December 2025

Dear Friends and Supporters of Alternative Horizons,

As we approach the end of 2024, we wanted to reach out to you—our dedicated community of supporters—with an important message from our Board of Directors.

Click here to read the letter on our website if the image below is difficult to read on your device.

Holiday greetings everyone! We hope for a peaceful and joyous holiday season and a blessed New Year. This year, we are sending our end of year letter a little early. This past October, which is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month, was a difficult one for our community. Three women lost their lives during two domestic violence tragedies. Two intimate partners committed suicide immediately afterwards. This incident gave many in our community pause… to consider how this could have happened in Durango. Although not the first time we have lost victims in this way, remembering Lori Star Sutherland and Nicole Redhorse as well as several others, it is thankfully not a common occurrence in our community. Alternative Horizons Corporation (AHC) is directly affected and impacted by these incidents as it creates fear in those who may have concerns about their own situation with an intimate partner. Power and control behavior in a relationship is a sign of potential violence.

Learning the signs to watch for and how to protect oneself are crucial steps for victims. Victims often feel they have nowhere to go, no one to talk to; yet right here in our community they do have a confidential and listening ear… Alternative Horizons. If a victim is not ready to go to police, AHC will help them by providing program including a 24/7/365-hour support line, Advocacy and Support Services, Bridges of Hope Legal Project, Civil Protection Orders, Education and Awareness services, and Professional Counseling Services. All these services are confidential and at no cost to the survivor.
That is where you, our supporters and contributors come in. Because of your generosity, we are able to keep our services free. We face some challenging times with the current Federal cutbacks and higher cost of living. You can be assured that Alternative Horizons’ focus is on the services they provide to the many survivors in LaPlata and San Juan (Colorado) counties. Working with a bare bones budget, AH has not had to cut any services and that is why we need your help more than ever.

We have been around since 1978 and are the primary provider of non-residential 24/7/365 services for LaPlata and San Juan counties. In 2024, AHC provided comprehensive services to 300 new survivors of domestic violence, and the 24-hour support line received 877 calls. If you think that domestic violence is an isolated crime in our communities, the numbers speak for themselves, crossing all levels of economic status, race, or age. Although we may never stop intimate partner violence, we can certainly help those who are victims to become survivors of this crime. Continuing to offer these services is crucial. Your help is greatly needed for us to continue to offer these services free of charge to anyone needing them. There are several ways to donate. The Colorado Gives Campaign (coloradogives.org) is an easy way to give and donations can be made anytime during the year. You can mail a check to Alternative Horizons, P.O. Box 503, Durango, CO 81302. 100% of all donations go toward serving those in our community who need help and support. If you want to do more, we are always looking for volunteer advocates to help with our 24-hour support line.

From all of us on the Alternative Horizons Board of Directors, we thank you for your continued support. The staff at AHC, both paid and volunteer, are amazing and are committed to helping victims and survivors of domestic violence. If you know someone who may need our services or to educate yourself, please visit and share our Facebook and Instagram sites and our 24/7 Support Line at 970-247-9619.

Alternative Horizons Board of Directors
Rita Warfield, President
Michael Wanger, Vice- President
Tom Helms, Treasurer
Mandi McKinley,Secretary
Sally Frey
Tina Martinez
Dianne Heleno
Bob Simmons

2025 STATS (SOME SURVIVORS RECEIVED MORE THAN ONE TYPE OF SERVICE FROM AHC STAFF AND VOLUNTEER ADVOCATES
*ADVOCACY/SUPPORT SERVICES 80
*CIVIL LEGAL SERVICES 44
*CIVIL PROTECTION ORDERS 20
*CRIMINAL LEGAL SERVICES 167
*HARD-TO-REACH COMMUNITIES 36 *PHONE SERVICES 877 (DUPLICATED CALLERS)
*PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING SERVICES *25

Together, We Make a Difference