‘City
of
Roses’
Volume XLVIII • Number 33
Fire Impacts
Historic Gym
All Set for MLK
Dream Run
Grand Avenue
Boxing Club awaits
word on damages
A new location for
weekend celebration
and races
See Local News, page 3
See story, page 3
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • September 4, 2019
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
photo courtesy M ultnoMah c ounty c oMMunications
Candice Murphy (center) celebrates with parole and probation officials and corrections counselors upon her graduation from a unique Multnomah County Department of
Community Justice curriculum focused on helping black women involved in the criminal justice system transition to productive lives.
Transitioning Self, Family and Community
Pilot program focuses on better futures for black women
Candice Murphy always knew she had the intelli-
gence and personality for success. After grade school
in northeast Portland, Murphy left for California, where
she finished high school at the top of her class in biol-
ogy.
When she returned to her native Portland, she en-
rolled at Concorde Career College in pursuit of a career
as a phlebotomist or medical assistant. At 21, she was
a college graduate employed at a local dermatologist’s
office. She later worked at Legacy Emanuel Women’s
Clinic as a medical assistant.
But life began to spiral as Murphy made the wrong
turns with the wrong people. For 17 years, she strug-
gled with an on-and-off-again addiction to crack co-
caine. That battle intersected — more than once — with
the criminal justice system.
And, coming from a broken home, Murphy said, “I
didn’t have the skills to stop myself from spiraling. Af-
ter I had my daughter, I settled down a bit. But I never
really regained ground with addiction. Throughout the
years, I had four children. I couldn’t keep up with so-
ciety. So instead of getting multiple jobs, I just stole.”
At 36 years old, Murphy was in a fight with a rel-
ative’s girlfriend. She was charged with assault and
served more than two years in prison.
But last month, in a long-awaited personal milestone,
Murphy took another step toward a different future. She
joined seven others in the Multnomah County board-
room for the first ever graduation for women involved
in a pilot program called HEAT (Habilitation, Empower-
ment, Accountability and Therapy) a curriculum tailored
c ontinued on p age 4