-
Corey Stoneburg was sent to Snake River Correctional Facility in 1995. He spent sixteen years in prison and was released this past July. -
Eight years before his release Stoneburg wrote to Sponsors Inc. to see if he could enter their program when he was released. "I knew I didn't have anywhere to go and I didn't want to live on the street," Stoneburg says, "so I wrote to Sponsors." -
Corey Stoneburg and other residents of Sponsors Inc. receive food stamps and shop at Walmart where the prices are cheapest. "When I was first released it was overwhelming to go shopping and make my own choices about which brand, which kind or which item to choose," Stoneburg says. "On the inside all those decisions are made for you." -
Corey Stoneburg pulls carrots from the Sponsors Inc. community garden. Stoneburg moved into Sponsors Inc., a transitional housing unit for ex-convicts, when he was released from prison in July 2011. In November he moved from the transitional housing unit into the Honors program. -
Stoneburg rests on the counter in the kitchen of Porky's Palace during his Friday night shift. "I was laid off my first job because some of the staff didn't feel comfortable around me after they learned about my past," Stoneburg says. -
Aaron Hascahl, one of Sponsors Inc.'s case managers, jokes with Stoneburg during a weekly Sunday breakfast. As part of the Honors Program Stoneburg cooks breakfast for residents in the transitional housing every Sunday morning. Honors program residents sign a year lease whereas residents in the transitional housing have one to three months to get a job and find housing. -
Corey Stoneburg and his friend Monty Smith share a laugh before they begin their afternoon working on Smith's new cabin. Stoneburg met Smith at the Snake River Correctional institution twelve years ago and later lived down the hall from him at Sponsors Inc. "If God can forgive us then people should be able to forgive us too," Monty says. -
Corey Stoneburg received a culinary degree from the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon in May 1990. He hopes to go back to school and complete a degree in business or hospitality management so he can one day open his own restaurant. -
Corey Stoneburg and his friend Richard Snow look at music on Snow's new computer. Snow and Stoneburg met at the Snake River Correctional Facility twelve years ago. "If I ever need to figure out anything about my life I ask Corey," Snow says. -
Corey Stoneburg shares a bowl of beans and a bit of conversation with his floor mate Nahum White. Stoneburg often shares food he cooks with his floor mates and other residents of Sponsors Inc. He also sells cuts of smoked pork loin for a bit of extra cash to other men in the transitional housing. -
Growing up in a household full of abuse Corey turned to drugs to solve his problems. At age 18 he became a father to twin boys who are now in their thirties. "When I was in prison I mostly thought about my kids," Corey says. "When I got out I opened the invitation for them to see me but neither of them responded." -
Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday Stoneburg walks the three blocks to Porky's Palace where he got a job as a chef. "I just went back over and over again asking if they needed an extra chef and finally they hired me," Corey says, "Sometimes persistance pays off" -
Corey Stoneburg sharpens knives during his night shift at Porky's Palace. "It's not about what mistakes you make to get into prison," Stoneburg says. "It's about what you do when you get out."