Housing Counseling - Brothers Redevelopment

2023 was a year of groundbreaking initiatives, colorful transformations, and unwavering support for our community from Brothers Redevelopment.

We started the year with ambitious goals, fueled by our belief that everyone deserves a safe, decent place to live. We ventured into uncharted territories as we proudly unveiled Valor on the Fax — the nation’s only affordable housing community crafted for individuals with acquired brain injuries or related disabilities. And we tackled complex housing challenges head-on. From aiding those on the brink of housing insecurity to assisting older adults in maintaining their homes through essential repairs and modifications, we navigated through complexities with dedication and compassion.

The 42,277 individuals we had the privilege to serve this year are far more than mere statistics. They are families who got to keep their housing, individuals rediscovering hope and purpose, and older adults enjoying an enhanced quality of life.

As always, we at Brothers Redevelopment are thankful for the support of our partners, volunteers, donors, and others who allowed us to move onward and upward in 2023. Here’s a glimpse into some of the highlights that made our year so special.

Unveiling Valor on the Fax: A Milestone Celebration for Affordable Housing and Trauma-Informed Design

*Brothers Redevelopment President Jeff Martinez (middle) cuts the ribbon for Valor on the Fax, our newest affordable housing community for people with acquired brain injury and related disability.*

A cornerstone of our year was the May unveiling of Valor on the Fax where our dedicated team, community leaders and valued partners/supporters gathered to celebrate the opening of the community.

TV cameras swarmed the rooftop patio of Valor to document the incredible milestone in Colorado’s housing landscape as figures like Brothers President Jeff Martinez, Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado CEO Kate Kerkmans, and others took center stage, articulating the pressing need for this revolutionary affordable housing complex. Shortly after, crowds swarmed to the front of Valor where Martinez and others finally cut the ribbon to open the new, 72-unit building.

Valor on the Fax, located at 7900 E. Colfax Ave., is the result of a collaboration between Brothers and the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado. The supportive housing community provides services to tenants, their families, and providers while employing trauma informed design — meaning the building was designed to reduce symptoms of brain injury.

Our tenants at the community receive comprehensive services from the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado, like resource navigation, job training, and recreational and wellness activities. Tenants also receive housing resources from Brothers like rent and utility assistance, homebuyer classes, and much more.

To learn more about this transformative community, visit http://valoronthefax.com/.

Brothers Property Management Expands Affordable Housing Impact Across Colorado, Welcoming New Communities in 2023

In 2023, Brothers Property Management’s portfolio grew to offer more than 1,000 affordable units to families, youth experiencing homelessness, low-income older adults, and other Coloradans in need of affordable housing. Pictured is Greenway Flats at 31 W. Las Vegas St. in Colorado Springs which holds 65 units of permanent affordable housing for chronically homeless men and women. Brothers Property Management began overseeing Greenway Flats this year.

Our commitment to affordable housing reached new heights this year that extended beyond the opening of Valor on the Fax, thanks to our dedicated staff at Brothers Property Management.

This past year, Brothers Property Management’s portfolio has grown to offer more than 1,000 affordable units to families, youth experiencing homelessness, low-income older adults, and other Coloradans in need of affordable housing. In 2023, we were awarded new property management contracts to manage additional affordable housing communities in Aurora, Boulder, Denver, Lakewood, and Colorado Springs.

Notable new communities Brothers Property Management began overseeing this year include Alameda View Apartments, Greenway Flats, and SPARKwest.

Alameda View Apartments — located at 15501 E. Alameda Parkway in Aurora — is a 116-unit, Low Income Housing Tax Credit family community. Meanwhile, Greenway Flats at 31 W. Las Vegas St. in Colorado Springs holds 65 units of permanent affordable housing for chronically homeless men and women. And finally, SPARKwest in Boulder at 3215 Bluff St., boasts 45 units of permanent affordable housing.

Looking ahead, Brothers Redevelopment is preparing to bring a permanent supportive housing community to Arapahoe County that will provide housing and services to unhoused clients of the 18th judicial district problem solving courts, the Arapahoe County Pretrial Mental Health Program, Diversion clients of the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, the Probation Mental Health Program, Project SAFER, Veterans Treatment Court, jail re-entry, and defendants being restored to competency.

Paint-A-Thon and Home Modification and Repair Services Continue to Thrive

*Brothers Redevelopment’s 45-year-old Paint-A-Thon Program painted 116 houses for older/disabled adults in 2023.*

With every house we paint and every repair/modification we conduct, we’re not just enhancing physical spaces — we’re creating havens where families flourish and individuals thrive.

Thanks to the work of 2,621 volunteers, our Paint-A-Thon Program transformed 116 houses for low-income/disabled older adults in need. That is the most houses we have painted since 2019 when we also completed 116 projects through the service.

Simultaneously, our Home Modification and Repair Program expanded its reach into new jurisdictions, including Firestone, Boulder County, and beyond. This program, the longest of its kind in Colorado, is a vital force in preserving the homes of our older adults, allowing them to age gracefully. We completed 515 repairs/modifications in 2023, saving our clients more than $2 million.

Our Home Modification and Repair Program also further expanded the services we offer by introducing the Community Aging in Place, Advancing Better Living for Elders (CAPABLE) Program to Medicaid recipients in South Colorado Springs and Park, Teller, and El Paso counties. This zero-cost program is a client-directed home-based intervention designed to enhance mobility, function and the capacity to age in place.

CAPABLE consists of time-limited services in a series of visits from an occupational therapist, a registered nurse, and a technician from Brothers who work in collaboration with the program participant. Over a four-to-six-month period, these individuals visit the participant’s home.

A key component of this approach is having the participant drive the goal setting. The participant brainstorms strategies with team members to arrive at preferred ways to reach goals. Each action builds on the previous visits and focuses on the participants’ capacity to function at home.

If you or a loved one is interested in the CAPABLE Program, visit https://brothersredevelopment.org/capable/.

Colorado Housing Connects: Bridging Financial Gaps and Fostering Stability Amidst Housing Challenges

A Colorado Housing Connects housing counselor teaches a homebuyer education workshop. Colorado Housing Connects offers several free housing classes to help residents understand how to find affordable housing, eviction prevention webinars, and homebuyer education workshops.

For many Coloradans, the thought of paying rent or mortgage brought anxiety and fear due to inflation, soaring housing prices, and the end of several pandemic-born assistance programs. But thankfully, our most vulnerable neighbors knew to turn to a valuable resource that has served the community through crisis after crisis.

Our statewide housing helpline, Colorado Housing Connects (1-844-926-6632), continued to show its value by serving 31,704 people in 2023. Our dedicated housing navigators and housing counselors connected clients to financial assistance, eviction/foreclosure prevention resources, and much more in 60 of Colorado’s 64 counties.

Through a variety of in-house resources, Colorado Housing Connects strived to advance housing stability throughout the state. We offered housing classes to help residents understand how to find affordable housing, eviction prevention webinars, and homebuyer education workshops. And we also provided tenant-landlord mediation assistance to nearly 600 households in Adams and Denver counties, helping to divert parties away from court-sanctioned eviction proceedings and to work toward mutually agreed alternatives between renters and landlords.

Outside of the incredible achievements by our Colorado Housing Connects team, our rental/mortgage assistance team worked tirelessly to distribute financial assistance to struggling Coloradans.

This year, Brothers provided nearly $9 million in rental, mortgage, and utility assistance to renters and homeowners throughout the state. We administered funds for several rental/mortgage assistance programs, including the City of Denver’s Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance Program and the City’s Foreclosure Financial Assistance Program. Additionally, our commitment extended statewide, contributing financial assistance to Coloradans offered through Colorado’s Emergency Rental Assistance and Emergency Mortgage Assistance programs.

We know rental/mortgage assistance is more than just that — we are assisting livelihoods and creating housing stability for all Coloradans.

Empowering Lives, Unlocking Savings: Brothers’ Aging in Place Program Redefines Well-being for Older Adult Households

Brothers Redevelopment’s Aging in Place Program orchestrated an impressive $1,481,725 in cost savings, redefining well-being for our older adult clients. This figure captures the monthly benefits and services provided to our clients.

The monumental success of Brothers’ Aging in Place older adults services program is epitomized by its unparalleled impact on cost savings for older adult households.

This year, the Aging in Place Program has orchestrated an impressive $1,481,725 in cost savings, redefining well-being for our older adult clients. This figure captures the monthly benefits and services seamlessly provided to clients, resulting in a remarkable cumulative savings.

At the core of this service is the commitment to connect older adults with invaluable resources such as Medicaid, Social Security, food assistance, and rental/mortgage aid. These benefits and services, inherent rights for our clients, often eluded their grasp due to a lack of information. By bridging this knowledge gap, our program not only unlocks essential resources but more significantly, empowers older adults to claim the financial support they rightfully deserve. In doing so, Brothers’ Aging in Place Program stands as a beacon of empowerment, ushering in awareness, accessibility, and substantial savings for the older adults we proudly serve.

Brothers Redevelopment’s Visionary Path Forward: Unveiling the 2022-2027 Strategic Plan for Holistic Housing Solutions Across Colorado

To kickoff 2023, Brothers released its 2022-2027 Strategic Plan, outlining four strategic priorities and fulfilling our vision of employing a holistic approach to eliminating barriers to stable housing for low-income community members, older adults and people living with disabilities across Colorado.

The strategic priorities of the plan include:

Growing a strong and stable presence across Colorado by responding to housing needs along the I-25 corridor; working with state and local leaders to identify gaps in services across the state; and focusing on housing challenges that Brothers is positioned to address.
Serving our neighbors through reliable and innovative programs by expanding in the provision and development of affordable housing; expanding the number of units that Brothers Property Management oversees to maximize revenue and build out the department’s capacity to facilitate growth and complexity in the portfolio; identifying opportunities for Brothers program expansion that will lend to enhance service provision and spur new opportunities for future funding/revenue; continuing to build and maintain capacity for strong stewardship; and helping marginalized and excluded communities gain access to stable housing.
Broadening our funding base by focusing on self-sustaining programs and diversifying our grants base and other funding sources.
Investing in and recognizing our team by increasing unifying activities for our staff; providing flexibility to accommodate varying employee needs in a changing workplace; and committing to inclusivity.

This new plan takes into account and builds upon the tremendous organizational growth and trends we’ve experienced since 2017 to lead us into a new era of impact that will see Brothers help tens of thousands of Coloradans in the near future.

The planning process was the most comprehensive of its kind in Brothers Redevelopment’s 52-year history and was meant to incorporate the views of various stakeholders to guide the implementation of our mission. Each priority has individual goals and metrics to measure progress. Those metrics will be evaluated with our Board of Directors monthly to ensure we are on track to meet the priorities of the plan and identify any areas of improvement.

Brothers Redevelopment congratulates the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for celebrating its 10th anniversary of the Office of Housing Counseling.

In the past 10 years, Brothers’ housing helpline, Colorado Housing Connects (1-844-926-6632), has provided housing counseling services to over 20,000 clients throughout Colorado. Brothers employs HUD-certified housing counselors that went through certification to demonstrate proficiency in industry topics like the responsibilities of homeownership and tenancy, avoidance of foreclosure and eviction, financial management, and fair housing.

As a HUD-approved housing counseling agency, Brothers provides services to address a full range of housing counseling needs. Services include assisting homebuyers in evaluating their readiness for a home purchase and navigating the homebuying process, helping clients find affordable housing, offering financial literacy training, and providing foreclosure prevention counseling.

“It is easy to overlook just how involved housing counseling can be. When we hear from a client facing foreclosure, it isn’t about preserving an asset — it is about fighting for their home, the place where they meet their most basic needs, raise their family, and build their life,” said Colorado Housing Connects Program Director Patrick Noonan.

“Not only do our counselors respond to a client in crisis with empathy and compassion in each conversation, but they also pour hours into finding resolutions for a homeowner facing displacement. It is the small details that can determine whether a resolution is approved,” Noonan added. “Our counselors work incredibly hard to get the details right and to meet the client where they are in the moment.”

Brothers has provided housing counseling services since 1981. In 2006, the organization was selected by the Colorado Division of Housing to manage the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline. Through the hotline, Brothers brought together counseling agencies across the state to help hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure. As a need for rental assistance grew, Brothers expanded the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline in 2014 to cover all housing topics — leading to the launch of Colorado Housing Connects.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brothers teamed up again with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs and the Colorado Division of Housing to launch the Housing Counseling Assistance Program. Funded by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, the program involves Brothers collaborating with numerous housing counseling and legal services in Colorado to assist residents with comprehensive housing counseling, housing navigation and eviction prevention.

The service is free to all Coloradans and operated through Colorado Housing Connects. Among the housing counseling and legal services who are involved in the program include Boulder County, Douglas County Housing Partnership, NEWSED, Denver’s Southwest Improvement Council, and others.

To access Brothers’ housing counseling services, call Colorado Housing Connects at 1-844-926-6632 or visit coloradohousingconnects.org.

“Whether it was helping homeowners through the foreclosure challenges of the 2012 housing crisis, responding to the housing needs of victims of disasters, or the continuing housing relief and recovery resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, housing counselors have been there over the last decade to support families in making critical housing choices and equipping themselves for the future,” said HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing Counseling David Berenbaum in a statement. “This month, we recognize not only our role in helping people stay in their homes during times of crisis, but also in supporting a network of HUD Certified Housing Counselors who serve some 3,000 clients a day.”

Brothers Builds Hope: 42,277 Lives Impacted in a Year of Groundbreaking Initiatives and Innovative Housing Solutions