Q: What work tasks are the Shutter Creek inmates allowed to do for community service? Are they able to help the elderly and disabled with brush cutting and removal? Some of us could use some help.

A: Shutter Creek inmates are available to work for local governments and nonprofit organizations, but not individuals.

Julie Martin, a spokeswoman for Shutter Creek Correctional Institution, said liability concerns are the principal reason inmate services are not extended to personal inquires.

“We really focus on the government agencies and private, nonprofit entities,” she said.

Work crews have recently helped with work at the North Bend Hotel, Habitat for Humanity and the Boys & Girls Club of Southwestern Oregon, Martin said.

Crews include groups of 10 inmates and one supervisor. The inmates are first screened, based on their criminal offenses, behavior and medical conditions, before going out on an assignment.

During the summer, approximately 50 inmates are available to help the Oregon Department of Forestry fight wild fires.

Martin said the institution is careful to avoid assignments that might take away business from local companies.

“We do the jobs that wouldn’t get done otherwise,” she said.

— Staff Writer Alexander Rich