Back in 1967, Lilly Flores and her husband purchased their home near Sloan’s Lake and haven’t left since.
Flores found peace walking around the lake, cooking and hosting friends for meals in her backyard, and raising her two children in the home. Today, she continues to find solitude in her home, enjoying peaceful moments reading on her porch and watching birds fly by in her yard. The house is more than just memories for the family — it’s a place Flores plans to one day pass down to her son and grandson.
“It would mean a lot to pass it down. (My son) would have a home to live in,” said Flores. “So, it will stay in the family. That makes me happy.”
While Flores still enjoys life in the comfort of her own home, the exterior of the property was beginning to deteriorate. The house needed painting, and Flores, who suffers from arthritis and recently had a total knee replacement, didn’t have the wherewithal to complete the task herself.
Enter Brothers Redevelopment’s Paint-A-Thon. Flores was already familiar with the resource, because the organization had painted her house before in 2010. She applied again, and before she knew it, volunteers from Denver Housing Authority and Heritage Title Company were in her front yard painting her home and giving it the love it deserves.
The project was especially meaningful for Flores because her aging home sits next to a newly built house, and she wanted hers to look cared for too.
“I’m telling you, Brothers Redevelopment, it is an awesome, awesome nonprofit organization. I wouldn’t have been able to afford all this paint,” said Flores. “I love my home even though it’s old. And now that I have it painted, I love it even better. It is so remarkable.”
Flores’ home is one of dozens of homes Brothers Redevelopment’s Paint-A-Thon has painted so far this year. The program is set to paint more than 100 homes this year thanks to the help of hundreds of volunteers.
Among those volunteers who painted Flores’ home was Denver Housing Authority’s Chris Pacheco, who grew up in the neighborhood where she lives. As a child, his father taught him and his brother to help older adults with chores like shoveling and painting — a tradition he continues today through the Paint-A-Thon.
“We didn’t know we were poor, but we were raised to help others and give back,” Pacheco said. “For me, it’s a good feeling, and I’ll keep doing it as long as I am able to.”