Beyond These Walls honors JREP program and its lasting community impact
Written by Biff Chaplow, Deputy Director and Co-Found of Beyond These Walls
Beyond These Walls Team gathers for a photo at the JREP convening in Salem
Beyond These Walls was founded on a simple belief: the people closest to the harm are closest to the solutions. As an organization led largely by LGBTQIA2S+ people who have experienced incarceration themselves, we believe that meaningful change must be driven by those most directly impacted by the criminal legal system. Our staff, board, and leadership reflect the communities we serve, including formerly incarcerated people, transgender people, queer people of color, and people from rural communities across Oregon. This commitment is not symbolic. It shapes every aspect of our work, from direct services to advocacy and organizing.
At Beyond These Walls, we often describe ourselves as pragmatic abolitionists. We believe the current systems of incarceration are deeply harmful, especially for LGBTQIA2S+ people, transgender women, and queer people of color. At the same time, we recognize that thousands of people are still living within these systems right now and need immediate support, care, and resources to survive. While we fight for long term systemic change, we are equally committed to meeting people where they are today. That means helping people transition safely out of prison, access housing, receive affirming care, build community, and reconnect with hope and stability.
Through support from the Justice Reinvestment Equity Project, Beyond These Walls was able to open the first transitional housing program in Multnomah County specifically designed for LGBTQIA2S+ people coming directly out of prison. For years, housing had been one of the most urgent and consistent needs we saw in our community. Many LGBTQIA2S+ people leaving incarceration faced homelessness, rejection from family, barriers to employment, and unsafe shelter environments. Transgender people in particular often struggled to find housing where they could exist safely and authentically. JREP funding gave us the opportunity to build something our community had never had before: a housing program created specifically with LGBTQIA2S+ formerly incarcerated people in mind.
The impact of this program has extended far beyond providing a bed. BTW House has become a place where people can stabilize, rebuild trust, connect to community, and begin imagining a future outside of survival mode. Residents have accessed employment, healthcare, transportation, legal support, and gender affirming resources while living in an environment grounded in dignity and accountability rather than punishment. We have watched people who were once isolated and unsupported step into leadership roles, rebuild relationships, and create stability for themselves after years of incarceration.
Although the Justice Reinvestment Equity Project has officially ended, the impact of that investment continues. Because of the foundation JREP helped us build, Beyond These Walls has been able to secure additional support to continue operating BTW House as a permanent part of our work. At a time when LGBTQIA2S+ communities, especially transgender communities, face growing political attacks and barriers to care, we remain deeply committed to ensuring that formerly incarcerated LGBTQIA2S+ people in Oregon have access to safe housing, community, and the support they deserve. JREP did more than fund a program. It helped create a lasting resource for a community that has too often been left behind.
