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.


Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Shelter Closing Has DOC Scrambling

The Denver Channel
The Department of Corrections and the Denver Police Department told 7NEWS they were scrambling to find alternative housing for roughly 100 registered sex offenders who currently stay at Crossroads, an overnight men's shelter run by the Salvation Army.Last week, the Salvation Army announced they would be closing the shelter by mid-August. The city and law enforcement urged them to keep it open until Aug. 31.Sex offenders told 7NEWS that housing isn't easy to come by because of the stigma associated with the crime. They said they can't find a job and can't find a place to live.

Law enforcement officers said they understand, which is why they believe Crossroads worked so well for these men.In many cases, the DOC even paid the $35 a week required for a bed. DOC spokesman Tim Hand said the Dept. of Corrections had to find and provide a transitional housing situation for men who couldn't afford it and Crossroads made it easier for them to monitor the offenders in their system.Now, the DOC will be forced to go to the families of sex offenders and ask them to take these men in. If that doesn't work they will be forced to put them in motels.Hand said the Dept. of Corrections will have to look at their budget because the money comes out of their general fund and they were not prepared for Crossroads' closing.In response to questions regarding tracking men under their watch, Hand said all 70 sex offenders registered at Crossroads had some form of electronic monitoring device.Finding sex offenders a place to live did prompt 7NEWS to ask the city why the "Road Home" initiative didn't address the issue.The Department of Human Services said it was reviewing the "crack in the system" and law enforcement and homeless providers were in talks to find all homeless a place to live.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

shit,let them find there own places ,..when i got out d.o.c. didnt help me with a place or anything else ..i was dumped at d.r.d.c. without change for a bus ride ...
because someone is a sex offender they are givin this special treatment which i find horrendous that d.o.c. can do for these people then they should do this for everyone that is released from prison ...sex offender is just another excuse for these people to get more from the world around them for free...
i worked my ass of to be successful once i was out and no one helped me but myself..
its time these people quit crying and get there act together and quit using there crime as an excuse..
charlie

Unknown said...

1. There are sex offenders who lived at crossroads who were not under supervision, who had committed only misdemeanors not involving minors, no crimes for decades, for whom being sent to the streets on no significant notice places in danger of not being able to avoid violating colorados stringent registration requirements... each registration means a lost day of work, less money for rent, 30 a pop and if you don't have a solid place, you have to show up weekly to tell the police each place you stayed, and they'd best not be trespassing or unauthorized sleeping on public property! That's me.