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When Lawrence was sent to prison in 1985, he was 38 years old. He didn’t walk free again until he was 72.

Even then, he wasn’t truly free.

“I made parole in 2017,” Lawrence told us, “but they wouldn’t release me because I didn’t have anywhere to go. I was locked up for three more years—not because of my sentence, but because I was homeless.”

This is the brutal reality for so many people coming out of prison. They’ve done their time, but without housing, support, or community, they remain stuck. Forgotten.

But something changed for Lawrence: Christ’s Body Ministries opened its doors.

“I’ve been coming here since I got out in 2021,” he said. “They gave me a bed. Food. Respect. No one else wanted to help a guy like me — a lifer, a ‘habitual offender.’ But Christ’s Body did.”

Lawrence stayed with us during those fragile first months of re-entry. When he lost his housing later due to unaffordable utilities, we took him back in again. Not just once—but twice.

Today, Lawrence is stable. Housed. Clean. And serving others. At 76 years old, he volunteers at Christ’s Body nearly every day.

You’ll find him outside by the line of guests — not because he has to be, but because that’s where his heart is. He gently welcomes the homeless, talks to people struggling with mental illness, and helps maintain peace. He knows what it’s like to be in their shoes.

“I know how to talk to people who’ve been in prison. Most of the homeless have done time — many are just broken, forgotten. I try to show them Jesus. Because Jesus was shown to me.”

That’s the kind of transformation your support makes possible.

Christ’s Body Ministries isn’t a charity — it’s a lifeline. We serve the ones no one else will touch. People fresh out of prison. People with no ID, no income, no family. People with deep wounds. People like Lawrence.

But this ministry can’t run on love alone. We need your help to continue serving Denver’s most marginalized men and women.

Your donation today will:

• Give someone like Lawrence a warm meal and a clean bed
• Provide a safe, supportive environment for healing
• Offer job training, housing assistance, and spiritual community
• Equip people to live with dignity and purpose again

Lawrence says it best:
“Jesus gave to me, and Christ’s Body gave to me. So now I give back. I’m blessed to be alive.”

You can be part of that blessing.

Please give today — and help us reach the next Lawrence who’s waiting at the door.

With gratitude,
Dr. Jim Copeland
Christ’s Body Ministries

P.S. Lawrence spent almost four decades behind bars, but the deeper tragedy was that he had no one waiting for him when he got out. Christ’s Body changed that — and you can too. Please give generously. Consider becoming a Hero of Hope that is our monthly donor program for a monthly gift of any about you too could become a Hero of Hope.