Women in Denver prison bond through substance use recovery amid growing struggle
Colorado prisons are battling a growing number of inmates struggling with substance use disorder. Back in 2024, the attorney general said some parts of the state can see higher than two-thirds of inmate populations experiencing substance use disorder. For a community that's often overlooked, recovery support is necessary in order to have any hope for recovery.
Denver Women's Correctional Facility is the highest security women's prison in the state. Behind its walls are experiences that can be hard to relate to. Luckily, there is also community among the inmates and support for them through the the trials of substance use recovery, as well as reckoning with the past.
"That's all you hear when you lay down on your pillow is your kids asking, 'Mommy, when are you coming home?'" explained Demika Rogers, an inmate at DCWS.
"For me, it's like, if I was callous enough to do that, then why do I deserve to live," fellow inmate Cassie Rieb said.
"I made a lot of bad choices; I chose everything wrong," added Cynthia Gonzalez, who's been in prison for 28 years.
The three women sat down with CBS News Colorado to tell their stories, having already served a combined 60 years behind bars for their crimes.
"I think being incarcerated is kind of really what you make it," Rieb said. "You can either choose to let your incarceration bring you down and remind you every day of the biggest mistake you've ever made in your life, or you can take that mistake and use it every day to honor your victims and also to show that we can overcome even our biggest mistakes."
Although their journeys are different, sadly, a part of their story they share is substance use. According to research by Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, substance use likely affects 80% of the inmates at DWCF and about 75% nationally, according to Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. That's both prior to their time or during.
"I was a teenage alcoholic," Gonzalez said. "When I got arrested, I was drinking a case of beer and a pint of vodka every single day, so alcohol was definitely a contributing factor to my crime and my life."
Some people work out that's their vice," Rogers said. "Some people eat; that's their vice. Some people read books ... some people do drugs, some people just go around that same merry-go-round until they find something different to fill that void that they have inside. And like for me, that's giving back now. That's where I found my healing, just giving back to other people."
Rieb, Gonzalez and Rogers have all become leaders behind bars, giving back and mentoring other women whose mistakes have landed them in a similar position. But they wouldn't be in these positions if it weren't for staff and outsiders who care.
"It is a matter of like being successful and being not successful," Rieb said. "There's that really fine line of you're either doing it or you're not. And that's what outside programs like Hard Beauty do is that they offer support and guidance."
"I needed something I could believe in, and 'hard' is what my life has mostly been; 'beauty' is mostly what life is," said Raquel Garcia, the founder of Hard Beauty. "But prison is hard. This place is hard. I hear it from the women every time I come in here, but it's also where I witness and get to experience the most beauty."
Hard Beauty specializes in recovery support. Garcia volunteers her time to mentor women at DCWF. On a recovery journey of her own, she knows how desperately resources are needed.
"I've been allowed and permitted to come in here; the connections and the trust is there," Garcia added. "So when somebody does exit the community from prison and they're out in the world, the first one they're calling is me or my team, or texting or getting ahold of us so that we can support them."
Raquel recently teamed up with the Recovery Cards Project to send every single inmate a letter of encouragement. They used cards created by artists who are in recovery themselves, and written by members of the public.
"We wanted to just let people know that they were important, that they were remembered," Garcia said. "We had other letters come in that said thanks for reminding me of my worth. You know, in a place that constantly gives us nothing but razor wire and sadness, thanks for bringing us light.
According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, those leaving prison without substance use treatment are around 40 times more likely than a member of the general public to die from an overdose. Additionally, nearly 70% of substance users are rearrested within three years of release from prison.
"You're important, you're loved, you're worthy, you have purpose. Are those some of the most important words that a woman in this facility can hear?" CBS Colorado asked Garcia.
"I think it's the most important words any woman can hear, but especially inside here," Garcia replied.
