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Unique Thanksgiving Table Puts Inmates, Family, & Habitat For Humanity Side By Side

BASALT, Colo. (CBS4) - A unique Thanksgiving table in Basalt was full of convicts from a state prison instead of family members, where being thankful took on a new meaning.

The prayer, the food, and the setting were all so normal. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary, until you find out who these people are, and more importantly what has brought them all together around this table.

A year ago, the people sharing a Thanksgiving table were strangers, uneasy of each other for many reasons. Scott Gilbert now considers the people he's sharing this meal with to be his friends.

"Never in my life knew what a prison was, what prisoners were like, never imagined I would be working alongside prisoners, but you guys make us better people," he said.

Scott and other volunteers with Habitat For Humanity have worked side by side with men serving hard time for making mistakes in their pasts, which they're working hard to make right.

"A lot of times you watch TV and see all the bad things happening in the world … a lot of great things happening people don't know about," Gilbert said.

Scott says he's been able to watch this crew of inmates transform.

habitat for humanity thanksgiving with inmates
(credit: CBS)

The inmates are in a special program created by Habitat For Humanity where they spend hundreds of hours working to build homes for families in desperate need.  In turn, the inmates are learning valuable skills.

LINK: habitatroaringfork.org

Once they complete the program, they will be certified by the state for building codes. It's a program that everyone around the table, from the prison guards to the convicts, agrees is paying off in more ways than anyone could have imagined.

Those involved have a lot to be thankful for, from the state prison inmates to the family who will soon call this home their own, working together to make one of the best Thanksgivings ever.

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