Street roots., December 30, 2016, Page 11, Image 11

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RED LODGE, fro m page 7
connection to others. The solidarity of a
group provides the strongest protection
against terror and despair, and the strongest
antidote to traumatic experience. Trauma
isolates; the group re-creates a sense of
belonging.”
This notion resonates with Red Lodge
volunteers, who say this pervasive sense of
isolation and hopelessness is exactly what is
found among women imprisoned in Oregon.
Looking back on her early experiences
with Red Lodge, Jackie said their Native
religious services provided a small glimpse
of the community they would help her find
on the outside. “After my release, I was also
able to go out on trips with Red Lodge,” she
said. “We went to the reservation and we
dug roots (for Spring Ceremony). I can’t
even explain the feeling I had of just being
connected - connected to the Earth,
connected to the women I could bring this
food to. It was just amazing.”
“These First Foods are like communion
to us,” explains Trish Jordan. “With these
ceremonies we not only bring the food, we
bring the traditional Simnashio Longhouse
elders into Coffee Creek, and they perform
this sacred ceremony as close as they can to
what it would be if they were in the
Longhouse. All of our traditional teachings
are about how we should be living our lives;
they teach us to ‘live right’. It’s life saving
for some of these people that we’re serving,
because they’ve lost all hope that their life
News
Street Roots •
could be different”
the prison system, and that what Red Lodge
Planning for this celebration is another
provides to these women is a unique service
opportunity for women in prison to regain a
both before and after they are referred to
sense of community - for months they
her for legal services. “Red Lodge provides
weave baskets, craft jewelry and draw
a kind of wrap-around support,” she said.
pictures to give to the
“The legal service
community members
doesn’t just stand
who come in for the
by itself - I can
feast as a show of
provide the legal
respect and gratitude.
"Women need time to heal. This assistance that may
Jordan said many of
be difficult for
honse is about teaching them
these visitors are
people without
to strengthen themselves, em­
regulars who provide
money, but folks
power themselves, teach them, to like Red Lodge
encouragement and
reduce their anxiety."
wisdom to the
- TRISH JORDAN provide those other
inmates. “There’s one
services and
RED LO D G E
little grandma who
support that women
comes all the way from
really need -
Eugene,” she said.
especially
“It’s against the rules
addressing the
to hug an inmate, but this particular
trauma in their life.”
grandma just gives the best hugs. We
Carma Corcoran, a Red Lodge volunteer
explained to security it is part of her
and mentor for 12 women, said the first
tradition to hug after ceremony. When we
week of release is always the most difficult
are done for the day, this little grandma is
time, and that a successful transition
worn out!”
requires a safe and stable physical space
where people can land during this period.
For over a year Red Lodge has had its
ince finding her community through Red
sights on acquiring a house in Clackamas
Lodge, Whitt has gone through several
County for just this purpose. The house sits
therapeutic programs and job trainings, and
on 2.69 acres with about two acres of old-
has also accessed legal services from Julia
growth forest and is surrounded by blue
Yoshimoto of the Oregon Justice Resource
heron, deer, rabbits and coyotes, providing a
Center to reunite with her family.
tranquil atmosphere with close access to
Yoshimoto said reuniting with family is a
city resources. Jordan said the house could
powerful motivation for women to get out of
accommodate beds for about seven women
Dec. 30, 2016-Jan. 5, 2017
at a time - women who are essentially
homeless and returning to community from
jails, prisons and treatment centers. The
space could also provide a regular course of
culturally focused, gender-specific
programming based on a holistic behavioral
health model, including cooking and
nutrition lessons, anxiety reduction classes,
drug treatment services, domestic violence
classes, workshops on healthy relationships
and parenting, and of course, job training.
Some of that funding finally appears to be
arriving. On Dec. 14, Jordan received
confirmation that Red Lodge would be
receiving a $150,000 Community
Development Block Grant from the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban
Development, through Clackamas County -
enough to secure their first house and make
a substantial down payment.
“This house is everything we’ve worked
for at Red Lodge - it is the Red Lodge,” said
Trish. “Women need time to heal. This
house is about teaching them to strengthen
themselves, empower themselves, teach
them to reduce their anxiety. Nearly all of
the women we work with have a history of
trauma, and there’s certain things that
trigger trauma. Because you do not have
other knowledge on how to manage trauma,
you end up freezing, or repeating the same
kinds of behaviors because you don’t know
anything different. People don’t know what
they have not been taught.”
PEOPLE.
PLANET.
LAUGHINGPLANET.COM