Crack And Forth

[July 12th, 2006] Two years after his arrest for crack cocaine possession, Brent Canode has resurfaced as the executive director of a self-help center for addicts recovering from abuses of everything from booze to drugs to gambling.

When Canode was arrested in September 2004 on charges of buying drugs in Old Town-Chinatown, he was 31 and making $82,000 a year as the assistant to the bureau director for Portland's Office of Neighborhood Involvement.

Before taking that post in April 2004, Canode had been on the staff of Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard, who was then the commissioner in charge of the neighborhood involvement office.

Canode stopped working for the city bureau following his arrest, and an October 2004 news story in The Oregonian called Canode "an up-and-coming public-service wonk [who] fell from grace." That same article noted that Leonard appeared "teary-eyed" when he said Canode "lost his job, but he didn't lose his life."

Canode avoided criminal penalties by successfully completing treatment under the guidelines of the STOP Program, a drug court that helped 450 people last year, according to Multnomah County's Department of Community Justice.

As a result, the single charge of possessing a controlled substance was dismissed in November 2005.

Canode has been in his new job with the Alano Club of Portland for about six months. He says he's talking with WW now because he wants people to know that there's "life after addiction" and that nonprofit groups like the Alano Club deserve credit for supporting addicts trying to deal with their disorders.

"It's an organization that truly changes lives," Canode says. "It's a truly transformative place, and I feel honored to lead it."

Canode would not review the events that led him to the Alano Club, first by attending its meetings, now as its executive director.

"I don't have a lot of interest in talking about myself," Canode said before describing his former gig as a simple case of a "midlevel political staffer who had a problem and who got help for himself."

Leonard says, "I'm very, very happy that [Canode] was able to direct his...talents into recovery and helping others."

Canode's role at the Alano Club, which hosts 12-step recovery meetings for people and members of their family who are affected by a range of addictions, is similar to those at other nonprofit organizations. In addition to leading fundraising efforts and working with the group's board of directors, Canode oversees operations of the group's $2.2 million headquarters, a mansion in Northwest Portland. The nonprofit's annual budget is $150,000.

"I credit this organization in large part with saving my life," Canode said.