The Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) Portland Restoration Academy is hiring interns to join the team. This program will start in July 2023
This position is classified as a Commissioner’s Staff Rep. Any one position in this class may not perform all the duties listed below, nor do the listed examples of duties include all similar and related duties that may be assigned to this class.
About OVP:
The City of Portland’s Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) provides strategic direction and oversight for the City’s efforts to reduce and prevent the risk of gun violence. OVP addresses the complex factors that drive violence in our city by partnering with community-based organizations and providing much needed resources to our community. It is our core mission to support systems to reduce and prevent the different types of violence using the public health prevention approach.
About the Portland Restoration Academy:
The Portland Restoration Academy is a robust six – to – nine-month work experience program provided by the City of Portland for people who have been recently incarcerated. This program is administrated by the Office of Violence Prevention (OVP), which is overseen by the Office of Mayor Ted Wheeler, in partnership with several community organizations and employers.
The goal of the academy is to provide recently incarcerated individuals within Multnomah County an opportunity to learn new job skills, earn paid work experience, receive on-the-job training, and wrap around services. The mission is to provide returning citizens a chance to re-enter their communities with hope.
For most individuals recently released from prison, the adjustment period after incarceration is extremely difficult to navigate. For many people, their connections and communities in the outside world have changed significantly during their time in prison. This fact, compounded with the many systemic barriers that make it difficult for returning citizens to find housing and family-sustaining employment, can make a successful transition seem almost impossible. This is especially true for individuals who have spent a significant number of years incarcerated.
It is our desire that every returning citizen who becomes an intern with the Portland Restoration Academy and completes our program will learn job skills, have access to professional development opportunities, and form professional relationships, all of which serves the goal of returning citizens obtaining long-term, family-sustaining employment.