Turning Point - Helping in Fort Morgan

Times Staff Writer

Sometimes it only takes a little bit of extra help for someone on parole to become a contributor to society instead of a drain.

That is the goal of the Turning Point Program (TPP) which has been housed at the Morgan County Workforce Center the past year, said Shannon Allen, the labor and employment specialist who runs the program.

A state grant allows her to help those who have just left any of the prisons in Colorado with housing, education, job skills and job training.

She works closely with community parole officer Craig Gilliland, who aids her in keeping track of how these offenders are doing with life outside of prison. Other community organizations such as Centennial Mental Health, Dream Catchers and the Department of Human Services as well as faith- and community-based organizations cooperate to give a full picture, too, Allen said.

Between Morgan and Logan Counties, she has a caseload of about 50 former inmates who are returning to their communities, she said.

When they get out, some men and women have nowhere to go and no job to support them. They are particularly at risk for committing new crimes or violating their parole, Allen said.

When that happens they return to prison at a cost of $27,000 a year to taxpayers, she noted.
Fort Morgan Times