February 15, 2017
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‘Flip the Script’ on Jobs and Homes
Program targets obstacles
for released inmates
Local African Americans exiting the criminal justice
system will have more support to succeed thanks to a
new ‘Flip the Script” program that provides compre-
hensive solutions to ending Portland’s homelessness.
Central City Concern, a Portland nonprofit, and
Multnomah County, recently announced a partnership
to end a cycle of incarceration in the community.
“We assessed our outcomes and learned African
Americans exiting from a criminal justice program
without employment or housing had a 36 percent
chance of re-entering the system,” said Freda Ceaser,
employment access program manager for Central City
Concern. “We’d like to lower that number.”
Flip the Script will provide housing, cultural peer
support and an employment specialist to support reen-
try into the community.
“These are key things people need to engage back
into the community. I’m hoping Flip the Script will
impact the system in an authentic way,” says Ceas-
er. The program should serve about 150 people in the
next year.
Central City Concern is partnering with the coun-
ty’s Department of Criminal Justice to identify and
support candidates for the program.
“We know that a stable home and steady work are
the foundation for a successful life,” says Multnomah
County Chair Deborah Kafoury. “For too long, our
criminal justice system has focused on punishing peo-
ple, especially people of color, instead of investing in
their success. This collaboration will change lives.”
For more information, visit centralcityconcern.org
or visit multco.us/dcj.
Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury (left), Commissioner Loretta Smith (right), and Central City Concern staff
members John Karp-Evans, Elissa Black and Freda Ceaser gather to announce a program called ‘Flip the Script’ to
end the cycle of incarceration and homelessness for African-Americans in the justice system.