Local radio station KPNW interviewed current Honors Client Aaron Steele, together with Sponsors’ Mentorship Program Director Jen Jackson. Click on the file below to hear their wonderful dialogue.

Kevin Savage has a unique perspective on life. He went to prison when he was 19. He was a “lifer”, going up for parole every three years.

After 27 years, 1 month, and 10 days of being locked up in Oregon State Penitentiary, he was released on parole. “I heard about Sponsors through word of mouth. I heard they had a plethora of resources and that it was nicer than most upper end motels or hotels.

“Sponsors gave me stability right off the bat. I knew that I had a roof over my head and my basic needs were taken care of. The value of that is indescribable.” The most helpful resources that Sponsors provided for Kevin were “the medical connections, as well as people who would take me to the DMV so I could get my permit. The Reentry Resource Center helped me get online to take the test.”

On life before prison, Kevin said, “I was pretty much living hand-to-mouth, with no job skills, no direction, and my moral compass was askew. I didn’t even recognize the person that I was. It started to change a little over 3 years after I was incarcerated. I was doing the lifers speaking panel, addressing 2 or 3 groups of students a month. I was giving them the spiel about how drugs are for sick people and one day I actually heard what I was saying. From then on, I started to change my thinking. I started taking a hard look at everything I was doing and where I was going. After that, I think I went to “the hole” 3 times in 27 years; 2 of those times were in the first 3 years I was there. Shows you how much I changed; if you do a substantial amount of time, you either get the message or you never will.”

Even though his mindset changed, Kevin still had to attune his lifestyle to that in which prison operates. “Prison was unreal. It was like junior high or high school, a serious popularity contest with gangs and shanks and other weapons. Being a lifer gives you a certain amount of status. I tried to always keep myself busy with various jobs. I worked in laundry, upholstery, in the yard as a clerk, and a few times in the kitchen. I spent my last 14 years in a hobby shop making jewelry.”

“I used to feel a serious, self imposed pressure to get everything done right away. I was here to do everything right and there was no way I was going to do anything to screw this up. I realized I needed to slow down and take my time. It’s not a race; now I can just take time and smell the roses. I have learned to pace myself.”

“When I first got out, I seriously had the yard on my back, meaning that when you’re inside you can never relax. When I got out, I was on high alert, especially when I was around women or children. I would think, don’t even think about doing anything. I would catch myself thinking that and then I would think, what are the odds of that? They are not going to do anything. I am learning to let the yard go but it’s something that’s deeply ingrained and it’s going to be a process.”

Kevin’s advice to anyone coming into Sponsors is: “Be a sponge. Whatever your concerns are, ask. I never asked a question that somebody couldn’t answer.” Kevin has a suggestion he would like to see the program adopt: “I would incorporate some cookbooks for those of us who don’t know how to cook. I didn’t even know how to make scrambled eggs when I got out.”

Kevin wants people to understand something about prison: “No matter how hard things get out here, there is nothing that comes close to as hard as what I had to deal with being locked up inside. Life on the outside is cake. People complain about paying taxes or gas prices but they have no idea about price gouging. The best job I ever had in there probably paid $120-$150 a month; the average job in there is $24 a month. Everything that goes into the canteen is marked up before we buy it so that it pays the staff that runs the canteen. You are seriously underpaid and everything is overpriced. Out here everything is like going to Disneyland.”

Now graduated from Sponsors, Kevin is using the skills and passions he had in prison to begin the process of setting up his own jewelry shop. “I have sales already lined up but I can also sell things on consignment or post on Facebook to get the word out.”

Contentment with life is more important to Kevin than big ambitions: “Long term, I want to spend more time out here than I did in there. As many plans and goals that I have, I am happy to sit back and watch life unfold. You wouldn’t believe the things that make my day, like washing dishes, taking out the garbage, making my bed. I get up and walk my dog every morning at 3:30 and I love it. I have a bunch of animals. I am living the dream. Anything I do out here is a blessing.”

Terry Admire is not a big talker, but says “If it will help out Sponsors, then I’ll do an interview. I will do anything I can for the program. I owe it to them. Sponsors helped save my life.” He has been a graduate of the Men’s Program for 2 years and still comes in to visit once a week.

Terry heard about Sponsors from other inmates while in Santiam Correctional Institution while serving his second sentence. Altogether he served over ten years in the system; he says a lot has changed. Smoking was allowed when he served his first sentence; he also did meth for the first time during that incarceration. “These days prisons are more uptight.”  Before prison Terry said his life was “troubled. I went through all the juvenile detentions.” Without Sponsors, “I would have been right back in prison. I would have gone back to using and selling dope again.”

The most helpful thing Sponsors provided Terry was a place to be able to get his affairs in order. He noted, “They help you get job contacts, they give you encouragement and a sense of security. Everything about Sponsors is the reason I am where I am today.” If he could change anything about the program Terry says, “Sponsors needs more resources and funding. They have the Reentry Resource Center and the Mentor Program, but I would expand on it in any way I could. One thing about Sponsors is they give you another choice. When someone has no place to go and nobody to rely on, they are going to go back to what they know. If you can’t get away from your old ways then you have a small chance to make it.”

Currently, Terry is working and his plan is do that until he can save enough to retire. “I work on the dock, which keeps me physically fit. I love to work overtime because that’s when I get paid what I am worth.” But Terry plans on getting his trucking license like his brother. He says “it is guaranteed to last because it is not physical and the pay is good.” Terry has one goal in mind: “I want to get a little piece of property, put a double wide on it and have a nice little place of my own. Until then, I will keep
working. All I do now is save money, except in the summer when I fish and camp. I was always a hard worker but it was the meth that stopped me.”

Reflecting on how life has changed since prison, Terry says, “Everything has changed. My thinking has changed; that’s the biggest part. I fought the hell of meth addiction for 20 years. You think you are having fun for a little bit but then you lose everything. I grew up with fishing and camping but gave it all up for meth. I now have all the gear you could hope to have. I’ve got everything to enjoy life the way I like to enjoy it.”

When asked how he was able to overcome his addiction, he replied “I don’t know; a switch flipped. I walked with God. I thank Him every morning, but it is still something I did on my own. I believe in God but don’t go to church. One of these days, I will be able to work for God again but right now it is Terry Time. I think He understands.”

Although he graduated from the program two years ago, Terry is still very connected with Sponsors. “They’re my bank. I keep in touch and I feel comfortable here. I have a good relationship with all the employees. Sponsors is like my extended family. I come in at least once a week, sometimes more. I was a mentor, and would definitely become one again. I even applied to work there. This is a job I could do until the day I died. I love helping people. I’ll do whatever for the program, even volunteer. It’s an important place in my life.”

Terry’s advice to someone entering the program is “be patient; know that Sponsors has your back; ask questions; stay away from old haunts; get a whole new life. As soon as you go back to old friends and old places, you’ll be gone. One of my biggest snares for the past twenty years was to stay away from my old friends. You want to help them change but it ends up being the other way around.”

Terry is a very determined and dedicated person. He got his life back on track. He sets goals and has faith in himself. Staying connected with Sponsors is of primary importance to him and he is willing to give back to the program in any way he can.