Volunteer Training: The CoSA Model

CoSA History, Circle Dynamics, and Reentry Realities

Saturday, March 12, 2016 – 9:00 am – 2:30 pm

Trainings held at the Interchurch Center, 0245 SW Bancroft St, Portland. Lunch and refreshments will be served. Training is free for registered volunteers.

RSVP for this training and find out more:

phone (503) 988-8580 n email cosa@emoregon.org n website www.cosaoregon.org

Volunteer for Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA), and learn about an effective way to prevent violence.

Circles of Support and Accountability are possible because of community volunteers committed to reducing harm and helping prevent future victimization. We welcome volunteers as individuals or small groups. We train and match community volunteers with persons returning to the Portland area after a prison sentence, to provide healthy relationships that keep individuals and the community safer. Our philosophy is based in restorative justice, believing that the community has an important role to play in reentry and public safety.

A team of roughly four volunteers works with each client (the Circle's "Core Member") to form the Circle. The Circle meets weekly as a group and volunteers check in throughout the week, for the Core Member's first year out of prison. This is an intensive investment of time and energy in each person we serve, but it is what has been shown to make the most difference in the lives of people facing a challenging transition out of prison.

Our Circles primarily serve clients who are high risk and often who have very serious criminal histories, including those with sex offenses in their records. Through training and our community partnerships, volunteers are empowered with evidence-based knowledge about risks and ways to help people who often are misunderstood and feared. CoSA in Oregon is a project of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, and volunteers from all backgrounds and faith traditions are welcomed.

The hope of CoSA is simple yet profound: No More Victims. Join us to learn more about the realities of life for offenders in our communities, how CoSA effectively helps prevent violence, and how you can get involved. One person at a time, we are helping prevent violence.