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Denver’s Homeless Get Support From ACRC Staff, Alumni and Residents
West Caldwell, NJ March 3 -
The Metro Denver Homeless Initiative conducts point-in-time surveys to count the homeless in the greater Denver area. Their latest count found that 5,812 individuals were homeless and over 2,000 were at-risk of homelessness. On a cold winter’s day in January, staff, alumni and female residents from the Arapahoe County Residential Center (ACRC) canvassed the streets of downtown Denver to find and provide food and drink to some of these homeless men, women and children.
Located in Littleton, Colorado, ACRC is a 206-bed reentry center that serves females offenders referred from the Colorado Department of Public Safety, Arapahoe County Community Corrections Board, and local county jurisdictions. Reentry treatment services at ACRC include gender-specific treatment, education, housing services, family reunification and job skills training.
“It is our goal at ACRC to strengthen personal and social skills which help our residents to healthy living. Volunteering is an excellent way to strengthen these skills and give back to the community,” said Angie Riffel, Director of ACRC. “I am very proud of all our staff, alumni, and residents that participated in this community services project.”
Joline Martinez, Administrative Coordinator, and Cheyenne Walker, Case Manager, oversaw a group of ten ACRC residents that handed out sandwiches, snack bags, and water to many homeless individuals. The sandwiches were donated to the facility and assembled by an ACRC resident and an alumni of the facility, Teri Canales.
“We had a very rewarding day and felt very humbled after distributing food to the needy of our community,” said Ms. Martinez. “So many individuals were happy and grateful to receive the food.”
ACRC engages in numerous volunteer and outreach activities each year in their community. Most recently, staff and residents participated in the 5K Race for the Cure, helped with holiday gifts at a nursing home and created blankets for homeless children in the area.
Community Education Centers, Inc. (CEC) is the leading provider of offender reentry and in-prison treatment services in America, operating in 17 states and the Commonwealth of Bermuda. CEC provides a full range of therapeutic residential and non-residential reentry services with a documented record of reducing recidivism.
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