, It is projected to serve approximately 20 women being released from Coffee Creek each month. 

 

To support the Welcome Wagon project:

For more information on women's incarceration in Oregon: