Sarah was serving a 45-day sentence at Clackamas County Jail earlier this year when she read an Oregonian article about the Diane Wade House, a residence intended to help African American women exiting the criminal justice system. Named after a beloved Black Multnomah County parole officer, the Diane Wade House was the first of its kind to be operated by Multnomah County. Sarah, who the Mercury chose to identify with a pseudonym for her privacy, had been struggling with addiction and houselessness before going to jail, and she saw the house as a possible path to better circumstances. After being released from jail, Sarah was referred to the Diane Wade House by the Multnomah County Department of Community Justice.
“I felt with all my being that it was the place for me,” wrote Sarah in a letter to the county in June.
“There are very few resources for an African American, 40-something, divorced, childless felon,” she wrote. “Without the Diane Wade House, I wouldn’t be 70-plus days sober.”
The Diane Wade House is operated by Multnomah County through Bridges to Change, a nonprofit contractor that provides housing and addiction treatment services across the Portland metro region. But starting in May of this year, Bridges to Change has been accused of sanctioning punitive treatment and providing substandard living conditions to its residents, and faced allegations of racial discrimination and retaliation against its employees.
In her letter to the county about her experience with the Diane Wade House, Sarah added something else: “There is room for much improvement,” she wrote. “Where do I begin?”
