Mentor Program Celebrates Ten Years of Service

Article by Tammy Wilkins

“Almost the entire room rose in thunderous applause…”

As a recovering addict who has spent 15 years of my life incarcerated, I was moved to tears when I attended the alumni celebration for the Recovery Mentor Program recently. The event celebrated ten very successful years of providing drug and alcohol rehabilitation resources and transition assistance to formerly incarcerated people and people living with addiction. Located in downtown Portland, the program is a part of Central City Concern, a non-profit that works on alleviating homelessness and poverty.

The applause came at a time during the event when all the mentee graduates who were present were asked to stand up if they had remained crime free during their time in recovery. Hundreds of people stood for the round of applause. Staying crime free may seem like a simple accomplishment for most people, but to people like me it is the cornerstone of how we have changed and what we have accomplished in our recovery. Over 500 people attended the event, and that alone is testament to how many lives have been touched and transformed with the assistance of the Mentor Program.

The Mentor Program Works

The Mentor Program was started in 1999 in response to an epidemic of heroin overdoses in the Portland Metro area. Most conventional drug treatment programs were ill equipped to address the issues that were particular to heroin addicts. At the time, there was a much lower success rate for people recovering from heroin addiction compared to people who used other forms of narcotics. Over the years, the program has expanded its clientele criteria to include other drugs, but the standard of one addict helping another has stayed true.

Since 1999, approximately 1,700 people have participated in the Recovery Mentor Program, and a majority completes it successfully. In 2009, 65% of people leaving the program had successfully completed treatment. This is a very high success rate in the field of drug and alcohol treatment because addiction is an extremely difficult disease to treat.

A 2008 study of Central City Concern’s Mentor and Alcohol Drug Free Communities programs revealed that the benefits of these programs extend to the entire community. Of the people enrolled during the study, 97% reported abusing more than one substance, most used drugs on a daily basis, and 93% had committed a crime prior to entering the program. The study estimated that the community experienced about $2 million in losses a year just from the group of people who participated in the study. After completing the programs, participants experienced a 97% decrease in substance abuse and a 93% reduction in criminal activity.

Why it Works

During my long history of addiction and incarceration I have experienced almost all of the county- and state-funded treatment facilities in the Portland area. I found my experience at the Mentor Program to be much more useful and suited to my immediate needs than any of the other programs I have been in. This success of the Mentor Program is based on the principle that one addict knows best how to help another addict. The mentors at this program are all recovering addicts themselves and most of them have had a history of incarceration. When you enter the program you know right away that they understand how hard it is to transition from jail or prison while trying to build a whole new life. The mentors draw from their own experiences in advising on what steps you need to take, and they have a huge network of resources available to help you.

How It Works

The Mentor Program requires the completion of an out-patient drug and alcohol treatment program, but that’s not all. Treatment is one piece of what it takes to achieve a successful, and lasting, recovery from drug or alcohol addiction. I learned right away in the Mentor Program that they want to help you learn how to live your life in recovery, not just give you treatment.

To begin your life in recovery, the mentors encourage you to resolve any pending legal issues you may have so that when you graduate from the program, you have the chance to begin your new life without the burden of outstanding warrants or legal problems. While you’re in the program, your housing needs are met, and medical, food, and clothing are also provided. The Mentor Program offers many educational and job-related resources. You are assisted in putting together your transition plan with whatever elements you need – housing, education, employment – so that you will have everything you need to achieve a successful transition and life in recovery after graduation.

I have benefited greatly from the unique treatment environment at the Mentor Program. It allowed me enough independence to build a life in recovery while in the safety of being in treatment. We were strongly encouraged to achieve self-sufficiency as soon as possible, which some other programs discourage until some predetermined stage in the transition process is reached. That was the winning combination for me. I had been in more than my fair share of institutions (including other treatment facilities), but with the support and guidance of this program, I have now lived almost four years both drug and crime free. It was with all that in mind that I was honored to be a part of the Ten Year Mentor Celebration with tears of gratitude falling from my eyes. The women’s mentor, Jill, said that day that having all of us in the room was like seeing a whole bunch of her own children all doing so well; and that is exactly what it felt like: one big extended family.

Tammy Wilkins is a student and works at Partnership for Safety and Justice as a College Work Study. She has been an active volunteer for over three years.

For more information about the Mentor Program, contact Central City Concern, 232 NW 6th Ave, Portland, OR 97209, (503) 294-1681, or visit their website.

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2009 issue of Justice Matters.