Denver International Airport Launches Employment Pathways for Individuals Exiting the Justice System to Soar to ‘New Heights’
Denver International Airport (DEN) has partnered with the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) as part of the DEN New Heights pilot program that offers employment and work experience to individuals exiting the justice system and transitioning into the workforce.
The program is operated through Bayaud Enterprises and is managed by DEN's Center of Equity and Excellence in Aviation (CEEA) and DEN’s Maintenance division. Duties will include landside functions outside of the airport’s secure areas such as landscaping, minor road repairs, snow removal, and trash clean up. DEN New Heights will provide an accessible work experience to individuals and will optimize transitional success to navigate employment services.
"DEN New Heights offers alternative employment pathways to marginalized community populations and serves as an innovative approach to provide access for individuals to engage in a work experience at DEN,” said DEN CEO Phil Washington. “Our pilot program participants will gain job skills and build employment experience while enhancing our airport through their work. We aim to be trailblazers in the aviation industry by embedding equity in all that we do, including connecting with our community’s most vulnerable populations with a human-centered, data-driven approach."
DEN New Heights will provide work to up to 10 participants for 12 weeks, about 40 individuals over a year, in rotating work crews. Work assignments will vary based on DEN’s maintenance operational needs, including seasonal priorities.
"By helping justice-involved individuals reenter the workforce, the DEN New Heights program will provide a foundation for a fresh start and offer a path toward productivity and purpose," said Tammy Bellofatto, Executive Director of Bayaud Enterprises.
“Having job skills and the opportunity to find stable employment reduces the likelihood that a person released from prison will commit a new crime and end up back in prison. That not only changes the future for that individual, but it also helps keep our communities safer,” said CDOC Executive Director Andre Stancil. “We are grateful for our partners at DEN and Bayaud for providing opportunities for individuals wanting to make a positive change in their lives.”
In alignment with our Vision 100 guiding principle, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA), DEN New Heights offers wide-ranging resources and services to ensure an equitable approach in serving the unique needs of participants. In addition to working onsite at DEN, participants will attend employment retention classes to support their transition. Participants will be provided daily breakfast and lunch, supplementary clothing items, hygiene products and transportation to their worksite. DEN New Heights Team members will receive same-day payment at the end of each workday.
The pilot program started on April 17.
