Changemaker: Hassan Latif

Following nearly 18 years of incarceration, Hassan Latif was released from a Colorado prison in 2006. Within four years, he found his way to work supporting others who were on the path to re-entering society following justice-involvement. He served as a re-entry specialist at a criminal justice nonprofit, learning the ins and out of case management. As he worked alongside clients to support their successful transition into the community, he began to notice gaps in the system and opportunities to improve upon the services provided to clients to reduce the rate of recidivism.

“I saw some things that were missing,” Hassan recalled. “And at some point, I was motivated to get past the fear that I had of starting an organization and just jumping out there and doing it.”

In 2012, committed to a new approach that would help break the cycle of recidivism, Hassan founded the Second Chance Center. For the first year, the organization operated as a mobile unit out of Hassan’s car.

“I was driving around the state begging my way into prisons that I’d done time in,” he said. “I was an addiction counselor, so I was offering free groups at halfway houses that would let me come in. That was how Second Chance Center operated in its earliest days.”

In 2015, the Second Chance Center (SCC) was an inaugural grantee of the Work and Gain Education and Employment Skills (WAGEES) program established by the Colorado General Assembly. WAGEES provided funds to establish a community-based support program for successful reentry for those on parole or discharged from Colorado’s Department of Corrections. The grant enabled SCC to hire two additional staff members.

“The three of us cumulatively had 75 years of incarceration time,” Hassan explained. “People were looking at us like, ‘What are these guys up to?’ Understandably, we were under a very close microscope. But the benefit of that is people got to see how we went about our business. It didn’t take very long for folks inside of prisons to come looking for us when they got out.”

From early on, housing was one of the biggest challenges the organization faced. Initially, SCC connected its clients with property owners who were providing accommodations for formerly incarcerated individuals. In the spring of 2016, a formative moment planted the seeds for a new way of approaching housing for SCC’s clients.

“There was a murder at one of the houses where three of our clients were living,” Hassan recalled. “They weren’t involved when this occurred, but I visited the house the next day. The owner took me to the basement, and I saw bunk beds with the same plastic mattresses that I had slept on for 18 years in prison. It was filthy, and I left there thinking we can’t send our people here anymore.”

Given the barriers faced by justice-involved individuals or individuals with criminal records in securing housing, SCC began to explore new options for housing clients. It began renting units from willing property owners and placing its clients in apartments that SCC rented, all the while seeking a more sustainable and long-term solution. At a fundraiser, Hassan was introduced to Jenn Lopez, who was working with then-Governor Hickenlooper’s Office of Homelessness Initiative.

“Jenn began telling me all about this LIHTC (Low Income Housing Tax Credit) program, and that there was a possibility we could build an apartment building,” Hassan said. “To me, that was a grandiose idea, but she was so excited and authentic. That following weekend, she introduced me to Nate Richmond with Blueline Development, who was in town for a groundbreaking at an affordable housing development. At that same event, I was introduced to Zoe LeBeau, a housing consultant who was providing training to help nonprofits pursue tax credits.”

SCC began to look seriously at the idea of developing housing that could be used to support clients coming out of prison. As Hassan and his team began to consider potential sites and assemble partners to prepare an application for tax credits, a staff member got connected with a church in Aurora who had vacant land behind their church building. The church leadership agreed to sell the land and accept delayed payment because they believed the development was aligned with the church’s vision.

In 2017, SCC’s affordable housing development Providence at the Heights (PATH) was awarded Housing Tax Credits from CHFA, and housing vouchers were secured from the Colorado Division of Housing. PATH would provide 49 units of permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless and justice-involved individuals and families. The property would include trauma-informed design and onsite services from Aurora Mental Health Center.

The PATH development broke ground on January 4, 2019 – the same day Hassan had been released from prison in 2006. It opened its doors to clients in February 2020, welcoming 49 adults and 14 children who had previously experienced homelessness. Later that year, PATH was the recipient of a Housing Colorado Eagle Award.

“When I visited the site with our architects and landscapers, I told them, ‘I want PATH to look like it grew here, as opposed to being built here,’” Hassan explained. “What they came up with is beautiful. We’re very proud of it.” Today, SCC has broken ground and is developing its second property, Residences on Acoma, also supported with Housing Tax Credits. It will combine supportive housing alongside affordable units to support clients in SCC’s apprenticeship readiness program to connect justice-involved individuals with employment opportunities.

The organization has experienced significant growth and evolution since its early days operating as a mobile unit out of Hassan’s car. Today, SCC employs a staff of more than 80 people, providing housing, intensive care management, peer mentoring, substance use support, and employment preparation and placement services to several thousand clients each year.

“We’re very proud of the fact that our recidivism rate has been under 10 percent for more than 11 years,” said Hassan. “My hope is that we inspire people with a template to do things that might normally seem unimaginable.”