As a single mother earning minimum wage as a teacher and paying for full-time childcare, Melinda Howard didn’t have a lot of extra money left over for home repairs — especially amid a global pandemic that has left many families struggling to make ends meet. But when the brick on her historic home in Denver’s Lincoln Park neighborhood urgently needed repairing, the mom of two put what money she did have saved into the project. Unfortunately, the careless work of a bad contractor left her with a hole in her roof, and Melinda quickly found herself under water — literally and figuratively.
Desperate for help and at a loss for what to do, Melinda took to Google for answers and was directed to the Denver Urban Renewal Authority’s (DURA) Emergency Home Repair (EHR) program, which provides income-qualifying homeowners with 0%-interest, perpetually deferred loans of up to $10,000 to make essential emergency repairs.
Melinda contacted DURA and completed an application with the help of one of our housing rehabilitation staff. DURA, which manages all work by the contractor from start to finish, brought out a skilled contractor to fix the damage to Melinda’s roof. In addition to the EHR program, Melinda also qualified for a grant through the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program, which evaluates and mitigates lead-poisoning risks and other health and safety hazards in older homes with children under the age of 6. Through this program, DURA replaced deteriorating windows in the home, as well as provided lead abatement and removal services, interior and exterior paint, a new rear entry door, weather sealing around the whole house, and completed safety inspections of her furnace and water heater – all at no cost to Melinda.
“The whole experience made me feel safe,” said Melinda. “As a single parent and woman, having workers in and out of the house can be scary. But I always felt good because I knew I could call DURA.”
Without DURA’s help, Melinda said she would have been forced to sell her beloved home – the home her children were born in and the only one they’ve ever known. Not only that, without completing these repairs, she would have had to sell for a lot less than the home is worth.
“We love it here. If we’d had to sell the house, we couldn’t even afford to rent in this neighborhood,” said Melinda. “This gave us some peace of mind and allowed us to build some equity.”
For more than 40 years, DURA has been helping homeowners like Melinda stay in their homes through affordable loans and grants for both emergency repairs and non-emergency home improvements and upgrades. Contact DURA today for more information about any of our housing rehabilitation programs and to see if you qualify.