Oregon
We are excited to announce that the Oregon chapter of Poetic Justice is our newest addition and is rapidly growing!
Since September 2023, Hannah Kuhn and her co-facilitator, Maddy Clark, have been guiding 8-week poetry workshops at Coffee Creek’s medium security building. Their first class was attended by only four participants, but has quickly grown to 15 participants, with a waitlist of 20, and requests to offer a class in the minimum security building as well.
This chapter continues our mission of using creative writing to empower incarcerated women, offering a unique space for healing, reflection, and transformation. With dedicated volunteers and a growing network of participants, the Oregon chapter is already making a significant impact in the community.
Facility
Opened in 2001, Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville is Oregon’s only prison for women. The 508,000-square-foot facility, with capacity to house 1253 people located on 108 acres in Wilsonville currently houses approximately 866 female inmates. Coffee Creek was built in response to increased demand for prison space created by the passage of Ballot Measure 11 in 1994 that imposed mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes. The women at Coffee Creek are housed in two buildings, a minimum facility and a medium facility.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice
Oregon incarcerates women at a slightly higher rate (44 incarcerated women for every 100,000 female residents) than the national average (41 incarcerated women for every 100,000 female residents.
Meet the Oregon Team
Hannah Kuhn’s relationship with Poetic Justice began in 2022, while she was completing her graduate studies in teaching writing at Johns Hopkins University. Inspired by Poetic Justice’s social justice mission, she became a remote poetry partner in the California program. She found herself deeply moved by the raw, powerful poems her partner wrote, and was surprised to learn there was nothing like Poetic Justice’s programs offered in her home state of Oregon.
When her poetry partner was approved for probation and release, Hannah saw a chance to bring Poetic Justice’s on-site writing program to Oregon. With encouragement and support from Ellen Stackable and Katie Turner, she began the process of becoming an official Department of Corrections volunteer at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility.
Hannah Kuhn
Oregon Lead Co-Facilitator
After graduating from Bates College in 2020 with B.A.s in Criminology and Creative Writing, Maddy was eager to combine her passion for writing with her commitment to criminal justice reform. She moved to Portland in 2021, and upon discovering Poetic Justice, she knew she had struck gold. Motivated by her deep belief in the power of creative expression to heal, Maddy began writing weekly with a remote poetry partner. She found the experience of sharing and receiving writing to be moving, intimate, and cathartic.
Maddy was determined to find a way to bring these poetry workshops out of the cybersphere. With support from Poetic Justice staff, she connected with Hannah Kuhn, and the two joined forces to launch Poetic Justice's first set of workshops in Oregon at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility.
Maddy Clark
Oregon Lead Co-Facilitator
Contact the Oregon Team if you are interested in volunteering below!
Email oregoninfo@poeticjustice.org for more information.