REENTRY & TRANSITION
Planning ahead makes all the difference.
Leaving prison is only the first step — what happens next determines whether that step leads to a stable, independent life or a cycle back through the system. Research consistently shows that people who come out with a plan, and with support waiting for them on the outside, are far more likely to succeed. Oregon CURE works to close that gap: we connect people who are incarcerated and their families with practical guides, checklists, and community resources so that reentry feels less like starting over from nothing and more like picking up a plan that’s already in motion.
Re-entry Guides
A number of in-depth guides are available to help people transitioning back to society plan for what’s ahead — from the first days after release to rebuilding a life for the long term.
Returning Home
A practical guide from the Center for Effective Public Policy covering the first days, weeks, and months after release.
Mapping Your Future
— Oregon Edition
Adapted for Oregon from the Education Justice Project’s guidebook, walking through education, employment, and reentry planning step by step.
Request a free copy by mail, phone, email, or online form — EJP mails to incarcerated people and their families at no cost.
EJP – Reentry Guide Initiative
1001 S. Wright St
Champaign, IL 61820
217-300-5150
reentry@educationjustice.net
Learning Life All Over Again
A Sentencing Project report from interviews with people who served 20 or more years before release, on what actually helps with long-term reentry.
Getting ready to come home
These three resources cover the practical side of release — what your loved one can expect from the state, what they’ll need to take care of before their release date, and what supervision looks like once they’re back in the community.
Re-entry Overview Presentation
ODOC’s own slide deck on what your loved one can expect on the way out — worth reviewing together.
The First Days Coming Home
Ten things families can expect in the first weeks after a loved one returns — from sensory overload to rebuilding trust.
Free-er But Not Free: Getting Along on Post-Prison Supervisionh
What your loved one can expect from supervision conditions and working with a supervising officer.
Community Resources
Housing, mentorship, employment, and education — these organizations across Oregon and beyond work directly with people leaving incarceration. You don’t need a referral to reach out and ask for help.
A Portland peer-support group founded by formerly incarcerated leaders. Runs a leadership class inside Coffee Creek Correctional Institution and a 12-week Tools for Transformation course for people readjusting after release.
Housing, peer support, and family reunification for people leaving Oregon prisons, based in the Portland area. Staff go into DOC facilities to connect with people before they’re released.
Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers
Emergency shelter and long-term transitional housing through Hope Centers in Clatsop, Lincoln, Multnomah, Tillamook, and Yamhill counties. A practical option if housing, not employment or mentorship, is the immediate need after release.
Serves the Yamhill Valley (Newberg area) with reentry support outside the Portland metro, connecting community volunteers and mentors with people coming home from incarceration.
Peer-delivered recovery support and stable, low-barrier housing in the Portland area for people rebuilding their lives after incarceration or addiction.
Dave’s Killer Bread — Second Chance Employment
An Oregon bakery that has hired people with criminal records for nearly 20 years. Read employee stories and get job-seeking advice for looking for work with a record.
A Eugene reentry nonprofit offering transitional housing, a dedicated Reentry Resource Center, and mentor matching for people with conviction histories.
Higher Education After Incarceration
A guide to applying to college with a criminal record, including financial aid and Pell Grant options for formerly incarcerated students.
ReGroup — Transformative Justice Community
Peer mentoring from formerly incarcerated re-entry specialists who build relationships before release and meet people at the gate, plus monthly support meetings in Wilsonville and workshops in Eugene open to anyone navigating reentry.