Home Modification and Repair - Brothers Redevelopment

Prior to moving to Colorado from California, Josephine was asked to be a foster parent to a pair of sisters before she took legal guardianship over them as a single parent.

The sisters currently live with Josephine along with her granddaughter at her Thornton home. She says her resources are very limited and because of that, repairing her home’s damaged roof was financially impossible.

“I bought the house as is, and it was cheaper to buy than rent. So, I kind of got stuck with a house that needs a lot of work that wasn’t disclosed on the sale,” said Josephine. “I am now in a bind for repairs.”

Fortunately for Josephine, she learned of the Thornton Help for Homes Program — a longstanding service that allows Brothers Redevelopment’s Home Modification and Repair Program, in partnership with the City of Thornton, to provide home safety, deferred maintenance and accessibility for residents in need. And through the program, Josephine’s damaged roof received much needed, free repairs toward the end of October.

The previous roof had been altered during a past remodel or attempted remodel and was not code compliant in structural integrity. It was starting to cave in from inside and was damaged on the exterior from age and weather. The roof was also missing many tiles and the gutters were detached or missing.

Josephine said her roof repairs made a huge difference — and without Brothers and the City of Thornton, she wouldn’t have had any other way of making the repairs.

“My stress was literally through the roof. My health was declining, I was losing my hair, and it was worrisome with the fires that were happening and the Fourth of July,” said Josephine. “Since it’s been repaired, it’s taken a huge amount of stress off my shoulders.”

Outside of the roof repair, Brothers staff installed adhesive weather stripping on all exterior door surrounds and caulked all window surrounds to improve the overall heat seal for the home.

Eligible Thornton residents interested in the program can apply for it here. To contact the Home Modification and Repair Program, dial 303-685-4225 or email HMR@brothersredevelopment.org.

“I can’t explain how easy this process was and how grateful I am on behalf of my children and myself. It’s a God send,” said Josephine. “(Brothers) found resources and got this approved. I’m eternally grateful.”

Arthur Saiz’s decorated career in the United States Army included time providing communications support and training during the Korean War, Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm until he retired in 1993 after 36 years of service.

Saiz was stationed at Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City, Utah and at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in his hometown of Commerce City where he trained around 2,000 soldiers on infantry equipment and communications. Today, the award-winning Veteran enjoys paying homage to his Native American roots by creating and selling jewelry and art. But even though the 83-year-old lives independently, he admits he needs help.

“When I was young, I never depended on anybody. I did plumbing, electrical work, built my shed,” said Saiz. “I like to do a lot of stuff, but I get tired — even when I clean and do work around the house.”

Saiz survives off his military pension and has wanted to expand and update his bathroom for years but couldn’t afford to do so until he learned of Brothers Redevelopment and its Home Modification and Repair Program (HMR).

This past summer, Brothers saved Saiz nearly $8,000 by performing bathroom modifications in his house that will help him continue to live independently and stay in his home. Saiz received plumbing services, grab bars in his shower, an entire new bathroom floor, new wall tile, an ADA toilet, a new vanity countertop and sink combo and much more through HMR. Brothers’ Paint-A-Thon Program also painted Saiz’s house and provided yard work services through volunteers from ANB Bank.

The HMR Program has operated in Commerce City since 2019 and has provided 71 households with home modifications and repairs that are aimed at keeping people in their homes. Commerce City’s Quality Community Foundation, which provides grants to fund various nonprofits that benefit Commerce City residents, is also a sponsor for the 2021 Paint-A-Thon season.

“I’ve lived in this home for 24 years, and I didn’t want to leave and deal with a landlord,” said Saiz. “I felt real happy when Brothers did all this work for me.”

Westminster City Council has approved a 2021 annual action plan for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds that will support Brothers Redevelopment’s Home Modification and Repair Program (HMR) in the city.

The plan — which will provide the city’s Emergency and Essential Home Repair Program with an additional $40,000 in funds — was approved at a July 26 Westminster City Council meeting. HMR administers funds on behalf of Westminster’s Emergency and Essential Home Repair Program. The funding will allow Brothers Redevelopment to continue to provide low-income senior homeowners with free crucial home repairs and modifications.

HMR Manager Jason McCullough addressed Westminster City Council during a public comment period ahead of the plan’s approval.

“We have a saying with Brothers Redevelopment. ‘We help those that no one else can help.’ With these funds, with the city, you are allowing us to do this work and continue to help people age in place in Westminster,” McCullough said to Westminster City Council.

The HMR Program has operated in Westminster since February 2020. Last year, the program provided nine Westminster residents with home repairs and modifications like wheelchair ramps, bathroom expansions, grab bars and more.

Brothers Redevelopment owns an affordable community in Westminster and has painted the exterior of two homes in the city for low-income and disabled residents this year through its Paint-A-Thon Program.

Qualifying Westminster residents can apply for the HMR Program by dialing 303-202-6340 or 1-844-926-6632.

Around seven years ago, the Schierling family woke up to a shocking and horrifying situation when Elvira Schierling — the wife of Brothers Redevelopment founder Don Schierling — suddenly forgot how to walk.

“She had dementia. She literally woke up one morning and was doing this side shuffle,” said Sonja Schierling, Don and Elvira’s daughter. “I was like okay, what’s going on?”

The Schierling house is two stories tall, and Elvira wouldn’t have had a way to enter the home until the family purchased a wheelchair lift that her and Don used until their last days. When Don passed in February, the lift sat unused at the house. But just like the Schierling’s have done for decades, they thought of others in need and Brothers Redevelopment while the lift was unused.

The Schierling family donated the lift to Brothers Redevelopment’s Home Modification and Repair Program who will give the item to a client in need and install it for them at no charge. The program serves seniors across the Front Range by providing free, high quality home safety related repairs and mobility/accessibility modifications.

On June 15, employees from the program went to the Schierling house to pick up the lift that will be stored until it can be placed and installed.

“We are humbled and honored to have been approached by the Schierling family as the recipient of such a generous and impactful donation. This Vertical Platform Lift that allowed our late founder Don Schierling and his late wife to access their home with safety and independence will now go to another household in need,” said Home Modification and Repair Program Manager Jason McCullough.

“This will allow someone who is at this moment wrestling with limited or declining mobility the freedom of access to and from their home with ease and comfort. We will use this donation to further the mission of Brothers Redevelopment and continue the good work Don was so passionate about throughout his lifetime of service,” he added.

Earlier this year, the Schierling family also donated a vehicle that is being used by Brothers Redevelopment’s Paint-A-Thon Program — a longstanding free service that sees volunteers paint the outside of homes for senior and disabled homeowners.

“These donations would’ve made (Don) so happy and proud. This is what dad wanted — anything to help Brothers,” said Sonja.

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*CDOT awarded Brothers a $2 million grant to preserve the historic GES neighborhood amid Interstate-70 expansion

**Brothers’ Home Modification and Repair is fixing what’s broken!

***Paint-A-Thon volunteers making a difference here!

DENVER, April 25 — Alongside the disruption of construction and the tangles of traffic with I-70’s overhaul, good things are also happening for residents in Globeville Elyria-Swansea, as nonprofit Brothers Redevelopment Inc. works to preserve and stabilize their neighborhoods.

Beginning in mid-March and building momentum this April, Brothers has begun protecting and prettifying GES homes with its volunteer-powered Paint-A-Thon exterior makeovers and its Home Modification and Repair pros.

This Saturday, April 27, the Peña home at 4975 Steele Street in Denver gets a shiny coat of paint from a Paint-A-Thon volunteer team made up of alumni from the University of Central Florida. Mr. Peña has been a real team player, and we’re grateful to him for helping us get the word out that Brothers is on the ground to help out homeowners in this distinctive historical neighborhood.

Richard and Mary Ellen Pena have lived in their GES neighborhood their whole lives. They love their home, yard, garden and neighbors. Richard worked in the trades his entire life until a serious back injury disabled him.

Between blizzards in March, Brothers harnessed the power of students on spring break to paint the Montoya home in a GES Paint-A-Thon. We have another GES project already on the books for May 18 with 25 volunteers leaving the bench and bar for a Saturday Paint-A-Thon. When not sprucing up homes, this volunteer crew, the Rhone Brackett Inn of Court, promotes ethics, skills and professionalism in the legal field.

Brothers invested almost $10,000 to make over a bathroom for Mrs. Medina, a senior resident with a long history in this neighborhood. And, elsewhere in the area, HMR is hard at work improving overall conditions and safety in the basement of another elderly neighbor’s home.

This is just the start for Brothers. We are planning more projects, tapping the $2 million grant that the Colorado Department of Transportation awarded us to help prevent displacement of GES residents.

Brothers is part of the GES Affordable Housing Collaborative, a partnering with community members in the GES Coalition and the Colorado Community Land Trust (CCLT).

The generous $2 million CDOT grant awarded Brothers is for mitigation of impacts due to the expansion of Interstate 70 through the neighborhoods. It enables the collaborative to acquire single-family homes for placement in the neighborhood land trust, by which residents may own their dwellings and even resell them, while the land itself remains in trust for the community.
The partners will set aside an estimated $300,000 to rehabilitate houses and preserve the hard-earned equity of existing homeowners.
Other portions of the grant will be applied toward new construction/redevelopment of parcels/properties that also will provide affordable housing for dozens of families in the neighborhood.

Home Modification and Repair Program saves Thornton woman’s roof

Award winning U.S. Army Veteran receives updated housing services from Brothers Redevelopment

HMR receives additional funding from Westminster

Schierling family donates wheelchair lift to Brothers

Nonprofit Brothers Redevelopment’s crews at work on the ground in GES