The Collaborative Community (parent organization of FOCUS Offender Reentry Mentoring) is sad to announce the departure of its long-time Executive Director, Tania Leontov.  Ms. Leontov is the founder of the organization which began in 2005.  The Board of Directors and staff are all deeply grateful for her many years of service at the helm.  It is her passion, energy, wisdom and vision that have made the organization the success that it is today.  Everyone who has ever met Tania in her role at The Collaborative Community will attest to her deep concern and abiding compassion for the welfare of our clients.  We wish her wonderful outcomes as she moves into the next chapter of her life.

The Staff and Board of Directors want to assure all of our clients and volunteers that we will not be allowing any gaps in services or programs in this transition. We remain committed to community safety and reducing recidivism in Boulder County and will maintain our same high standards. By Summer of 2013 we plan to have evaluated our organizational needs and hired a new Executive Director. Questions about this transition or the FOCUS program can be sent to info@focusreentry.org

FOCUS was featured in the Daily Camera, Boulder’s local paper, on Sunday February 17th. You can read the article on their website.

We’re very, very grateful to the Daily Camera for featuring us and show casing the success of all our mentors and mentees. However, Federal funding cuts mean that FOCUS is facing a $30,000 shortfall for the year. FOCUS will be going forward and will continue to support people who are looking to leave a life of incarceration behind but with your financial help, we will be able to maintain the level of support and services we offer now.

For more on the success of FOCUS, visit our Impact page. To become a financial supporter of FOCUS, and help make a brighter, safer future for Boulder County, go to our Donate page.

The stigma of criminal conviction can follow an ex-offender for the rest of their life. Even those who are able to successfully complete their probation, find work and a home and reintegrate as “normal, responsible, ordinary people” are often still be barred from full citizenship. Felons in 12 states can permanently lose their right to vote and in 36 other states the right to vote can be suspended for an extended period of time.

This chart shows a very good break down of when and how felons can have their right to vote restored. The difficulties in this are immense in some states; for example, in Mississippi a special bill to restore a felon’s  voting rights has to be authored by their state representative and then passed by both houses of the state legislature. In others, it becomes more simple. Iowa allows for an application to be filed after the felon has completed their sentence, including parole and probation, and they have  paid any outstanding costs to the judicial system.

The inspiration for this post comes from an article published by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, “Give back Virginia Citizen’s right to vote.” In it they make the argument that denying a felon the right to vote is denying them full citizenship. According to them, nearly 2.6 million Americans can’t vote because of a prior felony, regardless of how well they have re-entered society or how much they contribute to our society. That number is backed up by a study from the Sentencing Project.

I’ll close this blog-post with a quote from that article which I found very inspiring both for the work of FOCUS and for the future of our country:

“As we get closer to November’s presidential election, in which the two candidates have vastly different visions for the future of our country, it is shameful that hundreds of thousands [of felons in Virginia] will be silenced. The outcome of the race will have major implications for everything from the economy to health care to education — issues that affect ex-offenders as much as anyone else — and they ought to be allowed to participate.”

Justice is starting to trickle down for thousands of prisoners in the United States who were sentence to life without parole while a juvenile. In June of this year the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Miller v. Alabama that a mandatory life sentence without parole fit the description of ”cruel and unusual punishment” that is outlined in the 8th Amendment. This decision gives hope to the nearly 500 juvenile lifers in Pennsylvania who have until Friday to file for a reconsideration of their sentence and a bill to allow the same to happen is going to the governor in California soon.

Here in Colorado, there are still 50 person serving life sentences without hope of parole for crimes they committed as juveniles. Under the Miller decision they could all be entitled to a re-consideration of their sentence but so far no action has been taken to make that happen. However the process by which juveniles end up in adult courts and jails, called “Direct File”, has been amended by House Bill 1271, passed just this year. This  bill gives juveniles the chance to ask a judge to reconsider a direct file made by a prosecuting attorney and possibly return the case to a juvenile court. This bill strengthens due process for juvenile defendants in Colorado and is a huge step forward for the criminal justice system in this state.

Why is there an increase in homeless youth? What programs are out there to support youth? What can we do to help prevent at-risk youth from turning to the streets? When: Thursday, June 28th, 11:30 a.m.- 1 p.m. Where: Congregation Har HaShem, 3950 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO 80303

■“Behind the face of every homeless youth is another heart-breaking story: A 15-year boy abused by his alcoholic parent; or a pregnant girl rejected by her guardian; or a teenager trying to escape gang membership or a life of prostitution. In case after case, the main cause of youth homelessness is physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse from parents or guardians.” Read more here.

■What are some of the preventative measures being taken to prevent homeless youth? Open Sky Wilderness assist teens, young adults and families struggling with difficult challenges and life circumstances. They provide a life-changing opportunities to help teens discover and create a healthy life that is an intelligent and authentic expression of one’s true nature as capable, worthy, honorable people. Check them out here!

■“Tumbleweed: Shadow Children,’ is a released documentary about the lives of homeless youth. Click here to watch this short film!

■“Tammy came to our program at the tender age of 14. She was not attending to school, addicted to several illegal drugs and found herself homeless due to the fact that her mother was a drug abuser as well. It was then she entered our Open Hands and was referred to our Tumbleweed Regional Learning Center school where she began to test out of the eighth grade to complete junior high. From then she started high school here and registered for our workforce development program where she received training to become work ready and completed several internships after that. She now sits on the Tumbleweed Youth Advisory Board, created and presented a workshop on “Adultism”, traveled to San Francisco for Community Youth Development Learning Resource Team Workshop, and is helping raise money to travel to Washington to attend The National Network for Youth. She currently has a stable living situation as she is on the waiting list to join the Tumbleweed Young Adult Program, still attending The Tumbleweed Regional High School and now that she just turned 16 she will be looking for employment opportunities.” Click here to read more success stories!

BOULDER — Seated in a barren break room in the Boulder County Jail with the
acrid smell of burning coffee permeating the air, Madonna Mooney doesn’t mince
words.

Looking at her situation through sober eyes, she sees it. Mooney has been
arrested at least 31 times since Jan. 1, 2010. According to Boulder County Jail
records, she has been booked 112 times since 2002. Her stays are typically short
because her offenses are typically minor — open container, trespassing,
disorderly conduct, sometimes theft. CLICK HERE to be redirected to the Daily                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Camera website to read more!

FOCUS Offender Reentry Mentoring Program is scheduling another round of new Mentor Trainings! Are you a highly compassionate and motivated individual? Are you willing to give your supportive presence to another human being in need? Are you passionate about creating community change? Mentoring may be something you would be interested in.

Qualifications:

-over 25 years in age

-a total of 14 hours of training that is broken down into five sections

-non-judgmental, non-aggressive, and compassionate

-one continuous training the second week of each month

To learn more you can visit this page and please fill-out the application for your interview.

*photo from www.a13.org

Mentoring at-risk youth is needed and important. Equally important however, is mentoring those adults that are raising at-risk youth. After all, many times it is the parents of the youth who are at fault for their child’s behavior. Research says that youth with parents in jail are six times more likely to end up just like their mother and/or father. Mentoring offenders will hopefully halt the number of at-risk youth an therefore, keep children out of jail. We are seeing that more and more youth are being put behind bars for LIFE.

The Beat Within is a publication that gets jailed children’s voices out to the public using creative writing and healthy self-expression. This is the only connection some incarcerated youth have with the outside world. Here are some beautiful examples of their writings and thoughts. If you want to read more, please click here for the website.

Cold Parents

Dear mom,
Why are you so cold towards me?
I just want your love.
Why do you despise me so?
I try to please you, I try to help you.
Why are you so cold? Why do you hate me so?
I want your love, I want your acceptance, I want you to never
leave me.
But you push me away, you shut me out.
I love you and I wish I didn’t, I can’t let you go.
Every day you’re killing me more and more.
Do you like to hurt me? Do you want to see me cry?
I won’t let you see that, instead I’m going to love you with all
my heart.
I’m going to be the person you can’t, then I hope you will love
me.
-Alex,
Santa Clara

Love Is All We Need

I wish other people could see the good in people the way I do.
Working at the Juvenile Justice Center has made me realize that just because
people make mistakes, it doesn’t mean they aren’t good people. We are so quick
to judge a book by its cover and assume that if you’re here, you’re a criminal.
But deep down inside, we all are looking for love and understanding.

I try to see the good in people because you don’t know people’s
story. Just because I smile it doesn’t mean I don’t struggle. I have been
through some things to know that life is about learning from experience and
treating people good is one of them.
-Ms. Porter, Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center Counselor

A Bully’s Teasing

You go to a new school
Cause you are the new kid
The school bully taunts
‘Cause the school bully taunts you
You feel alone
‘Cause you feel alone
You go and try to make a friend
‘Cause you are the new kid
No one wants to be your friend
Except a thug kid
He embraces you, so you feel safe
‘Cause you feel safe, you become a thug
Since you became a thug
The bully tries to fight you
Since the bully beats you up
And you’re a thug
You seek revenge with a gun
When you get a gun
You shoot the bully
Since you shoot the bully
You go to jail for life
-The
Swagg Kidd, San Francisco

“Greening of Our Faith Communities: Partnership
and Sustainability.”

Panelists:

Prescott Knock, Buddhist Coalition of Bodhisattva Activity, Randy Bates, Sustainable
Ideas Consulting,  Leigh Cushing, Community
Campaigns Coordinator, Eco-Cycle, Rabbi Marc Soloway, Congregation
Bonai Shalom, National Rabbinical Advisory Board Chair, Hazon

Facilitator:

Prescott
Knock, Buddhist Coalition for Bodhisattva Activity

When: 

March 22nd, 2012

Time: 11:30- 1 p.m.

Congregation Har HaShem

2950 Baseline Road, Boulder 80303