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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 2017)
Dreamers in Limbo ‘City of Roses’ Volume XLVI • Number 41 Wyden and Merkley hear plea to take action Unusual Ally Police leader in Portland defends NFL protests See Local News, page 3 See story, page 6 www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • October 11, 2017 October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month Established in 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity Keith Murphy (right) and Kate Desmond discuss how they are implementing trauma-informed practices at the Multnomah County Department of Community Justice. Murphy, a parole and probationary caseworker for the county, says that the new practices allow him to slow down and be more empathetic with his justice-involved clients. Offender rehabilitation takes mental health into account by Z achary S enn T he P orTland o bServer A new type of parole and probation- ary care is being exercised in Multnomah County. Called trauma-informed practices, it seeks to rehabilitate people based on how their personal experiences and brain devel- opment have shaped them, with the aim of Trauma and Justice helping the county reduce its reliance on the jail system. The Smart Supervision Project is a pilot program that has incorporated trauma-in- formed practices into the supervision of offenders who are between 15 and 25 years of age. Dr. Alisha Moreland-Capuia, a psy- chiatrist from Portland’s African American community and who specializes in trau- ma-informed practices, says that it is nec- essary to recognize the role trauma plays in people facing the consequences of their behavior. “If you were to take a look at persons who have been entangled with the law, one consistent thing that you will find is trau- ma,” Moreland-Capuia told the Portland Observer. Trauma from long-term stresses, like racism and poverty, can adversely affect the development of the brain, she said, describing people who have experienced significant amounts of trauma as having difficulty accessing their cortex, which is the portion of the brain responsible for c onTinued on P age 4
