Aside from courses, the PEP has been deepening our relationship with Sponsors Inc., Inc.- an organization supporting formerly incarcerated adults in the Eugene area. In 2023, PEP interns started visiting Sponsors, Inc. every week to offer drop-in technological support for formerly incarcerated adults such as help with help registering for social security, learning how to search for job opportunities online, or setting up a budget, while also helping with the creation of digital resources that are utilized by the staff in the presentations and other work. Since then, this partnership has expanded to volunteers going to Sponsors, Inc. multiple times per week and people now have become used to having a place to turn to for their questions and assistance on a variety of topics. UO students have joined PEP interns to increase the capacity of the work. Non-intern volunteers are a mix of people who have participated with the PEP through Inside-Out courses, who heard about the program through their academic programs, or a peer at the university.
Our partnership with Sponsors, Inc. creates a meaningful impact by increasing the capacity of the organization working to improve formerly incarcerated adults’ lives, Student volunteers are able to gain valuable experience while making an important contribution to individuals, the organization, and the community, and thePEP is very grateful to be in partnership with Sponsors, Inc. and to bridge our programs to increase the resources available in Eugene.