Former inmates ‘rise’ with program’s help
Second in a series on Linn County-based Fresh Start Ministries Maridee Duggar won’t like that I started this column with her name. Yet there’s no other logical way to launch a discussion about Linn County’s RISE program. The Reintegration Initiative for Safety and Empowerment program largely was born from Duggar’s two decades of volunteerism at the Linn County Correctional Facility on behalf of Fresh Start Ministries. She understood that if former jail inmates were going to transition successfully into communities — and if communities were going to reap the benefits of the successful transitions — those communities would need to offer guidance and support. With that understanding, she began to plan. “I was just one person who had some insight based on experiences with the chaplaincy program. Many of us…