A Central Springs woman reached out to News5 after receiving a concerning phone call from a man claiming to be with the U.S. Marshals Service and the Department of Justice. He told her she missed jury duty and had a warrant out for her arrest.

Jennifer Cecil discovered the man who called her was not a sergeant with the El Paso County Sheriffs Office because she went straight to the source.

I thought, well, gosh, I'll just go on down to the sheriff's office. It's right here," Cecil said.

In the meantime, Cecil was still on the phone, and the caller kept transferring her up the so-called chain of command.

He wanted me to go to my bank and pull out $15,000, Cecil said.

Cecil also received a text message with a picture of a so-called arrest warrant. The warrants have some discrepancies.

Im just really meticulous with fonts and formatting in life and at work, and so I noticed that the fonts didn't all match up and it didn't look like a standard filled-in form, Cecil said.

She tells News5 she also noticed the signature of the U.S. Marshal belongs to a man who serves in the western district of Pennsylvania.

She says the man on the phone also mispronounced Vermijo Avenue which was her final straw to go inside the sheriff's office.

The El Paso County Sheriffs Office calls it a jury duty warrant scam. The sheriffs office says they were not the ones to make this call or any others that might be going around.

Over the last several years my name's been used, recently the sheriff's name has been used in some of them. Most everybody in the office whose name is out there publicly, their name gets used in these scams, Kurt Smith, the public informaton officer for the sheriff's office, said.

"It's not me," Smith said.

While this is not a new scam, the sheriff's office tells me they get calls about it every day.

About a third of the phone calls we receive a day through our front desk or through different areas of the office is to confirm whether or not the person calling them was legitimate, Smith said.

The sheriff's office posted about the scam last month on Facebook. They say they will never request money for any reason, and no law enforcement agency will call or text people to say they owe taxes, missed jury duty, or have a warrant out for someone's arrest.

In all of these cases we want the public to reach out and ask and verify who they're talking to so we can cut down on these scams and we don't continually have this issue throughout our community, Smith said.

They can, like Cecil, report this scam through the FCC.

Cecil is glad she did not fall for the trick and says others need to stay skeptical and vigilant when receiving calls that could be suspicious.

Having the luxury of suspending my disbelief, I figured that the justice would prevail if I came inside that the sheriff's office would be a rational place of people who could explain it to me better in person than I was absorbing it over the phone if it was real, Cecil said.

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Silver Linings Recovery Center has opened its second sober living space in Central Colorado Springs, providing free housing and support for 30 men transitioning from homelessness, conviction, and addiction.

The new facility, Complete Recovery Systems, offers beds, showers, and a full-size kitchen to help residents grow on their sobriety journey.

"Away from drugs, away from fighting, away from abuse, away from theft, away from violence," Adam Alexander said, "Create an environment that is now normalized to being a productive member of society as opposed to being normalized as a drug addict or a convict," said Adam Alexander.

Alexander is the owner and director of Silver Linings Recovery and Complete Recovery Systems. News5 visited the organization's first sober living facility in January, and Alexander said it is full steam ahead with this new space.

Michael Miller, a resident who lived on the streets for 15 years, recently moved into the new facility. He and others who live there get to do so free of charge. As long as they remain sober and continue pursuing their goals.

"A baby has to crawl before it walks, and I believe right now that's where I'm at. I'm in a crawling stage with six and a half months sober," said Miller.

Miller said the facility provides a much-needed sense of community and stability.

"They've got me in a routine now where I get up and I make my bed. For so long I didn't have a bed. I got up and I made my bed this morning with crisp sheets," said Miller.

He tells News5 his goal is to get a drivers license and find a job in the next few months. And with the help of counselors, clinicians, and others at Silver Linings Recovery Center, he says he will get there. But at first glance when arriving to the facility Wednesday?

"I wanted to be fast, like what's around the next corner, you know, like a kid at Christmas, that's how I felt too with the sheets, opening the sheets up. Even though I had never really had that, but now I got a sense of feeling it yesterday and it was a nice feeling," said Miller.

He said he has never slept so soundly than he did on his first night at Complete Recovery Systems.

"That's the best first night. I'll never forget it, you know, because I slept straight through. That's how comfortable and peaceful that I slept last night," said Miller.

Malachi Cisneros, the house manager, emphasized the importance of having a space to support others who used to be homeless so they can stay on the right path. He is four months sober and said he is excited to continue on this path for his daughter.

"We all kind of are able to have a safe space, open up and really start to understand our emotions. To be able to look back at our life of being an addict. Trying to do it by yourself is very hard and I say that from a personal standpoint having guys around you that you may never know what they've been through," said Cisneros.

Alexander said the men moving in are making a conscious choice to change their lives. Most are coming from the first opened Complete Recovery Systems on North Nevada Avenue.

"This is something that they chose to do. So as much as we can create resources, we can create a facility, we can create an opportunity, these strong-willed men that made the choice to say, 'I want to do something different with my life'. So we want to provide them the space to be able to do that," said Alexander.

He relates it back to his past, going through incarceration and addiction.

"If every time someone turned their back on me because they were right, I would have just given it up. Then I wouldn't be here today. And along the way, each time there's been somebody who said, well, you didn't earn it and you're not worth it, but I'm not going to turn my back on you," said Alexander.

The community can learn more about the programs offered by Silver Linings Recovery Center at the Stronger Together Summit on April 25 in Acacia Park.

The event will feature food, vendors, a bounce castle, poetry readings, musicians, face painting, and recovery advocates. They are looking for vendors and more people who want to participate.

"There's even relationships in the recovery community that are tattered. A lot of people have worked together and then relationships failed. We invited all those people too, and they'll be there because they also recognize that we're stronger together, and it's not about me, it's not about you, it's not about our relationship, it's about this community and what we can do to save people's lives," said Alexander.

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Seven local organizations and nonprofits in Middle Shooks Run have until the end of June to find new office space as the city prepares to sell their building to address a budget shortfall.

The properties at 702 and 704 East Boulder Street, known as the "Sustainacenter" and the former headquarters for the Office of Sustainability, have housed these local groups for years.

The groups include:

"Over the years transitioned into really kind of a nonprofit space for, for a multitude of organizations here in town. Trails and Open Space Coalition is just one of those. We've been here, you know, probably 10 plus years," Glenn Carlson said.

Carlson is the executive director of the Trails and Open Space Coalition. He acknowledged the reality of the city's financial situation.

"Different economic cycles create different budget demands, and that's just where we're at right now. We're incredibly grateful that we've been allowed to use this space for a long time, absolutely below market rents," Carlson said.

News5 reached out to the city to hear why they are selling the homes.

The space has been a financial lifesaver for groups like Hey Neighbor and the Fountain Creek Watershed District.

"It's in-kind donation through the city, so the city's been really generous to let us have this office space in-kind. So that's really helpful for us small nonprofits with low budgets, and that has been hugely impactful for us," Kelly Bull said.

Bull is the executive director of Hey Neighbor. She added that finding real estate is a challenge for the organizations.

"We wear a lot of hats and commercial real estate is not one of them. I would love to have someone take that part off of our plates," Bull said.

The nonprofits are currently searching for a new location where they can continue to work closely together and bounce ideas off each other. They are asking the community for help/

"It's more than just a workspace, it's a hub for collaboration, education, volunteer engagement, coordination, and so much more," Mary Wilson said.

Wilson is the outreach coordinator for the Fountain Creek Watershed District. She says there are many benefits of sharing a workspace.

"There's all sorts of overlap and the collaboration has just been amazing because of the proximity of us being so close," Bull said.

"Yeah, it's amazing how even the formal conversations can lead to such impactful projects, especially in the community," Wilson said.

The city will be auctioning off the homes here within a month. But the organizations won't have to move out until June 30.

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Community members gathered at the steps of City Hall in Colorado Springs for the No Kings Rally, voicing concerns over the country's political direction, climate change, and the future of democracy.

"Its love. It's people pulling together for what they honestly feel is right and not doing it with any hate in their hearts and standing up for what they believe in and doing it together, and that's what it means to be human," said Drew Harper.

The rally featured chants, songs from a choir, and speeches from community members.

"This is a great doorway. It's a doorway to revolution. It's a doorway to solidarity," said Jordan Russell. "The whole country did not vote for this. We did not vote for this. This is not what America wanted. America said neither choice was good enough, and they're coming out and saying that again today (Saturday)."

Sky Roberts, the brother of Epstein survivor Virginia Roberts Giuffre, also delivered a speech to the crowd.

"So when someone looks you in the eye and tells you you're too small, you're too powerless, or you're just too late, you look them right back and you say what Virginia would say, 'watch me'," said Roberts.

People at the rally said they were happy to see so many community members out downtown. Drew Harper attended the rally to share his voice, hand out supplies to keep people hydrated, and give out bear hugs.

"This type of energy is what helps us keep moving on and reminding ourselves that people are inherently good, even if what we're seeing all the time is inherently bad," said Harper. "When it's really hot, I will bring out little fans, but the idea is just to make sure that people are taken care of, that we're energizing the people out here, burning their own energy to do what's right, especially if the environment is a little less conducive."

News5 saw some counterprotesters driving past and on Nevada Avenue. They did not want to talk on camera, but they said their biggest concern is illegal immigration.

For others at the rally, climate change was top of mind.

"It's warm in March. I think global warming actually exists. Maybe do something about it. Stop going backwards. We're starting to move backwards and we need to keep moving forwards," said Courtney and Kathryn Grant.

When asked what they hope comes from the rally, attendees expressed a desire for lasting impact.

"I hope that this keeps up and that I do believe that these types of events make a difference, that our voices are in fact heard from people who are oppressing us and that democracy has a future," said Harper.

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