Community members reflect on successes, struggles during Second Chances Month: ‘It’s like being a newborn coming into this strange world’

April 12, 2021

SE Works is a local nonprofit dedicated to helping underserved populations such as at-risk youth involved in the justice system, unemployed adults, immigrants, people experiencing disabilities, and people returning from incarceration.

*The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners declared April “Second Chance Month” at Thursday’s (April 15) Board meeting. Read remarks below

Kiva Anttila still recalls the first gift card she received from SE Works, which allowed her to purchase new clothes. It was 2008 and she had been recently released from Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, her last time in prison after being in and out of the criminal legal system for years and struggling with substance use disorder.

For incarcerated people, many of whom are re-entering an unrecognizable society with next to nothing, simple things like a clothing voucher make a massive difference, Anttila says.

Photo of Kiva Anttila's first day on the job at SE Works. Antilla serves as a NewStart Coach-Navigator.
Photo of Kiva Anttila's first day on the job at SE Works. Anttila serves as a NewStart Coach-Navigator.

“It’s like being a newborn coming into this strange world,” she says.

“As weird as it sounds, the Ross gift card they gave me that I went and bought brand new bras and underwear with were like a focal point of my recovery and my making it in the world.” 

As a participant in the Portland Partners Reentry Initiative (PPRI) program, Anttila was connected immediately after her release with SE Works, a local nonprofit dedicated to helping underserved populations such as "at-risk youth involved in the justice system, unemployed adults, immigrants, people experiencing disabilities, and people returning from incarceration.” 

This month, Anttila and others are sharing their story as part of Second Chance Month, a local and national recognition of those who have or are making the challenging transition back into community after incarceration. More than 600,000 people returned from state and federal prison every year; last year in Oregon, more than 1,200 people were released from state custody. In Multnomah County and across the nation, organizations are raising awareness, providing support and lifting up those who deserve a second chance as they come back home.

Debra Carabajal serves as a career coach at SE Works.
Debra Carabajal serves as a career coach at SE Works.

Debra Carabajal’s story is similar. After being in prison for five years and also struggling with substance use disorder, Carabajal became involved with Oregon Tradeswomen, an education and mentorship program for women in the trades industry. But despite landing a solid job and regaining her financial footing, Carabajal was unhappy.

“[With] the first check, I was still doing what I was doing… I was still getting high, and relapsed,” she says. “I asked myself, ‘Is this a good thing for me to have?’”

Carabajal’s breakthrough occurred as a volunteer mentor for SE Works. Her shared experience allowed her to make natural connections with Anttila, who was also working at SE Works at the time, as well as her other colleagues. Seeing their dedication to helping others firsthand caused her to re-evaluate her job and life’s purpose. 

“They had the passion for what they were doing, and I said, ‘that’s what I want to do,’” Carabajal recalls.

Carabajal dived headfirst into the work and has been with SE Works as a full-time employee since 2017. She hasn’t used meth in 10 years.

Both have now sat on the other side of the table for years, working as case managers for those who are re-entering society after incarceration with SE Works’ NewStart and the Department of Community Justice’s Economic Opportunity programs.

“Being a person who lived in such addiction and had such an arrest record, just to have the opportunity for SE Works interview me, and for them to love me so much that I didn’t even get to order lunch before they offered me the position, was indescribable,” Anttila says.

Anttila and Carabajal work face-to-face with clients, helping them craft resumes, search for jobs, and give them full access to the SE Works resource room, which includes computers, printers, and free lunch. They also provide clients with the basic necessities they don’t have after leaving prison, such as identification, bus passes, hygiene items, clothing, backpacks, and food. 

David McCoy, is one Anttila's former clients at Southeast Works.
David McCoy, is one Anttila's former clients at Southeast Works.

David McCoy, one of Anttila's former clients, remembers his experience with SE Works fondly. “I got out [of prison) with a plastic sack with nothing,” he says.

After filling out the SE Works application, “it was not even 24 hours and I had a clothing voucher, and then she said I could go get eyeglasses, which I needed. I’m wearing the glasses right now.”

Their clients — some of whom are being released after serving more than 20 years — struggle with things most take for granted. Many have never used a smartphone or sent an email.

Aside from receiving essential items, many clients just need someone they can talk to who believes in them. Anttila says re-instilling this belief is crucial, as clients are often uneasy about their criminal background when filling out resumes and submitting job applications. 

Heidi Kirillova is one of Carabajal former clients.
Heidi Kirillova is one of Carabajal former clients.

“I tell them, ‘we’re not looking at your mugshots. We’re looking at the person in front of me today,’” she says.

For Anttila, helping clients find confidence is often as simple as listening to them, as well as sharing her own story.  

“I’m a navigator. I’m an advisor. I’m helping other people go to school and I just keep moving up, probably about seven positions now in my six years at SE Works. Being able to show people it can be done is just so rewarding,” she says.

And though their work is focused on employment, it is very much goal driven. No two clients are the same, Anttila stresses.

Clients can be involved with programs for as little as 30 days or for years. But during that time, SE Works staff take care to form strong relationships. Carabajal describes SE Works as a family.

Her client, Heidi Kirillova agrees. 

“I remember being on the streets shooting dope. People weren’t in my life and they didn’t want to be in my life and they weren’t giving me another chance,” she says. “It’s hard to climb out of the hole you dig yourself in.”

Carabajal has been like her sister, Kirillova says, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic has halted in-person meetings.  

“She’s just an amazing person and she’s never forgotten about me,” she says. “It gets lonely when you don’t have [in-person] check-ins, but she’ll give me a call and FaceTime me and if you don’t respond, she’s on you.”

Though the work can be challenging at times, it is well worth it for Carabajal and Anttila. 

“I let go of a good job to be who I wanted to be,” Carabajal says. “This is my passion. I’ve been there and done that, and I know I can help the community. It’s my turn to turn around and serve customers that are in need of assistance.” 

Oftentimes, former clients come back to thank them, sometimes years later. Recently, Anttila ran into a former client she had served years ago who credited her for “changing his life” and being the catalyst on his path to addiction recovery.

As Anttila looks to the future, one of her biggest goals is to get more community members struggling with addiction and incarceration involved with SE Works and other programs like it.

“A huge part of why people struggle is they don’t know how to access resources, where the resources are, or that there are even resources available,” she says. “So spreading the word, getting it out, even if it’s through a food box or new socks or whatever.”

For now, both she and Carabajal plan to continue pulling community members out from the darkness, one client at a time.

“SE Works has been a pillar of the community here on Foster Road for 24 years and we’re set to spend the next 20-plus years on Foster Road,” Anttila says. “My plan is to be here for the long haul and keep doing what I’m doing.”

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Remarks from April 15 Board meeting:  

Linda Hastings, SE Works 

I am here today on behalf of SE Works Board of Directors staff, staff and justice community to say thank you for your support of Second Chance Month and your ongoing support of community re-entry programs. Almost 1 in 3 adults in the United States has a criminal record. Finding a job when you have a past arrest or conviction has never been easy. However it has become even more important in the midst of the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 health crisis that has left millions of Americans unemployed. Everyone is having a harder time, that is even worse for people being released from jail or prison. Service positions, a lifeline for those with past justice-involvement, are in short supply due to the pandemic…. 

Meaningful employment is crucial to rebuild your self-esteem, rebuild your ties with family and just to be able to put food on the table. The pain of the pandemic has affected many who want to change their lives and commit to a prosocial and crime-free life.  

Our work through the pandemic has focused on stabilization and support. Our eight workforce development programs are targeted to justice-involved youth and adults. We work daily with Multnomah County Department of Community Justice probation officers and referring agents to enroll and deliver services to those that need them the most. 

We are known for our work in the justice-involved community...  We are proud to say our staff come with lived-experience in the justice system and understanding of poverty and addiction issues. We are very excited about our new partnership with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and the Inverness Jail. We are delivering pre-and-post workforce development and training services to adults in custody. This is exciting as we get to reach in and connect before they are released... 

On behalf of SE Works management and staff and board, we enthusiastically support the Second Chance Month Proclamation. 

Kathy Sevos, Volunteers of America Oregon

Multnomah County, SE Works and VOA have long been partners and pioneers in treatment re-entry and client support. This past year’s historic events from wildfires, to global pandemic took a serious toll on people in our community and those living in our correctional institutions. However there were successes.VOA was up and running with telehealth within two weeks of stay at home orders being issued. We successfully applied for and were issued an FCC technology grant …  to get workforce and clients equipped for telehealth services...   

Following state and county protocols, we are safely welcoming clients into our facilities to access technology so they can participate in telehealth, particularly houseless individuals.  VOA Oregon has expanded our mental health, trauma, DUII and problem gambling services. In February we added a batterer-intervention program. Many of our services are available in Spanish with BI-POC staff and matching BI-POC clients. And we offer a pool of culturally and gender-specific recovery homes. We’re hoping a new stabilization house to help people who are really struggling the most. And of course our residential centers have been open throughout the entire quarantine. 

Above all, VOA’s mission is grounded in social justice, we specialize in programs, reentry services for over-represented populations for over 20 years …..

VOA is a key partner with H.E.A.T and other diversion and reentry programs. START, STOP and DISP, Multnomah County’s Justice Reinvestment, Re-entry Enhancement Coordination and Short Term Transitional Leave. They have incredible outcomes. I want to highlight our Treatment Readiness dorm at Inverness Jail. We have a strong partnership with the Sheriff’s Office and DCJ to run a 78-bed dorm. After an 18-month evaluation the findings demonstrate this is a very high dosage program. 529 individuals received over 20,500 sessions, nearly 30,000 hours of programming — all with a length of stay on average of 30 days. People who stayed in the dorm longer spent more time engaged in community based treatment, and used less jail bed the following year and were less likely to abscond and less likely to receive a formal sanction. 

Multnomah County's investment is so needed and appreciated in giving our citizens a Second Chance.  

Commissioner Lori Stegmann 

Kiva, thank you so much. I really appreciate what you said, ‘It's Second Chance Month but really it should be as many chances as it takes’. I’m so proud of your successes and keep leading and keep providing that peer to peer service…  And a shout out to the Treatment Readiness dorm. I’m just really happy to support Second Chance Month. 

Commissioner Sharon Meieran 

Kathy, you did an amazing job of expressing what VOA does in that seemingly abbreviated format. VOA does so much and I deeply appreciate partnering with this organization. Linda, thank you for describing the work of SE Works and what you are doing to support people as they make this tremendous transition in their lives.

Kiva, I just want to thank you personally for sharing your story. It takes courage to do that and you did it beautifully... 

Chair Deborah Kafoury

Thank you all for coming today. We deeply care about this proclamation and the work that each one of you is doing. Thank you for coming today and sharing your thoughts with us.