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DENVER (KDVR) — The Coats for Colorado campaign is at the halfway point and this year’s number of coats has fallen behind last year’s donations.  

Nonprofit groups like Urban Impact depend on the generosity of the Coats for Colorado campaign to keep their clients warm.

Perspective is something James Gutierrez has while helping out at Dependable Cleaners for the Coats for Colorado drive.

”This is my fifth year with Coats for Colorado with Kasina here at Dependable Cleaners. Every year it has just been a blessing,” Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez knows what it is like to live on the outside. A former gang member, he was almost murdered, fathered a child at 16-years-old and has been charged with multiple felonies. 

”Gun charges, assault charges, violence, it’s all violence,” Gutierrez said.

”I almost lost my job, my car, my kids, my place. I almost lost it all,” Gutierrez said about his life in 2016.

James Gutierrez is now a reverend and leads Urban Impact, helping youth who have followed in his footsteps. The nonprofit will receive coats from Dependable Cleaners and Coats for Colorado.

“Some of them don’t have the opportunity or the means to have one or to buy one, so to have a nice gently used jacket, it’s perfect for them,” Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez credits God for changing him from the inside out, and Coats for Colorado for keeping his charges warm from the outside in.