The large room buzzed with activity – washing machines spun, dryers tumbled and dozens of men in blue denim pressed, folded and stacked sheets, blankets and other laundry.

Edward Taylor was among them, a calm and steady presence at the center of the hustle and bustle. The 58-year-old has been part of the laundry operation for years.

He’s an inmate at Two Rivers Correctional Institution about 30 miles south of the Tri-Cities in Umatilla, Oregon.

The prison has a laundry business – one of the Tri-Cities’ largest employers is a customer – through Oregon Corrections Enterprises, or OCE, a semi-independent state agency that operates training programs within the Oregon corrections system. OCE has a presence in 10 correctional facilities across the state, including Two Rivers, where close to 300 men take part.

Officials and inmates alike say the program transforms lives.

For Taylor, “having this job isn’t just a job,” he said. It offers so much more.

‘Well sought out’

Statewide, OCE works with about 1,400 men and women behind bars, helping them gain job skills and life skills by working in everything from laundry to graphic design.

In all, OCE has 22 businesses. Perhaps the best known is Prison Blues, a workwear clothing and accessory brand made at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton and Coffee Creek Correctional Institution in Wilsonville.

Prison Blues has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, among other publications.

At Two Rivers, the laundry operation is the largest OCE program, with about 230 men handling about 6.7 million pounds of laundry a year. The Umatilla prison also has upholstery and manufacturing programs with about 40-45 participants.

The OCE programs are voluntary, with inmates applying and interviewing to get jobs. They must demonstrate good behavior and a desire to better themselves.

“Our programs are very well sought out,” said Melanie Doolin, OCE administrator.

“People want to come be a part of our program because we’re here to provide them with work skills and training opportunities so whenever they get out, they can actually be successful and be able to get employment,” Doolin said.

While behind bars, the OCE participants don’t work for free. They earn points that equate to money they can use for the commissary, to send to their families and so on.

OCE doesn’t use taxpayer dollars. The money made from the products and services generated goes back into the program.

‘Very special program’

The Two Rivers laundry business is a well-oiled operation.

Soiled sheets, towels, blankets and other items go into industrial-sized washers and dryers. They’re pressed and folded by hand or by machines, depending on the need.

The laundry comes from Two Rivers itself or from one of several outside clients, including Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. Kadlec is part of the Providence system.

“They really take pride in doing our laundry,” said Don Pate, director of facilities for Providence Southeast Washington, in a statement.

“They are very thorough, and you can see the care they take. They spoil us,” he said.

Two Rivers has been handling Kadlec’s laundry for more than a decade, processing more than 2 million pounds for the hospital each year.

The service is “exceptional,” and helping inmates turn their lives around and better themselves is in line with Kadlec’s values, hospital officials said in the statement.

Denise Gilbert, Kadlec plant operations assistant, added that Two Rivers is a great partner. “It is a very special program. It helps the community, and it rebuilds lives,” she said.

Jacob Lawrence works in maintenance at Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla, Oregon. He's learning job skills that will help him when he's finished serving his sentence and is released, he said.

| Photo courtesy Joe Spicer/Oregon Corrections Enterprises

‘A path’

OCE officials have numbers to back up their program’s effectiveness.

A study done in 2018 found that people who spend at least six months in the program are 50% less likely to recidivate, or reoffend after they’re released. The program’s overall recidivism rate is about 8%, which is lower than the state and nation, Doolin said.

Officials can also point to many individual success stories, including inmates who’ve gone on to good jobs on the outside. OCE helps participants with post-release job placement.

One of those success stories is Michael Hale, who worked in the laundry program at Deer Creek Correctional Institution in Madras. He got a job at a laundry facility in Eugene upon his release and now is a chief engineer for the company and manages his own plant.

“I get to do that today because of what OCE provided for me. The biggest thing they provided was a path,” he said in a video on the program’s website.

‘A second chance’

Jacob Lawrence, 40, is behind bars at Two Rivers, and, like Hale, he sees OCE as a way to set himself up for the future. He helps maintain and repair the washers, dryers and other equipment used in the laundry program, and hopes to find a similar job once he’s out.

Lawrence earned a limited maintenance electrician certification during his time at Two Rivers, and he recently started a plant journeyman electrician program.

His work with OCE has helped him with both technical and soft skills.

It’s also built up his confidence.  

He pointed to a recent situation where “we had a small electrical issue ... and I had to make the decision to turn off every piece of equipment in our shop,” he said.

The issue was quickly resolved, and Lawrence said it felt good that he was trusted to make the recommendation and that his input was heeded.

For Taylor, the longtime Two Rivers laundry program worker, confidence also is in the mix of benefits he’s taken from OCE. He hopes to be leaving the corrections system soon, and he’ll be able to look at the world “through different eyes than how I did when I first came in,” he said, meaning that he’s gained social skills, budgeting and other life skills, plus work experience and job training that’s helped him transform.

He’s currently exploring post-release employment opportunities, with help from OCE.

In his view, “what this place has given me is a second chance,” he said.