Executive Brief
This is not a finished grant application. It is the first structured packet: a clear story, operating model, research frame, risks, and next questions.
One-line pitch: Peer Village is a 50-unit peer-led transitional village combining safe shelter, certified peer mentorship, rapid SUD/MH service connection, court/deflection support, housing navigation, and 90-day aftercare to move high-need residents from street instability into permanent housing.
Core Thesis
Government and philanthropy already pay for incarceration, homelessness, emergency response, courts, shelters, crisis care, and repeated failure. A cheaper and more humane path is to fund preparation: AI literacy, business education, peer mentorship, family coordination, documents, and structured reentry support before and after release.
- Peer-led transitional housing and stabilization.
- Certified Recovery Mentor / Peer Wellness / forensic peer workforce pathway.
- Detox, outpatient, MAT, and mental health referral rails.
- Deflection court and community justice referral pathway.
- AI-assisted research, business planning, documents, and family coordination.
- Public/private project pages for outside supporters.
Peer Village Model
Tiny homes are the physical container. The innovation is the operating model: peer governance, rapid service connection, measurable outcomes, and aftercare.
Residents
People failed by current shelter cycles, including SUD/MH needs, justice involvement, and high barriers to stable housing.
Mentors
One mentor per ten residents as a target. Mentors support motivation, navigation, recovery, documentation, and accountability.
Partners
Treatment, detox, housing, mental health, evaluation, community justice, and city/county outreach partners.
Policy Argument
The political message: fund preparation because failure is more expensive.
- Education reduces recidivism. RAND/DOJ findings found correctional education participants had substantially lower odds of returning to prison. The public-interest argument is already established: education saves money and improves employment.
- Recidivism is expensive. BJS found high rearrest rates over long follow-up periods. Every failed reentry can mean new policing, courts, jail/prison, family collapse, shelter use, and emergency care.
- Communication is infrastructure. Family/legal contact, documents, and coordination are not luxuries. Prison messaging and tablet systems can become exploitative when fees block connection.
- AI changes the cost curve. A monitored AI/human bridge can create education plans, business plans, grant drafts, call scripts, document checklists, and reentry maps at low marginal cost.
- Peer-led models carry credibility. People with lived experience can reach people the system fails, but they need governance, training, outcome tracking, and sustainable funding.
Petition / Signature Campaign Frame
Ask: public agencies, foundations, and correctional systems should fund prison-safe AI/business/reentry education and basic communication access because it is cheaper than paying for repeated failure.
Coalition: incarcerated people, families, returning citizens, peer workers, nonprofits, employers, educators, attorneys, and technologists.
What Not To Promise Yet
Do not promise Medicaid revenue, site access, city funding, or certification approval until verified. The first packet should distinguish confirmed partners from possible partners and wish-list partners.
Inside-Out Business & AI Education
A second track can run alongside Peer Village: business presentations and AI training for incarcerated people who want to build legal, useful work before release.
| Track | What It Teaches | Output |
|---|---|---|
| AI Literacy | How to ask clear questions, verify information, and use AI as secretary/researcher/tutor. | Weekly lessons and exercises via CorrLinks or printed packets. |
| Business Club | Operations, offers, sales, budgeting, customer service, tools, automation. | One-page business plan and 30/60/90 day launch map. |
| Nonprofit Builder | Mission, board, 501(c)(3), program design, grant logic, measurement. | Executive brief, budget skeleton, partner map. |
| Family Secretary | How outside family can call agencies, collect documents, verify dates, and keep logs. | Phone scripts, document checklists, reminder flow. |
| Reentry War Room | Documents, housing, job, treatment, family, parole/probation, benefits. | Personal reentry dashboard and action checklist. |
Research Base To Deepen
The first fundable version should be built around public facts, not only passion. These research lanes make the proposal credible with government, funders, and partner nonprofits.
Multnomah County Referral Network
Multnomah County states that its deflection program connects people to treatment and recovery supports instead of arrest, and that the County is looking for more referral network partners. Peer Village can be framed as a next-step stabilization and housing-placement partner after initial deflection engagement.
OHP / HRSN Housing Benefits
Oregon Health Authority describes HRSN housing benefits for qualifying OHP members, including rent help, utilities, storage, tenancy support, and home changes. Peer Village should not promise eligibility, but it can build an OHP navigation role to help qualified residents access benefits.
Safe Rest Village Comparison
Portland's Reedway Safe Rest Village is listed as a temporary outdoor shelter with 120 sleeping units, case management, amenities, and mental/behavioral health services onsite. Peer Village must clearly show what it improves: peer ratio, service linkage, aftercare, deflection pathway, and outcome tracking.
Claims To Verify Before Grant Submission
| Claim | Why It Matters | Verification Needed |
|---|---|---|
| OHP/HRSN can support transition-to-housing costs. | Could offset placement costs and make the model more fundable. | CCO rules, resident eligibility, max amount, timeline, documentation. |
| Peer mentor services can be billed or funded. | Could create sustainability beyond grants. | Credential requirements, provider enrollment, supervision, billable activity, CCO contracts. |
| City/County would consider referral or site partnership. | Needed for legitimacy and occupancy pipeline. | Named contact, referral pathway, data sharing, liability, site control. |
| PSU/OHSU or another evaluator can provide in-kind support. | Evaluation makes the pilot credible. | Office/contact, scope, student supervision, IRB/privacy needs, cost. |
| Partner organizations are real commitments. | Funders distinguish relationships from wish lists. | REAL / POSSIBLE / WISH LIST status for every named partner. |
Contact & Sponsor Dialogue Map
The project needs a clean outside-facing chain of responsibility. Warren can define the vision from inside, but sponsors and government need a reliable outside contact.
Recommended Roles
- Project Vision Lead: Warren. Owns lived-experience vision, Peer Village model, partner history, and peer-workforce direction.
- Outside Relationship Lead: Warren's wife or another trusted outside person. Handles calls, introductions, scheduling, link sharing, and sponsor/government dialogue.
- Technical / AI Packet Builder: D. Builds public page, private packet, drafts, research map, grant sections, and scripts.
- Community Bridge: Travis and selected inside leaders. Identify serious people, use cases, education needs, and pilot feedback.
- Professional Review Bench: nonprofit attorney, CPA, grant writer, Medicaid/CCO advisor, peer-certification advisor, evaluator.
Contacts To Add
- Trusted outside person: name, role, email/phone if safe.
- Wife's preferred role: spokesperson, coordinator, reviewer, or only private support.
- Existing nonprofit contact who could be fiscal sponsor or lead applicant.
- City/County contacts who are safe to list or keep private.
- Peer/recovery organizations where relationship is REAL, POSSIBLE, or WISH LIST.
- Who can receive the URL and print/download a PDF for Warren.
Petition / Signature Campaign
The public campaign can be framed as economic responsibility, family preservation, and workforce preparation, not only compassion.
Draft ask: Fund prison-safe AI, business education, family coordination, and reentry planning programs because preparation is cheaper than recidivism, homelessness, emergency response, and incarceration.
Who Signs
- Families of incarcerated people.
- Returning citizens and peer workers.
- Recovery organizations and treatment providers.
- Employers open to second-chance hiring.
- Attorneys and legal-access advocates.
- AI/technology volunteers and educators.
- Nonprofits working in homelessness, reentry, and addiction recovery.
Core Message
People inside already have time, motivation, ideas, and networks. What they lack is access: information, documents, modern training, family coordination, and a bridge to outside opportunities. A monitored AI/human support system can turn that gap into a low-cost public benefit.
Sound bite: Pay for preparation now, or pay for failure later.
Grant / MOU Packet To Build
Executive Brief
Two pages for commissioners, donors, city staff, nonprofit partners, and family/outside champions.
Program Model
Resident pathway, staffing, service coordination, high-acuity protocols, aftercare, and outcomes.
MOU Map
Who does what: outreach, detox, treatment, housing, community justice, evaluator, mental health, OHP navigation.
Budget Skeleton
Director, mentor director, 5 mentors, supervisor, case manager, OHP/resource navigator, security, meals/sanitation, evaluation.
Evaluation Plan
HMIS data, referral source, treatment connection, housing placement, retention, court/deflection completion, recidivism cost indicators.
Public Page
Privacy-safe story for partners, supporters, petition signers, donors, and potential fiscal sponsors.
Questions For Warren
Short answers are enough. Warren should not spend another 2.5 hours typing a giant message.
- Who is the likely lead applicant today: new nonprofit, fiscal sponsor, The Peer Company, another org, or unknown?
- Which partners are REAL, POSSIBLE, or WISH LIST?
- What site asset is realistic: Clinton Triangle, Reedway, stored modules, city land, private land, or unknown?
- Who outside can receive the full project page or PDF: wife, Travis's mom, another trusted person?
- Can Warren receive a URL verbally, or should the page be emailed/printed by someone outside?
- How much time does Warren have left inside? What is his expected release/reentry timeline?
- Should the first deliverable be executive brief, grant outline, MOU map, or budget?
How To Get This To Warren
- Send the URL to Travis's mom and ask her to describe it during a call.
- Send a private/public URL to Warren's wife or trusted outside contact.
- Email a PDF/project packet for printing.
- Send short CorrLinks sections one by one.
- Ask Warren which method is allowed and realistic.
Research Sources
These sources support the public argument. They must be checked again before final grant submission.
- RAND / DOJ summary on correctional education: participants had lower odds of returning to prison and education saves public money.
- Bureau of Justice Statistics 10-year recidivism follow-up: high rearrest rates after release show the cost of failed reentry.
- Vera Institute reports on prison/jail costs: incarceration costs are often higher than visible budgets suggest.
- Prison Policy Initiative on electronic messaging/tablets: digital tools can help connection but are often monetized in exploitative ways.
- Multnomah County Deflection Program: current referral-network angle for HB/SB 4002 and Measure 110 implementation.
- JOHS / Portland Safe Rest Villages / Reedway pages: existing shelter village model and assets to compare against.
- Oregon Health Authority Flexible Services and CareOregon provider notes: possible housing/support funding angle requiring verification.
- SAMHSA peer support competencies: grounding for peer-led, recovery-oriented, person-centered, trauma-informed services.
- The Peer Company / MHAAO and 4D Recovery public materials: Oregon peer-support ecosystem and potential partner context.