This story was originally published on March 28, 2005.
By her account – and police agree – Judy Hines holds the distinction of being one of Denver’s longest working prostitutes.
“I started when I was 15, in 1974, working out of an apartment building behind Colfax and Pearl,’ said the 46-year-old Hines. “It was easy money. When the easy money left, I decided to hit the block.’
The block – slang for the street – is where Hines stayed, for the most part, until January. Busted near Colfax Avenue during an undercover sting by Denver police, Hines, who records show has 39 prostitution arrests, decided she had finally had enough.
“Last year, I spent a total of 85 days out of jail – for the whole year 2004,’ she said. “I’m tired. I want my life back.’
So when Judy Lopez, the coordinator for the Chrysalis Project – a new drug-court program designed to help prostitutes – gave Judy an option, she readily agreed.
“It has structure,’ Hines said of Chrysalis, which began in Denver Judge John Marcucci’s courtroom last month. “I’ve never had structure in my whole life.’
Funded by a three-year, $450,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Chrysalis is a drug-court program targeting 75 prostitutes a year with substance-abuse problems, said Adam Brickner, director of the Office of Drug Strategy in Denver.
Chrysalis addresses mental health, substance abuse, life skills, employment and housing issues.
The brainchild of Brickner and Carol Lease, the director of Empowerment, another jail diversion program, Chrysalis targets drug-addicted prostitutes with multiple arrests, and has more enforcement.
Women who agree to Chrysalis must undergo drug screenings, and if they drop out, they face six months to a year in jail, Brickner said.
For Hines, the program is a lifeline.
She began drinking at age 10. Had her first child at 15. When she was 16, her father killed her sister and then himself.
She’s been raped, beaten and stabbed by some of the johns she’s met, she said. In her prime, she said, she made from $800 to $1,500 a day, and spent it all on cocaine.
Now she turns to Lois Clayton, an addictions counselor and coordinator for Chrysalis. Together, they plan out her week, which includes therapy, shopping, skills classes and appointments at the gym five days a week. She now has a job as a telemarketer.
“If I could get all these hookers off Colfax, I would,’ Hines said. “It’s addiction. It’s gambling. It’s exciting at times, but it’s horrible.’
Staff writer Amy Herdy can be reached at aherdy@denverpost.com or 303-820-1752.
