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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2013)
Hope of life in the building trades for soon-to-be-released inmates By DON McINTOSH Associate Editor It was a most unusual graduation. In the medium security wing of the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, Oregon, 16 female in- mates were honored March 14 as the first group to finish an experimental building trades pre-apprenticeship training program. To cheers and hoots from their classmates, one by one the women were called forward in front of an au- dience of prison officials, volunteer trainers, and visiting officials from lo- cal building trades unions. After re- ceiving a certificate and hearing an appraisal from vocational instructor Jen Netherwood, each student got a chance to say a few unscripted words. “So many times, I’ve been told I can’t do anything,” said Danelle Klein. “This class gave me an opportunity to do something with my life, and to sup- port my kids when I get out.” Klein is scheduled for an October release. To be candidates for the program, inmates had to be nearing their release date, and have a high school diploma or GED. They also had to be consid- ered higher risk for recidivism, but have had six months of clear conduct. Divided into two groups of eight students each, the inmates met four days a week, four hours a day, for four months. The program was the brainchild of Mark Warne, Oregon AFL-CIO workforce liaison. Warne had put to- gether a similar program in Colorado, and argued to Oregon union appren- ticeship coordinators and Oregon Corrections Enterprises officials that the benefits of such a program make the investment worthwhile. Unions get a chance to add younger women to the ranks of an aging and over- whelmingly male profession. And the Department of Corrections gets a chance to make a dent in recidivism: Paroled inmates are less likely to re- offend if they have a path to a reward- ing career. Inside, the star is Netherwood, a former professional soccer coach who’s now a member of Carpenters Local 156. After seven years working as a journeyman carpenter at residen- tial contractor Neil Kelly, Nether- wood was teaching classes at Oregon Tradeswomen Inc., a program that prepares women for building trades careers. Then she had a phone con- versation with Warne. “He asked two questions,” Nether- wood recalls: “Can you pass a back- ground check, and have you ever thought about working in a correc- tional facility?” Netherwood never imagined such a job, but now that she’s there, says (Turn to Page 12) Women inmates at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility fill the partially completed hut they constructed under the direction of vocational instructor Jen Netherwood (front and center). Standing on a ladder at the back is Monica Heusel. Standing, from left, are Charity Henshaw, Gloria Friedrich, Bell Andersen, Molly Lewis, Danelle Klein, and Valayshea Shaffer. Kneeling is Kelly Kissell. 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