by The Register-Guard Staff
Like the more than 650 women who got out of prison and back on their feet with the help of Sponsors Women’s Services in the past dozen years, Shelley Mallory has paid some dues. In her case, just under two years in prison for violating probation and writing bad checks.
Like almost 90 percent of women ex-offenders, Mallory’s criminal history also is intertwined with domestic violence and substance abuse. In fact, her first tangle with the law came six years ago when, while intoxicated, she sought revenge on her former domestic partner and was convicted of assault, illegal use of a weapon and other charges.
Now three months out of prison, Mallory is in the first group of women ex-offenders who will test a new approach to change the way they think, the way they live and the way they handle relationships.
With a two-year, $454,000 grant from the Byrne Foundation, a band of local nonprofit groups is collaborating to provide addiction treatment, intensive individual counseling, group discussions, education and practical support for women who are rebuilding their lives with the aim of living free of domestic violence, substance abuse and crime.
“It is heartening to see a cross-agency collaboration like this where the partners are simultaneously attempting to address all of these problems to make a difference not only for the women involved, but for their children and families, and ultimately for the community at large,” says J. Mark Eddy, a research scientist and psychologist at the Oregon Social Learning Center.
Eddy’s group will document results of the effort. If successful, it could serve as a model for reducing crime and improving lives that groups around the country could copy, says Jean Daugherty, director of women’s services for Sponsors in Eugene.
The new collaboration is an outgrowth of research done by Daugherty and the OSLC five years ago, which documented the high occurrence of domestic violence and substance abuse among women who commit crime.
The relationship is a real eye-opener, even for women offenders, Mallory says. In a group session that kicked off the project last week, Mallory says, she gained new insight into ways her former lifestyle led her to some behavior that she deeply regrets.
It would be even harder to understand for someone who has never been there, she says.
“My dad was abusive to my mom. When he drank, he got mean to her. I grew up seeing that,” Mallory says. “It felt normal to me. When it didn’t happen, it didn’t feel normal. It didn’t feel comfortable.”
Without the support of Sponsors, and the counseling and education she is getting through Project Enough, Mallory says, she is certain she would fall back into her lifelong pattern of taking up with abusive men.
While Project Enough is only getting off the ground, it is not starting from scratch. All of the agencies involved have been addressing the issues over the years – just not together and with the same clients at the same time.
For example, domestic violence experts have been working in the local jail for the past few years to educate women about domestic violence, using a research-based curriculum called Seeking Safety, according to Brenda Kozicky, a Womenspace advocate involved in Project Enough.
Reprinted with permission. Copyright 2007, The Register Guard