Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

If you would like to be involved please go to our website and become a member.


Saturday, August 01, 2009

Closing Shelter Ousts Parolees

Unless something has changed drastically, I am willing to bet it's more than 33 people...and what about the people coming out homeless everyday.
The Denver Post

Parole officers are searching for homes for up to 33 parolees — including seven sex offenders — after learning that the Salvation Army shelter where they are staying is becoming a transitional living facility.

The charity is scheduled to convert Crossroads, at 1901 29th St., into a transitional living facility for homeless men by Aug. 17, said Capt. Ron McKinney, spokesman for the Metro Denver Salvation Army, though the date could be postponed.

Some parolees will be allowed to stay if they agree to the new programming rules of the transitional facility, which will encourage homeless men to move toward self-sufficiency, McKinney said. But all parolees who are sex offenders must leave, he said.

A Denver city ordinance prohibits sex offenders from living in a transitional living facility, he said.

The shelter is the only one that accepts sex offenders, said Katherine Sanguinetti, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Corrections.

"If we had homes for them, we would have had them in them already," Sanguinetti said.

DOC officers are calling parolees' relatives and looking for rentals in the area, she said.

"This is an absolute nightmare for sex offenders," said Kathie Izor, a board member of Colorado Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants. "Nobody wants a sex offender in their neighborhood."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It seems there are a lot of people locked up and classified as a sex offender?? I wish some one would educate the public. Most people hear the term sex offender they go balistic before they check the facts of why the individual was actually sentenced. Yet all sex offenders are treated as though they actually raped a women. There are many different circumstance's.djw