Incarcerated mothers have a new place to re-connect with their kids after they get out of prison. Thursday, the re-entry services group "Sponsors" cut the ribbon on a new house in Eugene that will provide a place for families to get a new start.
Each of the five modest-sized bedrooms has its own bathroom and one wall painted a bright-cheery color. In about a week, women will begin moving into Bothy Cottage in the Jefferson-Westside neighborhood. Each will be joined by up to two of their children.
Sponsors Executive Director Paul Soloman says ¾ of women Oregon prisons are mothers, and it can be difficult to regain custody once they're out.
Soloman: "You think of reentry like coming back from orbit. Well it's really very similar for the women who are coming back to our community after having been in prison. That transition period is very destabilizing."
At Bothy Cottage, women will have access to social services, as well as parenting classes, drug treatment, and therapy. Soloman says this is the first program of its kind in Oregon.
