Oregon Washington Health Network Gives People Who Have Caused Harm a Chance to do Better

What if we assumed that no one is a lost cause? What if we assumed that people can improve themselves if given the right support?

Oregon Washington Health Network (OWhN) is answering these questions. By offering recovery services to people who have caused harm to themselves and others, OWhN gives them the opportunity to return to their family and community with critical resources and improved coping skills.

Through their Community Outreach Prevention and Engagement Services (COPES) centers in Hermiston, Pendleton, and Milton Freewater, Oregon, OWhN provides a number of services for those suffering from substance use disorders, as well as domestic violence offenders and survivors.

With funding from the Justice Reinvestment Equity Program, OWhN promoted COPES Clinician Jesus Rome to full time to achieve three goals:

• Build up and enhance the Batterer Intervention Program, Caring Dads Program and anger management treatment

• Serve a greater number of male Latinos in Umatilla County and Morrow County

• Provide diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training and support to OWhN staff and community partners

The Batterer Intervention Program, Caring Dads Program and anger management treatment serve clients who are on probation or bench probation due to domestic violence charges. The Batterer Intervention Program includes at least 36 weeks of group and individual treatment and equips the participants to stay non-abusive and non-controlling of their partner and children. Participants are required to complete an intensive accountability and safety plan. If they are living with a partner, OWhN checks in with the partner throughout the program to see how things are going and offer resources. The Caring Dads Program is a 17-week parenting group designed to enhance the well-being and safety of children. And anger management classes range from 10 to 12 weeks and include group and individual therapy.

Through all of these programs, OWhN aims to increase prosocial behaviors that prevent involvement in the criminal legal system, increase well-being and quality of life, especially for partners and children, and avoid and reduce violence.

“Oftentimes we want to make the offenders the monster. The criminal justice system really wants to hammer them on the negative side. These are everyday men that have made some mistakes, so we help the community understand they can change. We have to give them a second chance” says Jesus.  

Along with building up these programs, Jesus is working to make OWhN’s services more culturally responsive. Umatilla and Morrow counties have large percentages of Latinx and Indigenous residents. As of 2022, 27.2% of Umatilla County residents are Hispanic/Latino and 2.5% are American Indian/Alaska Native. 37% of Morrow County residents are Hispanic/Latino and 17% are American Indian/Alaska Native. Through partnerships with community-led organizations, tribes and the court system, as well as DEI training and policies, OWHN aims to serve more Latinx and Indigenous community members. Latina immigrant women are much less likely to report domestic violence due to fear of deportation and having their children taken away, so they typically have less access to resources. In particular, OWHN would like to reach Umatilla County’s growing Guatemalan community, which is especially isolated and in need of resources.

Prior to coming to OWhN, Jesus spent nine years creating a successful Batterer Intervention Program for Umatilla County Human Services and Community Counseling Solutions. Under his leadership, the program grew from two clients to nearly 50. OWhN hopes for similar success.

OWhN staff Jesus and Luis Ibarra, Behavioral Health Deputy Director, are excited to connect with all of the other Justice Reinvestment Equity Program grantees.

Jesus shared, “The criminal justice world is new to me. I was surprised how at the [JREP] convening so many of the leaders were formerly incarcerated and doing well. On the westside there are a lot of resources. We hope to continue to be able to tap into that. We don’t want to reinvent the wheel. That’s one of the benefits of these connections.”

The Justice Reinvestment Equity Program (JREP) supports culturally specific organizations and culturally responsive services in communities most harmed and least helped by Oregon’s criminal legal system. JREP seeks to elevate organizations that have been overlooked by traditional funding streams with the goals of reducing incarceration and racial disparities in the criminal legal system, promoting healing and advancing community safety in Oregon. Learn more about JREP.