PUEBLO, Colo. – The Colorado Department of Corrections is hosting an auction for Afghan rugs or handwoven floor coverings created by inmates across the state.
The dozens of Afghan rugs followed a red, white, and blue theme in honor of the 250th Anniversary of America and were created for an inter-facility contest.
“Community will have a chance to snag one of these, and the money will benefit a cause that is really near and dear to our state,” Andre Stancil, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, said.
Stancil said proceeds will go toward the state’s Wildfire Relief Fund and a non-profit of the contest winner's choice.
On Friday, September 4th, La Vista Correctional Facility and members of the CDOC's G.R.A.A.C.E (Gender, Race, Ability, Awareness, Culture, Equity) Alliance held an event to select the winners of the contest.
The event included singing, musical, and dance performances.
“I'm on the Dance to be Free team. So, we did two songs,” Stephanie Deverick, who is currently incarcerated at La Vista, said.
Deverick performed and helped set up for the event. She said dancing and participating in other programs the facility offers has helped change her life.
“It helps the time go by quicker, faster because you're not really thinking about where you're at, and you can really easily get lost in the time by participating in things like this. So, it's nice just to get out of your own head and out of here, but not physically,” Deverick said.
Stancil said the goal of the Afghan rug contest and other Department of Corrections programs is to bring the various communities at the facility together.
“Our goal is always trying to get that interaction between staff and the incarcerated population, and also to try to make sure we give back to the community. And I can't think of a better way of giving back to the community,” Stancil said.
A few months ago, La Vista Correctional Facility received a lot of media attention due to Tina Peters, the former Mesa County Clerk and 2020 Election Denier serving out her sentence after she was convicted of several felonies connected to an unauthorized security breach of her county's voting machine system.
Peters made claims about the conditions inside the facility during her incarceration.
Stancil said that beyond gaining attention for Peters’ incarceration, he wants Coloradans to know about the positive things happening at the facility,
“There's a lot of great programming. There's a lot of great attitudes here,” Stancil said. “The other thing I want people to know is, there was only one side of the story on that. So, there's a lot of things that were said that weren't accurate, but we didn't get into that debate with them. But you know, there's a lot of great work being done here.”
Quinetta Hunter, who is also incarcerated at La Vista and a member of G.R.A.A.C.E. Alliance, said the programs at the facility are preparing her to re-enter society.
“I look at it as a positive thing for my life, and I feel like just because we're in this situation, that it doesn't define us,” Hunter said.
The live auction for the Afghans will be held from Thursday, September 10th through Sunday, September 13th.
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