BCTC in Boulder is currently being managed by ICCS. It is a halfway house that is supposed to prepare individuals to re-enter society where it’s beneficial for them and safe for the community. These are not the goals of the staff here, in the eyes of the residents it is the exact opposite of what they’re doing.

They just recently took over for CoreCivic as a non-profit, but this is only a label that was easily attained for $20 through the state and has no real meaning in the way the facility is being run, it just means they are no collecting tax dollars as well ($50 per day per person on top of the rent residents pay).

There was recently a suicide in the facility and they have been negligent in providing adequate services for mental health or alcoholism even though the county of Boulder is under the impression services and treatment classes are being offered. This is not the case and I have personally been denied access to outside AA meeting since it’s considered “non-essential” treatment (before the COVID-19 concerns so this is how it’s always viewed, not just now). I think the judge who sentenced the residents here would feel differently.

They’ve also been negligent in responding to COVID-19 responsibly. For over a week, we haven’t had paper towels or trash bags available. Even if we wanted to clean and disinfect, we wouldn’t be able to. There are residents here who are employed and are unable to go to work but have the option to work remotely. Even with the extenuating conditions, they are denying access to personal valuables such as laptops making it impossible for individuals to continuing working and it’s putting jobs at risk. We’re allowed to go out into the community with these items, but as you know that puts our community at risk.

There are many people in here suffering, including elderly residents. It’s past the point of being reasonably excused. I fear that if they continue these practices with neglect for the well-being of the residents, it may result in another tragic death. Seth Franco was only 27 and should have had a long life ahead of him. Instead, his family is grieving him due to the mistreatment and abuse by ICCS staff. Something needs to change, fast.

Changes that should be made:

Mental Health Services for those struggling 

Treatment classes for alcoholics/addicts

Adequate resources to libraries (residents have been denied access to the legal library which is provided in all jails and is a basic right)

Accountability for false Incident Reports written by staff composed of outright lies (Seth experienced this to a great extent before his untimely death. Another IR was issued 2 days ago including an outright lie on what happened)

Access to personal belongings to be able to work remotely when that is the only viable option during a worldwide pandemic.

Clean living spaces and access to cleaning supplies in a timely manner. 

Respect for our privacy in relation to HIPAA, they currently announce our medications and go as far as to make jokes about what we are prescribe in front of other staff members and clients. 

We’re living in disgusting conditions and it’s inhumane. They’ve driven people to extremes and they seem to take literal joy in our suffering. They aren’t here to help; they’re here for a paycheck and the negligence on their end is enough to affect our community as a whole.