Summary
Organization name
I Need You
2025
Tax id (EIN)
99-4579649
Category
Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy
Organization Size
Small Organization
Address
5335 WORCHESTER STDENVER, CO 80239
Denver, CO, US
Our purpose is to connect concerned neighbors with youth and adults entangled in the Justice system including family court, municipal and state court systems. Our organization surrounds defendants with the kind of loving care that neighbors should show for one another. I Need You engages and trains volunteer community members to accompany, comfort, help and advocate for youth and adults during their entire journey from arrest through the court process with a group presence in court, taking notes for the family, gathering community resources and advocacy. Through our neighbor to neighbor support we demonstrate to the court that the community is watching the process, directly help the impacted individual, break down isolation between neighbors, destigmatize the criminal justice system and change hearts and minds of supporting neighbors many of whom will become leaders for criminal justice systems change.
Our mission is to connect concerned neighbors with youth and adults entangled in the Justice system including family court, municipal and state court systems. Our organization surrounds defendants with the kind of loving care that neighbors should show for one another. I Need You engages and trains volunteer community members to accompany, comfort, help and advocate for youth and adults during their entire journey from arrest through the court process with a group presence in court, taking notes for the family, gathering community resources and advocacy.
In 2018 our organization has grown from the story of our founder Sharon Battle. The Battle family experienced the isolation, fear and shame of the criminal justice system when their son was arrested using a highly biased and ineffective suspect identification process called Show Ups – when a victim identified their son at night through a closed police car window 50 feet away as the perpetrator. A large group of neighbors associated with Together Colorado came together to support the Battle family, attending every hearing, holding vigils, and leveraging both financial and political resources to support the family resulting in all charges being dropped. The experience subsequently led to a powerful group of community leaders researching and taking action to win policy changes to severely restrict the use of Show Ups in the City of Denver and then the State of Colorado.
Organization name
I Need You
2025
Tax id (EIN)
99-4579649
Category
Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy
Organization Size
Small Organization
Address
5335 WORCHESTER STDenver, CO, US