Friends of the Court : Program Pairs Lawyers With Parolees Facing the Trials of a New Life

Trust did not come easily to parolee Jennifer Gregor, a former crack addict who spent nearly a decade living on the streets of Santa Ana or confined to a cell. So when a lawyer she had never met suddenly wanted to be her friend, Gregor’s streetwise suspicions took over.

“Who would want to help me?” Gregor wondered.

But Irvine attorney Lisa J. McMains persisted, and eventually the two met and became close friends through Volunteers in Parole of Orange County, an Anaheim-based, nonprofit organization that helps adults and juveniles on parole gain self-reliance and self-respect by matching them with lawyers who serve as role models.

Gregor and McMains are one of about 40 matches made by the organization, funded by the California Youth Authority and the Parole and Community Services Division of the California Department of Corrections.

“All the matches are different,” said Jim Pauley, regional director of Volunteers in Parole. “You never really know how two people will hit it off. And when it works, it’s amazing how these people can really change.”

But he readily admits that not all matches work out.

He said the program works best for parolees who “want to get on the right track” but are “feeling kind of lost” about how to become productive citizens. The program, which started in 1982, does not work for “someone who is still committed to a criminal lifestyle,” he said.

“We tell the parolees, ‘Don’t do this because you think it’s going to get you points with your parole agent or look good in your file,’ ” Pauley said.

Gregor, 25, who was reluctant to participate in the beginning, now credits the organization with helping her begin a new life.

“I think that was the start of finding out that I am worth something,” said Gregor, who met McMains in July.

Gregor, who served two 16-month terms for narcotics possession and auto theft, said she felt uneasy about joining the organization and striking up a relationship with McMains, a lawyer specializing in civil law.

“I still wasn’t sure about it,” Gregor said. “I had never followed through with anything.”

McMains, who had never been involved with the group before, said she and Gregor were nervous when they first met over lunch.

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“I was a little apprehensive,” McMains said. “My husband had thought, ‘Parolees? You’re going to be hanging out with them? What have they done?’ ”

Once the women got together, Gregor and McMains quickly overcame their fears and wound up having a two-hour conversation.

“We talked so much,” Gregor said. “I just opened up to Lisa. I told her a lot of war stories. I’ve never had a girlfriend before.”

That initial meeting was followed up with more lunches, dinners, movies, letters and telephone calls. And McMains was there at the hospital two months ago weeks ago when Gregor gave birth to her son, Cody.

The two broke into tears last week when Gregor asked McMains to be Cody’s godmother.

“She’s changed so much from the first time I met her,” McMains said as she rocked the baby on her lap.

Gregor agreed strongly.

The protective walls have come down, she said.

“I had to fight to stay alive,” she said of her rough life on the streets. “I’ve been jumped, beat up, raped. I’m lucky to be alive today. The cops all knew me by name. I knew the street. That’s all I knew. I was so addicted to my drugs that I stayed there.”

But Gregor vowed to change her life. She entered a half-way house for women with substance abuse problems, and will leave Wednesday to live with her mother.

“That’s amazing,” said Gregor, who used to be “a total outcast” from her family because of drug use and problems with police.

“God willing, I will never use again,” she said. “My life has changed so much.”

McMains said she is thankful to have played a part in Gregor’s new direction.

“Some people just need a friend,” said McMains. “That doesn’t take much.”