Atop a hidden little hill along Avenida del Sol, a quiet group of people live in a house tucked away behind downtown’s busy business district. It’s a spot with a picturesque view of the town, yet local residents often overlook it.
Inside the Hilltop House, numbered doors line the hallways. Several intricate hand-painted works of art adorn the walls, giving the otherwise bland building a pop of color. In true dormitory fashion, the men and women are housed in separate wings, but all the residents can mingle and dine in the common areas.
It might seem like a typical college dormitory, but it’s far from it.
“No prison in the world could you look out a window and see this beautiful town,” said Hilltop resident James Drake.
All the residents housed in the facility are convicted felons serving a community corrections sentence. It’s part of a transition they undergo before fully returning to society.
John Schmier, Hilltop’s director, has seen just about every trick in the book when dealing with insubordination by clients. Yet he likes to point out that after dedicating 19 years of working with clients, the facility has a success rate of about 75 percent of clients who live law-abiding lives after leaving Hilltop.
The facility prepares the men and women for real-life responsibilities. The residents pay rent of $17 a day and are required to find jobs in the community, Schmier said. Clients also must participate in rehabilitation programs to better themselves.
To some, the idea that a convicted felon could be part of their community may seem unsettling.
What many Durangoans may not realize is they encounter these men and women every day.
Taco Bell, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and the Strater Hotel are some of the local businesses that employ clients of Hilltop House.
Many Hilltop clients appreciate the opportunity to be housed in a facility where the windows don’t have bars. They say they have a real sense of freedom regardless of the strict monitoring, drug screening and curfews.
Drake is a “lifer” who was convicted in 1984 of being an accessory to the murder of his sister-in-law. Before coming to Hilltop, he served 30 years, four months and one week in prison, he said. He initially was sentenced to a little more than seven years. The Colorado Supreme Court took on the case, and because he was considered a habitual offender with three previous felonies for check fraud, he was resentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, he said.
Last April, he was allowed to transfer to Hilltop. Drake believes he is ready to rejoin society.
“I’m no longer the person I was 31 years ago,” he said.
He attends Pueblo Community College – majoring in business and sociology – has held two jobs while studying full-time, has participated in several apprentice programs – including culinary and janitorial training – and has found love, he said.
Drake decided he needed to develop a variety of skills to be able to find work.
“I did 15 years before I decided enough was enough,” Drake said. “In order to change, you have to want to change.”
Soft-spoken Ted Richter, a Hilltop client, let anger get the best of him one night in his home in Grand Junction, he said.
After a dispute with his former girlfriend’s brother that took a wrong turn, he ended up at Hilltop after serving one year in prison for menacing, a felony in Colorado. Richter served one year in prison before transferring to community corrections.
Richter enjoys working at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory – perhaps a little too much, he said, because he jokingly mentioned he was putting on weight.
Though he now wears the scarlet letter “F” for felon, he is optimistic about his future because he says he has a great résumé and valuable employment history.
“I’m absolutely ready,” he said. “I won’t ever drink again.”
Richter anticipates he will be released by January 2015, and he hopes to work in the oil industry overseas.
“Give me 10 minutes, that’s it,” he said. “I have a big heart; I care about people.”
Of the 51 residents housed at Hilltop, six are women.
Linda Vavra arrived several weeks ago. This is her second stint at Hilltop House.
She said she got involved with the wrong crowd while living in Arizona and began dealing drugs and running illegal firearms.
Vavra currently works at the Residence Inn setting up the continental breakfast. She said she enjoys her job because she has 30 years of experience in the restaurant business. She said when she leaves Hilltop, she plans to start her own business near her children in Cortez.
vguthrie@durangoherald.com
