Flip the Script - Employment Center

Flip the Script (FTS) Re-Entry program provides culturally specific services, including navigation, direct support, and resources, to African American and Black adults being released from prison. Our goal is to support participants in rewriting their stories and successfully transitioning back into their communities by offering employment opportunities, permanent housing, education, advocacy, case management, and peer mentorship. Through these comprehensive resources, FTS aims to end recidivism and empower clients to lead self-sufficient lives, ultimately contributing to the creation of generational wealth.

Founding Flip the Script

Flip the Script was founded by LaFreda Ceaser and implemented by CCC in 2017 in partnership with Multnomah County’s Department of Community Justice. LaFreda developed the program while earning her Master of Social Work at Portland State. Drawing upon her lived experience as a Black woman exiting incarceration, LaFreda witnessed firsthand the disproportionate difficulties that Black and Brown people face when navigating the system upon release. Flip the Script was born from LaFreda’s mission to ensure that no other Black person would endure what she did after her release. The name “Flip the Script” was inspired by the program’s mission to help clients rewrite their stories after incarceration.

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Program Information

Services and Resources How to Access Care

Services and Resources

FTS staff, all of whom identify as Black or African American, have lived experience in the criminal justice system, advocacy, and navigating housing and employment systems through the lens of the Black experience in Oregon and the United States. They understand firsthand the barriers their clients face, particularly in securing housing, employment, and support while reentering a society where racial discrimination remains prevalent. The team includes:

Housing Specialist

The housing specialist guides participants through the process of acquiring permanent, sustainable housing. Participants will be provided with a housing assessment to develop a comprehensive housing plan. Upon availability, participants who meet eligibility requirements may receive move-in or eviction prevention funds.

Case Manager

The Flip the Script case manager develops an individualized re-entry plan capturing short and long-term goals with a roadmap to assist participants in achieving their goals. The case manager will refer participants to community resources and provide personal support and advocate for needed services and entitlements.

Peer Support Specialist

The peer support specialist is someone with lived experience whom the client can build a trusting relationship with. The peer support specialist provides guidance, advice, feedback, and support.

Employment Specialist

Our employment services help clients overcome barriers to finding and sustaining employment. The FTS employment specialist provides job coaching, skills workshops such as resume building, and vocational and computer training with internet tutorials. They also offer referrals for training in trucking, construction trades, and non-degree social services. Additionally, clients have access to essential office resources, including computers, copiers, phones, voicemail, and fax services.

Advocacy Coordinator

The advocacy coordinator empowers participants to process and share their experiences with the criminal justice system and explore their power to promote and advocate for real change. They take a people-centered approach focused on social transformation by the people, of the people and for the people.

“When we observe individuals who’ve been referred and walk into the FTS office for the first time, they actually exhale.” -Billy Anfield, Advocacy Coordinator

How to Access Care

Adults who identify as African American or Black, who are supervised in Multnomah County through the Department of Community Justice, are eligible to enroll in the Flip the Script program. Individuals can be referred by their Parole/Probation, Court Counselor or Case Manager.

Referral Form

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Advocating for Change

Since 2017, FTS has been on the leading edge of advocating for needed system and policy changes at the local and state level. In 2023, FTS received critical funding through the Justice Reinvestment Equity Program (JREP) to launch the Advocacy Group 2.0 program, a platform to help Black and African American men and women exiting prison deeply connect, overcome real life challenges, and provide engagement opportunities. These engagements are led by trusted community, spiritual, and business leaders and are inclusive of staff, clients, and alumni.

Advocacy group meetings occur every third Saturday of each month!