Reentry Without a Roof: The Overlooked Struggle of Mothers Leaving Coffee Creek

 

Coffee Creek Correctional Facility

Formerly incarcerated individuals, especially women, are an urgent and often overlooked demographic in Portland, Oregon. Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville is Oregon’s only women’s prison, and many of the women incarcerated there are mothers and often the sole caregivers of their children before incarceration. This population exists at the intersection of multiple social, economic, and systemic barriers, making reentry into society uniquely complex. Their identities and experiences are shaped by overlapping factors that influence both their incarceration and the challenges they face upon release.

Incarceration Disrupts Families
According to the Prison Policy Initiative, 58% of women in U.S. prisons are mothers, and 39% were single parents living with their children at the time of arrest.
The impact of incarceration extends far beyond prison walls it breaks apart families and deprives children of their primary caregivers.
In Oregon, when a woman is incarcerated, she is sent to Coffee Creek, regardless of how far her home county is. Many families simply cannot afford the time or cost of travel, leaving mothers and children emotionally stranded.
This separation continues even after release not due to a lack of desire, but a lack of shelter.

Reentry Without a Net: Houselessness Awaits

Most women released from Coffee Creek face immediate housing challenges, beginning with the requirement to be released to an approved address, a hurdle that is not always achievable. While transitional housing is available, programs that allow children are far less common, creating yet another barrier to family reunification. As a result, children already separated from their mothers during incarceration must often wait even longer to see them again. In some cases, without access to stable, child-friendly housing, reunification becomes delayed indefinitely or altogether unattainable.

Barriers don’t stop at shelter. Formerly incarcerated women face:

• Housing discrimination due to criminal records
• Employment bias
• Months-long delays when applying for public benefits like SSI
• Emotional trauma and a shattered sense of identity and dignity

As one reading notes:
“Biases against the poor exist at every level of the criminal justice system… People in poverty are more likely to be arrested, convicted, and receive greater sentences.” (p. 39)
The system continues to fail them long after release.

The Link Between Housing and Recidivism
“Housing is probably the most important thing that people leaving prison need.” That quote, taken from a New York study, underscores one of the most vital yet unmet needs of formerly incarcerated individuals.
The statistics:

• 74% of people who were homeless before incarceration said stable housing would have prevented their imprisonment.
• In Oregon, a minimum-wage worker must work 74 hours/week to afford a one-bedroom apartment. For a mother just out of prison, that’s nearly impossible.

Why This Matters to You
This issue affects communities, schools, and the future of children who deserve stability and love.
If you’re a parent, teacher, social worker, advocate or simply someone who believes in second chances this is your issue too.

Click here Family Preservation Project - YWCA of Greater Portland to see how The Family Preservation Project is making a difference

Sources:

Bassett, T. (2022). Disrupting the Cycle: Reimagining Reentry for Incarcerated Mothers Through a Family-Centered Approach. Seattle University School of Law Human Rights Advocacy Project.
Read the full report →

Bertram, W., & Sawyer, W. (2021, May 5). Prisons and jails will separate millions of mothers from their children in 2021. Prison Policy Initiative.
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