A great country helps the helpless

Denver, Colorado is struggling with serving the needs of our vulnerable populations. In many ways we do an excellent job; see Denver initiative to move chronically homeless people into housing shows “promising” early results. In other ways we could do better; Denver has a "camping ban" which is designed to keep the city clean and safe and welcoming to residents and visitors. However, Denver also has a population who experience homelessness and have no permanent residence. For a variety of reasons they do not have safe places to sleep off of the streets. Therefore, they set up tents or huddle in blankets in nooks and vacant lots.  The root causes could be economic, mental health, physical health, domestic violence victimization, service members suffering from PTSD, or other factors. Why do we need to take away the means of survival from those who have the least in this life?

People experiencing these conditions need our support and help. Our national self-image is that of a brave, enlightened people who champion human rights. In order to live up to that we need to look at the root causes of difficult subjects such as homelessness. 

If care for vulnerable populations matters to us then let us each get involved in the solution. We can support the non-profit organizations that battle homelessness and the factors that contribute to it. We can advocate for fairer laws. If the United States of America is truly great then we need to show it not only by offering opportunities to the strong, but also to the weak.

What you can do
Support organizations that help others
The Denver Rescue Mission
Julia Greeley Home - A family-style home for women motivated to move beyond homelessness
The Little Flower Maternity Home - A hand-up to homeless mothers in need
The Salvation Army

Advocate for fairer laws
Colorado Criminal Justicice Reform Coalition
Colorado-Cure

Related links
Denver Homeless Out Loud Denver Ranger Takes Survival Gear on Freezing Day
Denver Post Three found guilty of violating Denver's unauthorized camping ordinance
Denver Post Denver initiative to move chronically homeless people into housing shows “promising” early results

Thank you for closing prison in Burlington, CO

Prison closure is about humane treatment, not prisoners as income generators

The Denver Post's February 26, 2017, article about the Burlington, CO. prison closure focuses on the prison as a source of revenue. This blogger's perspective is that it's a humane action that frees up funds for other projects. Thank you to Governor Hickenlooper. Naturally the city of Burlington needs a boost. The article portrays the town of Burlington as relying on human incarceration as a source of income rather than as human beings who require care and rehabilitation, mental health care and substance abuse treatment. This state and the city are better than that; we can move on to more imaginative options.

Prisons should be a last resort for rehabilitation; a place to put those who are a danger to society and who cannot be helped. They are not places to generate income to run towns. However, over 20% of the US prison population are mentally ill. There are high percentages of substance abuse, low level drug offenders, and non violent offenders. Instead of putting them all in one place each individual should be evaluated for how best to meet his needs. Then, each should receive treatment to help him reach his potential.

One suggestion is for prisons to be run by nonprofits whose goal is to help offenders reintegrate into society. There would be no profit motive to keep people in prison. Instead, the goal would be to make themselves obsolete by helping and educating people so well  that the nonprofits' services are no longer needed.


What you can do
Write to the Governor and thank him for closing the prison. Support the Kit Carson Mitigation Plan and make suggestions for alternative sources of income for the city of Burlington.

Related links
Denver Post, Burlington struggles after closure of its largest employer, Kit Carson prison
Mother Jones, Corrections Corporation of America by the Numbers
Huffington Post, Nonprofit Floats Unusual Alternative to Private Prison
Prison Activist Resource Center https://www.prisonactivist.org/

CCA to close private prison in Burlington, CO

The office of Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper confirmed that the Kit Carson prison will close at the end of July. The prison was running at a loss, and Corrections Corporatioin of America (CCA)  had requested $3 million in bailout funds for the next fiscal year. The governor's office had initially agreed and approved next year's budget to include the funds. (See previous blog post, End bailout for prison Colorado doesn't need.) However, CCA also requested an increase in the daily rate per inmate and to a guarantee of a minimum number of inmates.  The governor's office ultimately declined to renew the contract. The prison has a capacity of 1,400 inmates and is currently housing only 400.

What you can do

Write to governor Hickenlooper thanking him for closing the prison. 
Request closure of all for-profit prisons.

The loss of 142 jobs will hit the community hard. CCA will transfer some workers to other prisons, and will help other workers find new jobs.  In a statement, Governor Hickenlooper said, "We are committed to assisting the community with the impact of this closure and identifying ways to replace lost economic activity." (Denver Post, June 30, 2016)

The 400 inmates will be transferred to CCA's other two prisons in Colorado. CCA has a reputation with inmates of running the least desirable prisons in which to be housed. Informal comments heard by this blogger include complaints about ill-trained staff, bad food, incomplete attention paid to medical needs, and staff mistreating inmates.  Research by nonprofit watchdog groups include    Reports of lawsuits and prisoner abuse. 

It is well past time to end the practice of private prisons run for profit. It is a business model that requires prison population to remain high, and actively works against prison reform. Please speak out on this important issue. 

Related links

The Denver Post Kit Carson prison in Burlington to close;142 jobs lost

Grassroots Ledership. The Dirty Thirty: Nothing to celebrate about 30 years of Corrections Corporation of America.  (2013) http://grassrootsleadership.org/cca-dirty-30