Homelessness, criminal histories create barriers for those seeking to re-enter Colorado society, By Amelia Arvesen, April 15, 2017, Denver Post: “On paper, Glenn Allan Tefft was sure he qualified for an open position at a Longmont, Colorado, printing plant even with his criminal background. But his spirits were low after he believed he was judged on his appearance during what he thought was a suspiciously brief interview. ‘People won’t even look at you,’ he said a week before the opportunity arose. ‘You can tell I’m homeless.’ Almost 39, a three-time felon who’s been to jail but not prison, Tefft is struggling to defy the odds also faced by 95 percent of the prison population that the Congressional Research Service expects will reintegrate back into the greater community at some point…”
Tag: Colorado
State Minimum Wage – Colorado
Minimum wage fight: Raise it or not?, By Alicia Stice, September 23, 2016, The Coloradoan: “When an unexpected expense comes up — like the time her 9-year-old black lab, Libby, racked up a $700 vet bill — Lauren Gutierrez knows it’s time to pick up extra shifts. In Fort Collins where she grew up, Gutierrez cannot afford to live alone. This semester, she dropped two of her classes at Front Range Community College because the full course load was too much to handle along with her long shifts working as a caregiver for elderly residents. Living as a low-wage worker has inspired Gutierrez to volunteer for the campaign to raise Colorado’s minimum wage from $8.31 an hour to $12 an hour by 2020, with increases every year in between…”
Kids Count Report – Colorado
- Fewer Colorado kids living in poverty, but more identified as homeless, By Yesenia Robles, March 28, 2016, Denver Post: “The number of Colorado kids living in poverty in 2014 decreased for the second year in a row, but the number of kids identified as homeless doubled in the past six years, according to a report published Monday. The annual Kids Count report by the nonprofit Colorado Children’s Campaign found about 15 percent of kids in Colorado under age 18 are living in poverty, down from 17 percent in 2013. The number is down to levels not seen since before the recession…”
- Report: Fewer homeless students in Larimer Co., By Sarah Jane Kyle, March 27, 2016, Coloradoan: “The number of homeless students in Larimer County decreased by 1 percent last year. More than 1,700 students were served by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Program in Larimer County in Fall 2014, a reduction of 25 students from the previous school year. Larimer County was one of just two large Colorado counties to see a reduction in homeless students from the 2013-2014 to 2014-2015 school years, according to the 2016 Kids Count report by Colorado Children’s Campaign. Douglas County saw a 6 percent drop in its number of homeless students. Statewide, the number of homeless students increased by 2.5 percent, between the two measured years, even though the 2013 floods displaced a large number of Colorado families…”