A new Denver International Airport partnership with the Colorado Department of Corrections will create employment pathways for people exiting the criminal justice system.

The new program, DEN New Heights, which began on April 17, aims to provide an accessible work experience for people leaving the criminal justice system to aid them in transitioning out of the system and navigating employment, according to a news release. 

New Heights will operate through Bayaud Enterprises and is managed by DIA’s Center of Equity and Excellence in Aviation (CEEA) and DIA’s maintenance division, according to the release. 

The program is part of DIA’s Vision 100, which focuses on being responsive to serving its customer traffic, DIA Deputy Chief of Staff Andrea Albo said. The airport was designed to serve 15 million annual passengers. Last year, the airport broke 70 million.

In the next five to eight years, officials expect to serve 100 million passengers  per year, so the airport is making efforts to strengthen its workforce, Albo said.

As part of its strategic plan, the airport built the CEEA.

“One of our guiding principles is equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility,” Albo said. “We want to make sure that we are bringing along marginalized communities that are often left behind.”

Duties of employment will include landside functions outside of the airport’s secure areas, such as landscaping, minor road repairs, snow removal and trash clean-up. 

The program will provide work to about 40 people over a year in rotating work crews, with up to 10 participants for each 12-week period, according to the release.

A person released from prison is less likely to commit a new crime and end up back in prison if they have the opportunity to find stable employment and develop job skills, according to Colorado Department of Corrections Executive Director Andrew Stancil.

The program will change the future of people leaving the justice system and help keep communities safer, Stancil said. 

In addition to employment, New Heights participants will attend employment retention classes to support their transition and will be provided daily breakfast and lunch, supplementary clothing items, hygiene products and transportation to the worksite. 

“We’ll continue to look at any kind of barriers that are out there and doing our best to remove them,” Albo said. “They don’t have to think about those (barriers), they can really focus on work experience.”

Participants will also receive same-day payment at the end of each workday, according to the release. 

The program is designed to be a “wholistic, wraparound service approach” to ensure participants are prepared for long-term sustainable changes, Albo said. 

After the program ends, New Heights will track the progress of participants and assist them in finding employment post-program, Albo said. 

“The program offers transition services … and then if they’re not able to get placed in employment, we’ll continue to work with them to try and identity what their barriers might be,” Albo said. 

In the first few weeks of the program, the response from participants has been “very positive,” Albo said. A program check-in with participants Wednesday morning produced stories of success, even in the program’s early stages. 

“(The program) is really helping us to be responsive to the needs of the airport, as well as giving back and training and supporting individuals that are participating in the program,” Albo said.