12-week program is part of effort to help former inmates

By Ruth Liao • Statesman Journal • April 17, 2010

For Charles Walker, it was a hard adjustment to be released from prison and consider his next options. Then came an opportunity to attend a program at Chemeketa Community College. Surrounded with peer support from other offenders, Walker felt he was more prepared.

“The camaraderie, the helping, the encouragement — it was like no tomorrow,” said Walker, 40, of Salem.

Walker was among the first graduates of SOAR, which stands for Student Opportunities Achieving Results.

The program is an amalgam of several partners, including Chemeketa Community College, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Marion County Health Department and Mid-Willamette Community Agency Agency, a nonprofit agency that provides an umbrella of social services.

Friday’s ceremony celebrated the success of 22 SOAR participants. The program began last January with 30 people. It is expected to serve 100 people this year.

Some participants have acquired their general educational development, or GED, proficiency, some have enrolled in Chemeketa programs and some have found jobs, said Ron Bassett-Smith, Chemeketa’s chief operations officer.

“We know that significant change requires courage and strength,” Bassett-Smith told the graduates.

All of the graduating participants completed 12 weeks of the program, which used evidence-based curriculum on topics such as parenting, substance-abuse treatment and motivational thinking. Participants also are paired with mentors.

Ideas for the SOAR program were hatched about two years ago by Marion County Commissioner Janet Carlson and Chemeketa president Cheryl Roberts. Kimberly Allain, who served as a facilitator for one of the SOAR programs, also joined in the early conversations.

The SOAR program is modeled after a Washington program, as well as adding evidence-based curriculum, Carlson said.

Carlson said the program fosters relationships between parole and probation officers and ex-offenders — an important bond.

“It’s not so much the books and classroom,” she said. “It’s the human connections these folks get.”

Hubbard resident Mickie Bowman was proud of her grandson, one of the SOAR graduates.

Bowman said she appreciated that the program was at Chemeketa Community College so he could be in a campus environment and consider school again.

“I’m happy that my grandson could get his foot in the door,” she said.

Bowman said she had asked her grandson if he’d go back to his “old ways.”

His reply?

” ‘No, I’ve learned too much,’ ” Bowman said. “I felt great.”

Bowman said she appreciated that the SOAR program invited family members to sit in on some of the “family night” events. The night before, Bowman helped bring in refreshments for their last class.

“I just felt they deserved it,” she said. “They earned it.”

rliao@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 589-6941