Month: January 2026

By Olivia Young

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    DENVER (KCNC) — There’s a new group on the streets of Denver working to help the homeless community.

City Council approved a $3 million contract with San Francisco-based nonprofit Urban Alchemy for community ambassador services and a $30 million contract to operate the Aspen shelter. Urban Alchemy says its community ambassador team model is already in operation in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Birmingham.

These responders are specially equipped to help the homeless community because they’ve been in their shoes. They help the community find help and resources available to them.

“I was homeless on the streets here in downtown Denver and made a few mistakes and ended up going to Colorado Correctional Facility in 2019,” said Mike Johnson, Compassionate Ambassadors Doing Respectful Engagements (CARE) team director and Urban Alchemy practitioner.

After three years incarcerated, Johnson was determined to turn his life around.

“My biggest fear is that I was just going to be known as an ex-con, and nobody would give me a second chance,” Johnson said.

When Denver contracted with Urban Alchemy for community ambassador services, Johnson was drawn to the San Francisco-based nonprofit, which employs returning citizens to transform urban communities.

“I knew I had to be a part of that organization,” Johnson said.

Johnson now runs Urban Alchemy’s CARE program, which launched in Denver on Jan. 1. The team has 10 full-time employees, all Denver locals with lived experience.

“Whether it’s previously incarcerated or being out on the streets ourselves, it’s just a unique group of individuals with great talents and a heart to serve our community,” Johnson said.

The CARE team responds to 311 calls for people in crisis and connects them with services.

“We have a lot of different referrals that we can do to All-In Mile High sites for transitional living. And we have sober living, detoxes, mental health services from different areas in the city that we can connect somebody to, whatever service we’re looking for,” Johnson said. “So we can come out, respond to that, to free our police and fire up for bigger and better calls.”

In just the first two weeks in Denver, the CARE team has placed nine people in transitional housing, three in detox, and a single mom and her two kids in a family shelter.

The team is on duty seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. When they’re not responding to calls for service, the team cleans up priority areas in town.

“You’re going to see us cleaning and picking up and cleaning up needles,” Johnson said. “So anywhere we go, we want to make it prettier and beautify it, and make it better than it was when we got there.”

They also proactively make relationships with the homeless community.

“The connection that we already have when we approach our friends experiencing homelessness, with the lived experience and the connection that they have, almost gives us an immediate in,” Johnson said.

It’s a second chance for those on both sides of the interaction.

“To see them light up, to see them come in and apply for positions and go through interviews and go through trainings and just get that sense of belonging, it’s priceless to see,” Johnson said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Conor McGill

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    ALTA, California (KOVR) — Growing concern and frustration are spreading through a small town in Northern California’s Placer County after residents learned a sexually violent predator could soon be placed in their neighborhood.

The California Department of State Hospitals has identified a home in Alta as a potential placement for William Stephenson, a man with a long criminal history of sexual violence. Neighbors say the possibility has left them fearful for their families and determined to make their opposition known.

Alta resident Isaac Harris says the location raises serious safety concerns.

“I think there’s 11 children on this road and eight women all within a quarter mile of this house, so to me this makes no sense,” Harris said.

Alta, home to just over 740 people, is made up largely of families and retirees.

Growing concern and frustration are spreading through a small town in Northern California’s Placer County after residents learned a sexually violent predator could soon be placed in their neighborhood.

The California Department of State Hospitals has identified a home in Alta as a potential placement for William Stephenson, a man with a long criminal history of sexual violence. Neighbors say the possibility has left them fearful for their families and determined to make their opposition known.

Alta resident Isaac Harris says the location raises serious safety concerns.

“I think there’s 11 children on this road and eight women all within a quarter mile of this house, so to me this makes no sense,” Harris said.

Alta, home to just over 740 people, is made up largely of families and retirees.

Court records show Stephenson was convicted in 1990 of two sexual assaults at Tahoe Beach. Those same records state Stephenson later estimated he committed roughly 20 sexual offenses before those convictions.

Stephenson was sentenced to 31 years in prison but served approximately half that time. Rather than being released, he was deemed a sexually violent predator and civilly committed to a state hospital for treatment.

Since 2014, when Stephenson was first conditionally released, the Department of State Hospitals has reversed its position on his release multiple times.

Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire says those changes are troubling.

“Mr. Stephenson disclosed he had fantasized about a prior victim, which shows to us it still raises serious concern that he has desires and impulses to victimize again,” Gire said.

In a statement, the Department of State Hospitals said Liberty Healthcare evaluates potential housing sites based on court orders, along with the patient’s needs and risk factors.

Records show the department placed a financial hold on the Alta home in August 2024 for $4,500 a month, a total exceeding more than $70,000.

“That’s taxpayer dollars,” Gire said. “It’s incredibly expensive. It’s more than most people’s rent or what they could afford. It’s somewhat offensive to taxpayers that the Department of State Hospitals is spending taxpayer dollars for someone who shouldn’t be out in the community at all.”

A court hearing scheduled for February 13 will determine whether the home is officially deemed suitable for Stephenson’s placement.

Until then, residents say they will continue speaking out.

“We don’t want anyone up here like that,” said Alta resident Bill Howatson. “That’s ridiculous. Our daughters are not going to let our grandkids come up here, and we’re basically not going to be able to see our grandkids because of this.”

“Bottom line, you are risking our lives, our grandkids’ lives, our neighbors’ kids’ lives,” Bell added. “It’s not right.”

A community town hall meeting to discuss the proposed placement is scheduled for next Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Alta Community Center.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Lesley Marin, Matthew Rodriguez

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    BELL, California (KCAL, KCBS) — An LGBTQ youth center in Bell has been dealing with a man who has been throwing bags of dog poop at their building for months, but police said they can’t do anything about it.

Since June, Mi SELA LGBTQ+ has been climbing ladders to clean dozens of poop bags off their awning. After a few months, Supervisor Janice Hahn gave the center a $2,500 grant to install new security cameras.

The upgrades allowed the center to identify the man and alerted the Bell Police Department.

However, Bell Police Department Chief Damien Velasco said they have worked with city leaders and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, all of whom came to the same conclusion.

“It’s a littering offense, which means if a police officer was present and witnessed the littering, they could write a citation,” Velasco said.

Supervisor Hahn’s Office called on officers to investigate the situation as a hate crime.

“We cannot allow incidents like this to be normalized. It is hateful, it is disgusting, and it must stop,” said Matthew Johnson, a spokesperson for Hahn’s Office.

Former federal prosecutor Naema Rahmani said it’s unlikely this would be classified as a hate crime, unless detectives can find a motive.

“Typically, you see some sort of crime of violence, or physical destruction or damage to property,” Rahmani said. “Because you don’t have that, you can’t get to the next level, which is the motivation of the crime, which is an enhancement.”

Mi SELA staff said they have tried to speak with the man and simply want an apology, but will take civil legal action against him if the bags continue to appear on their awning.

“Let’s heal whatever needs to be healed and let’s work together,” executive director Eddie Martinez said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.