A young, blue-eyed woman is making her way around town, knocking on doors, extending her hand and introducing herself to Telluride’s Spanish-speaking population.

She’s not pitching some pyramid scheme or slinging Tupperware. Lauren Shaddox is just trying to say hello to everyone, let them know her name and tell them that she’s here to help.

Shaddox is the new cultural outreach coordinator for the San Miguel Resource Center, which has provided victims of domestic or sexual violence in the county with counseling, referral services, safe housing and an anonymous hotline since 1993. SMRC serves some 200 people a year from every corner of the county.

Shaddox takes the place of Karla Gonzalez, an active Peruvian immigrant who had held the job for nearly four years, building it up to a well-used and well-trusted community resource.

Roughly one fourth of the Resource Center’s clients are Spanish speakers, and as outreach coordinator, Shaddox is there to interpret counseling sessions, help Spanish speakers understand their rights, answer questions and take phone calls in Spanish.
Or do whatever she can to help. Shaddox wants to act as an all-around resource, she says.

“I’m interested in helping everyone right now,” she says. “If they come in with a question, I’ll try to help.”

Nancy Anderson, Executive Director of SMRC, said that Shaddox’s skill set and passion for helping made her a perfect candidate for the job. 

“She has fantastic Spanish skills, she has lots of experience with Spanish-speaking cultures. She had all the experience we were looking for. In addition … she has such a heart for what we’re all about here. Women’s justice, immigrant rights, for really providing service,” Anderson said. “We’re excited to have her.”

Shaddox, who turns 25 today, was born near Dallas and spent her childhood in a Texas town where Spanish was always floating around the air. She started speaking Spanish in pre-school, learning from her teacher, and just kept learning it from teachers and friends through elementary and high school. She went to college at the University of Colorado in Boulder, majoring in Spanish, and spent a year of her education living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, attending a public university. Throughout her education she’s nurtured a growing interest for women’s rights.

Following college, she moved to Denver, and worked for Girls, Inc. of Metro Denver, an organization that provides after-school, summer and community outreach programs to girls ages 6 to 18. During her time in Denver, Shaddox worked primarily with Spanish families and their daughters, making connections in her neighborhood as she helped girls with schoolwork and programs.

Her mom and stepdad, Daphne Davis and Dan Wilson, live in Ridgway, and during college, Shaddox spent a summer in Telluride. Recently, she started considering moving closer to them. And when she was here on a visit in April, she saw the ad for the job at SMRC. She put in a phone call and ended up moving here at the end of June for the position.

“This is a wonderful challenge and a great opportunity that I really care about, to help women, help families, help immigrants,” Shaddox said.
Shaddox is approachable, soft-spoken and nice, and when you talk to her, it becomes clear that she genuinely enjoys helping people, and especially those live in her community.

“It’s really nice to be in a small town where I get to meet people. You have a really great opportunity to just help out,” she said.

She is currently training to become a SMRC advocate. The 40-hour training, which features speakers and videos and homework, qualifies participants as Sexual and Domestic Violence Advocates who can man the center’s 24-hour crisis line.

In the meantime, Shaddox is busy with her first objective: meeting everyone she can and making connections in the Spanish-speaking community.

She welcomes anyone who wants to meet her to stop by her office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, or give her a call, 728-5842, extension 5#.