DCCV Supports Colorado Bureau of Investigation Identity Theft/Fraud Unit
Dear Ms. Amico,
On behalf of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation Identity Theft/Fraud Unit, I would like to thank the Denver Center for Crime Victims for all of the great work you are doing to support our efforts to provide quality services for victims of identity theft and fraud. DCCV quickly embraced the idea of working collaboratively with CBI to provide victims of identity theft/fraud with equal access to support and assistance through a 24 hour hotline. With your support, our program has been touted as a model of service for victims and an example of successful coordination between law enforcement and the non-profit community.
In addition to your daily support for victims of identity theft/fraud, DCCV recently offered assistance in several high profile cases being coordinated by our Unit.
All of the staff at DCCV are great, and offer us wonderful support through our 24 hour hotline. However two of the staff have gone “above and beyond” in offering their help.
Maite Lara-Roca has been extremely helpful in walking us through the paperwork and challenges of filing with ICE for an emergency visa and for a U-Visa for a witness in a high profile court case. Thanks to her assistance, we were able to ensure that he stayed in this country to provide his testimony in several cases, which had an impact on the positive outcomes of those cases. In addition, he is now a legal permanent resident and is able to resume his role as an active father to his children.
In another case, the victim of an identity theft was traumatized and fearful of accessing support through a law enforcement agency. The person who had stolen her identity had been arrested for a number of serious felonies, including homicide using the victim’s name. Susana Avelar was great. She spoke with the victim several times, establishing a trusting relationship. She scheduled meetings between the victim and CBI’s victim advocate and served as an informal interpreter to ensure that the victim understood what needed to be done to clear her criminal history. Susana continued to work with the victim to offer emotional support through the trauma and provide the victim with options for long term assistance. Without Susana’s help, we might not have been able offer this victim such a high level of support, and she might have continued to have a false criminal history that created havoc in her life.
Again, we would like to thank Cathy Phelps and all of the staff at DCCV for the support and assistance they have offered us. If you have any questions or would like to discuss these cases further, please do not hesitate to call or email me at any time.
Thank you again, Hazel
Hazel Heckers
Victim Advocate
Colorado Bureau of Investigation
ID Theft/Fraud Investigation Unit
710 Kipling Street Suite 200
Denver CO 80215
Denver Center for Crime Victims employee receives Helen M. McLoraine Nonprofit Employee Scholarship
The Denver Center for Crime Victims’ Cortney Paddock received Denver Foundation’s Helen M. McLoraine Nonprofit Employee Scholarship, the scholarship benefits employees of Denver area human services agencies who are pursuing undergraduate and graduate coursework related to their career.
The scholarship supports current nonprofit employees who will continue to invest in the nonprofit sector. Ms. Paddock is dedicated to working for state universities and colleges as an advocate for better accessibility to higher education for all Coloradans.
This Fall she will be a first year graduate student in the Student Affairs in Higher Education at Colorado State University, Fort Collins pursuing a Master of Science, Student Affairs in Higher Education.
Her long term goal is to be a Director of a community service/learning office at a state university. She wants to encourage students to become connected and give back to the cities that universities and colleges are located.
After graduating in 2009 with a Bachelors of Science in Human Development and Family Studies, Ms. Paddock joined The Denver Center for Crime Victims (DCCV) providing support to the program staff and leadership team.
About The Denver Center For Crime Victims: The Denver Center for Crime Victims (DCCV) is a beacon of hope and safety net for more than 6,000 people each year. Our services are broad, supporting survivors of simple theft, domestic and sexual violence, to suicide/homicide survivors. We provide crisis intervention, grief therapy, case management, financial assistance, client relocation and more, all without cost to victims. For additional details about programs, volunteering or if you are a victim of a crime and need assistance please call (303) 860-0660 or see http://www.denvervictims.org/
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The Denver Center for Crime Victims Celebrates Accomplishments of Two Employees
The Denver Center for Crime Victims congratulates Janice Rhyne, Director of The Translation & Interpreting Center, for her completion of a Masters degree in Nonprofit Management and Leadership Certification from Regis University and Divenia Johnson, Director of Hotline Services, for her completion of a Masters degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Colorado Denver Campus.
Ms. Rhyne received her undergraduate degree in English from Colorado College in 1985. She has been the director of The Translation & Interpreting Center since 2006. The Regis classroom-based and online Master of Nonprofit Management degree is the only MNM program of its kind in the U.S. that supports both learning formats. The MNM program develops a broad-based perspective of the social, political, economic, cultural, and ideological issues that impact nonprofit organizations today.
Ms. Rhyne noted, “Each class that I took through the MNM program at Regis University reminded me that The Denver Center of Crime Victims is a model nonprofit organization, both ethically and technologically while following their mission to assist victims on their path to wellness. I hope to continue to learn from the leadership team of DCCV and apply my newly acquired skills to further the cause of DCCV, a learning organization and a champion of inclusiveness in the Denver Metro community.”
Ms. Johnson received her undergraduate degree in Behavioral Science from Metropolitan state college in 2005. She has been the Director of Hotline Services since 2007. The University of Colorado Masters in Criminal Justice prepares the student to be an innovator in crime control and prevention through course work dealing with strategies and skills for promoting individual, organizational and social change.
Denver Center for Crime Victims supports staff professional development and continuing education through flexible work schedules, paid time off to attend classes, and ongoing professional trainings of their choice, including an annual victim assistance conference.
About The Denver Center For Crime Victims: The Denver Center for Crime Victims (DCCV) is a beacon of hope and safety net for more than 6,000 people each year. Our services are broad, supporting survivors of simple theft, domestic and sexual violence, to suicide/homicide survivors. We provide crisis intervention, grief therapy, case management, financial assistance, client relocation and more, all without cost to victims. For additional details about programs, volunteering or if you are a victim of a crime and need assistance please call (303) 860-0660 or see http://www.denvervictims.org/
The Denver Center for Crime Victims Receives $1,000 Dollars Worth of Donated Services from Floyd’s Barbershop
Floyd’s 99 Barbershop – Colfax has donated coupons for services worth over $1000 to the Denver Center for Crime Victims (DCCV). Each coupon is valid for half-price color treatment, regularly starting at $40.00, valid at the 2331 E. Colfax Ave., Denver, CO. store. Counselors and staff at DCCV assists nearly 6,000 people a year through the 24-hotline, emergency assistance, and prevention and recovery programs. This donation gives DCCV an additional tool to help speed the recovery and healing process to the individuals they serve.
“DCCV contributes to the financial costs caused by the victimization (repairs, medical bills, food, prescriptions, etc). Safety and security is our priority for financial assistance,” said Amy Ulrich, Director of Administration, for The Denver Center for Crime Victims. She continued, “However, what we see with crime victims is that every day personal care can be affected after being victimized. A person may have little to no money after the victimization, they may be dealing with medical issues, loss of their job and so they are just struggling to keep food on the table. A contribution towards personal care can be huge towards healing”
Floyd’s 99 Barbershop has a long history of support of community nonprofits, Stephanie Kozdron, color manager at the Floyd’s 99 shop on Colfax remarks, “We want our neighbors to know we care about them. This is our way of saying we want their days go a little better from here on out.”
About The Denver Center For Crime Victims: The Denver Center for Crime Victims (DCCV) is a beacon of hope and safety net for more than 6,000 people each year. Our services are broad, supporting survivors of simple theft, domestic and sexual violence, to suicide/homicide survivors. We provide crisis intervention, grief therapy, case management, financial assistance, client relocation and more, all without cost to victims. For additional details about programs, volunteering or if you are a victim of a crime and need assistance please call (303) 860-0660 or see http://www.denvervictims.org/
About Floyd’s 99: America’s Original Rock n’ Roll Barbershop. Katy Perry uses one as the backdrop for a scene in her Hot n’ Cold video; HBO Entourage stars appear in front of another; and several reality TV shows have filmed their contestants getting rock star makeovers there. The brainchild of the O’Brien brothers, Paul, Rob and Bill, the first shop opened in Denver in 2001 and has since become the fastest growing group of barbershops in the United States, now with 18 shops in Colorado alone, six of them in Denver.
Denver Center for Crime Victims partners with Colorado Bureau or Investigation
NEW ID THEFT TOOL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
18 JAN 2011
CONTACT: Agent in Charge Ralph Gagliardi, 303-239-4211
24-HR. TOLL FREE HOTLINE
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has launched the state’s first – and perhaps the nation’s only – 24-hr. toll-free hotline for victims of identity theft and fraud, Director Ronald C. Sloan announced today.
CBI’s statewide identity theft hotline connects to crime victim specialists. In turn they convey case information to CBI’s identity theft victim advocate Hazel Heckers, fraud unit supervisor and Agent in Charge Ralph Gagliardi, or other investigators in the fraud unit.
The hotline serves both English- and Spanish-speaking callers, Director Sloan noted.
CBI’s new 24-hr. identity theft/fraud hotline is 1-855-443-3489.
While identity theft and fraud victims must file crime reports with local law enforcement agencies, CBI’s unit provides investigative and victim assistance to anyone seeking guidance in improving personal financial security, dealing with compromised information and general questions regarding ID theft.
Unit members are available for ID theft presentations to any groups in Colorado. Contact the Unit for scheduling at (303) 239-4649, or at Hazel.Heckers@state.co.us.
The new hotline is funded by a federal Justice Assistance Grant and all calls come through the Denver Center for Crime Victims.
