An Exciting Prospect!  Albuquerque's Old West Side Jail, A Possible Facility

--for LifeQuest's Transitional Housing and Character Development Programs  

Tuesday, April 14th, we were given a tour of the old west-side jail.  An enormous facility that sits mostly empty on Albuquerque's West-side by Double Eagle Airport.  The reason for our visit was to investigate the possibility of utilizing one or more of its available "pods" for a much-needed transitional program for paroled youth around the state.  For years we have recognized the need for transitional housing that could accommodate young men and women who are getting out on parole.  This program would also provide character development, employability skills and job placement assistance in an environment where structure and high expectations are combined with unconditional love and encouragement.  What we discovered,

It was a fantastic evening of remembering, honoring, celebrating and anticipating what lies ahead!

About 120 people gathered together, March 27th, to see the ministry of LifeQuest pass to the next generation.  Those in attendance were a mixture of long-time supporters, current and past volunteers, state officials, business leaders and some notable special guests, including Skip Heitzig, Steve Stucker, and Don Compton - founder of youth detention ministry in New Mexico.  As a mentor of adjudicated youth himself and a volunteer youth detention ministry, Steve Stucker brought a personal passion to the role of emcee.  He even had with he and his wife, a young man, recently released from Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center who he has taken under his wing and has been working with for several months.