Letters to the Editor, Week of Jan. 15

People are a long-term investment

After reading the Source’s article on “Budget Cuts Threaten Oregon Program for Helping People Get Jobs After Prison” by Danielle Dawson and Wesley Vaughan on Dec. 23, 2025, I found out that ultimately, this is a problem of prioritization, not spending. When we treat reentry support as a “cost to be cut” rather than a long-term investment, we ignore the reality of human life and fiscal responsibility. A person is not a short-term line item; they are a long-term investment in our state’s economy and public safety. By refusing to spend a fraction of a cent today, we are choosing to pay the full price of failure tomorrow.

Oregon’s legislative “budget casualties” often go unnoticed, but the failure to fund the WorkSource Oregon Reentry program is a mistake we will all pay for. Simply said, this was caused when the federal government passed the recent tax and spending package (H.R. 1) in July 2025. It slashed federal funding for the Oregon Health Plan and SNAP by an estimated $15 billion over the next decade. Because Oregon constitutionally cannot run a deficit and Oregon’s tax code is automatically tied to the federal tax code, the state is now in a “scramble” to find those billions or cut programs like WorkSource.

Currently, our state spends $2.59 billion every two years on corrections. Yet, lawmakers recently failed to secure $3 million to keep a program alive that actually stops people from going back to prison. To put that in perspective, the $6,000 it takes to turn a former inmate into a licensed truck driver represents roughly two ten-thousandths of one percent of the corrections budget. If the state’s prison budget were a $1,000 bill, we are arguing over one-quarter of a penny.

The math is simple: it costs us $79,700 a year to keep someone in a cell. It costs $6,000 once to give them a career. When we cut these programs, we aren’t “saving money,” we are ensuring that the $2.59 billion “spigot” stays wide open as people return to the system because they couldn’t afford a pair of work boots or a license fee.

As participant Rudy Stalford recently noted, “The struggle is what sends us back.” We have a bipartisan, proven model that replaces that struggle with a paycheck. It is a fiscal and moral failure to let this program die over a fraction of a cent.

—Mike Zapp

Hope for our community

I would like to say how grateful I was to open The Source and read Wally Hofmann’s hope-filled article about the Shepherd’s House Men’s Recovery Center (“Stitches of Hope” Dec. 31). Too often we read discouraging and tragic news about the state of homelessness in our community, but Wally reports that this is not the whole story. It is clear from the redemptive mission, purposeful projects, and devoted people at the Shepherd’s House that there is grace and hope for those who are in need of recovery and another shot at life. I feel inspired to give more of my time and money to organizations like Shepherd’s House that are making a real, hopeful difference — and I hope others in our generous community feel the same inspiration.
—Allie Serna

Engaging with the younger generation

When I attended a Janelle Bynum town hall meeting in 2025, the audience for the opportunity to meet with our U.S. congresswoman was substantial, and yet what I saw was a sea of gray-haired people. Someone else in the audience noted this audience demographic to Ms. Bynum, and she responded that the demographic — the visual — was the same within U.S. congress chambers. At age 56, she is one of the youngest congressional representatives, she said.

I see the same sea of older people when I attend services at my friend’s church over the holidays. I’m not religious, but I went for the singing and was pleasantly rewarded by the minister’s uplifting and hopeful message, one that emphasized community. Don’t get me wrong! There’s nothing wrong with gray hair or “older people” — I’m one of them! But where — at these community events — were the young people?

As we begin this new year, the question — how do we engage the younger generation in our governments and in our communities? — seems critical to me. Perhaps it is just my own young adult kids who act detached and indifferent about voting, their “we the people” governments, education, or community. But based on my sampling (small as they may be) of community events I’ve attended, this observation is consistent.

I recently went to the Tower Theatre for a talk by Kilii Yuyan, a National Geographic photographer who presented stories of indigenous communities — their long-cultivated knowledge and practices that, if acknowledged, could go a long way in restoring our planet’s health. In a conversation with him after the program, we touched upon how in the indigenous communities and cultures multi-generational dialogue, problem-solving, and interactions are pivotal to solutions: the elders share their knowledge and wisdom, and the multi-generational communities work together to ensure survival and a healthy and sustainable future for all. I know that part of the challenge we face in our culture, when developing connection across generations, is that there is no formal rite of passage into adulthood. Sure, young adults get to drink when they’re 21 or drive when they’re 18, but these are privileges. What are the formal responsibilities, the place in community, the chance to earn respect in the eyes of elders, the opportunity to have a voice and a dialogue with elders — that a young person in our culture encounters?

What can we — the parents and elders of this wonderful community — do to create more hope, engagement and opportunities for our young people? If we do not listen to or hear their voices, their ideas, their observations, hopes, and thoughts, they cannot help in shaping their own future and we waste a valuable resource. How do we create a vibrant, multi-generationally engaged and active community? I see some mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts and uncles connecting and interacting with young adults successfully — at least based on social media images! Please share your insights, your approach, your secrets!

—Tomoko Harada Ferguson

Letter of the Week:

Thanks Tomoko! As letter of the week, you can stop by our office for a gift card to Palate coffee. —Managing Editor Nic Moye

This article appears in the Source January 15, 2026.