How JEWISHcolorado supports safety and security throughout the community

It was January of 2024, and Sarah Hess, Director of Operations at Congregation Beth Evergreen, arrived at work one morning, opened her email, and discovered that the congregation had received a bomb threat.

“It read like rubbish,” Hess says. “I thought it was likely a hoax.”

But when Hess picked up the phone and called Kevin Farrington at JEWISHcolorado, he told her to hang up that instant.

“He said that it didn’t matter if it sounded like a hoax,” Hess recalls. “He told me to dial 911.”

Sarah Hess

That particular day would produce a wave of antisemitic threats to Jewish institutions across the metro area. Hess was among the first to call authorities. Police responded immediately with bomb detection dogs and within two hours, Congregation Beth Evergreen and the onsite preschool had been cleared and declared safe. Still, the experience left Hess rattled.

“I learned that my voice chokes when I call 911 with a building full of kids,” she says. “That day was a learning experience for everyone in the local Jewish community. It was a rehearsal.” What is perhaps important about that day is the fact that Hess immediately had a contact person to help her when she wasn’t entirely sure what to do.

A retired FBI agent, Kevin Farrington is a Regional Security Advisor with Secure Community Network (SCN), the official safety and security organization of the Jewish community in North America. SCN partners with Jco in the Regional Safety & Security Initiative providing assessment, training, and grant application support to nonprofit organizations across Colorado. Farrington and SCN Regional Director Phil Niedringhaus have a longstanding relationship with Congregation Beth Evergreen that dates back to even before Hess started her job.

“There were a number of security measures that needed to happen at Congregation Beth Evergreen when I arrived,” Hess says. “I walked into a situation where I knew the direction we had to take, I had people to help me take it, and I had the funding to do it. I was ecstatic.”

‘A whole organization watching my back’

Sarah Hess landed at Beth Evergreen after a life-altering family move from New Orleans to Evergreen, Colorado. Her husband left his career as an attorney to train to become a chef, and she left a passion project—a 100,000-square-foot co-op for 275 artists which she had started with a mentor after Hurricane Katrina. At only 4,000 square feet, Beth Evergreen offered Hess much less space to manage, but she faced one of the same challenges she had in New Orleans—security was paramount.

Fortunately for her, Congregation Beth Evergreen already had a security committee, and a retired attorney on the committee had worked with JEWISHcolorado and SCN to receive funds from the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP), federal funding administered by the state to support security enhancements and activities at nonprofit organizations that are at high risk of a terrorist attack. When Hess walked in the door on her first day, she already had grant money to upgrade security at Beth Evergreen.

She called Phil Niedringhaus at JEWISHcolorado.

“Phil came out, walked the property with me,” Hess recalls. “In an urban setting, you can build a fence around your property, but we have elk wandering around, so we didn’t feel like fencing was an option.” Niedringhaus helped Hess come up with some solutions to secure the property and allow the elk to continue to roam. The congregation also has a popular outdoor amphitheater which it was able to protect by installing boulders and trees that fit with the environment.

When Niedringhaus took on more responsibility for the region, Hess got a call from Farrington who introduced himself and, again, made a trip to Evergreen to walk the property.

“We talked about what was working and what could be improved,” Hess says. “Kevin is super smart and considerate, and I really feel like I have a whole organization watching my back.”

Farrington suggested installing “Stop the Bleed” boxes in the sanctuary. He also recommended upgrades to the building like reinforced doors. And he set up trainings for the congregation, including training for active shooters, de-escalation training, CPR, and First Aid.

“We only have a three-person staff,” Hess says. “But now I know I can count on the people who have been trained. I have a team of people who will know what to do and can keep a cool head in an emergency.”

For Hess, the NSGP funding was so effective, she applied a second year, but didn’t receive additional funding because she was not able to demonstrate a high enough threat level. Then, October 7th happened.

‘They know the best deterrents’

“I called Kevin on October 8,” Hess says. “He said, ‘Get armed security.’”

Hess could not make a unilateral decision on armed security, so it was helpful to have a security committee.

“It’s a group of like-minded people focused on one agenda,” she says. “When you take a proposal to the congregation, you are informing them, and you can say, ‘This is what SCN has recommended.’”

After October 7th, there were members of the congregation who pointed out they had never needed armed security in the 50 years of Congregation Beth Evergreen’s existence. There were others who said, “I’m not coming unless there is armed security.”

In the end, Hess was able to say, “I have nothing to do with this decision. October 7th happened, and protocols have changed.”

Now, there is armed security for the religious school, family Shabbats, and events.

After she was turned down for a second NSGP, Hess searched for alternative funding without any luck, so she was pleased when Congregation Beth Evergreen’s third application for an NSGP grant was approved. Currently, NSGP funding is caught up in a federal freeze. JEWISHcolorado’s umbrella organization, Jewish Federations of North America, is working closely with the administration and Congress on a bipartisan basis to ensure that these critical funds will continue to offer life-saving value.

For her part, Sarah Hess believes she knows what to do in an emergency but hopes that she will “never have to test that theory.” Her confidence rests on a foundation that was laid before she arrived and which she has strengthened in collaboration with JEWISHcolorado’s Regional Safety & Security program and the SCN.

“They are just that good,” she says. “They know the best deterrents. They know what needs to happen to make your community as secure as possible.”