City Program To Help Keep Families In Their Homes Extended

DENVER (CBS4) - Denver is once again investing in a program that helps homeowners with major renovations so they can stay in their homes and aren't forced to sell and leave.

"I cannot praise the Denver Urban Renewal Authority enough," said Vivian Beanum, a Park Hill resident who has been in her home for more than 30 years. "We wouldn't have been able to do this without them. They just did everything."

Beanum says she heard about the Single Family Rehabilitation Program from a friend at church. She applied within minutes and quickly found out a crew had a long list of improvements for her home.

"They looked through the house, and they listened to what we wanted done and then they suggested different things that they could do. Of course, we wanted the new windows then we wanted furnace HVAC," She said.

With a budget of nearly $35,000, the Beanum's were able to get a new bathroom, water heater, soffit repair, new windows and other repairs.

Vivian says the windows make a huge difference controlling the temperature in the house and keep traffic noise outside. Her husband appreciates the air conditioning for his COPD.

"With all the fires in the mountains and the wind would blow this way, and it would be no time before we had a house full of smoke and that was hard for him to breathe. The smoke got too bad," Vivian said about her husband, Arthur.

With nearly all the renovations complete, Mayor Michael Handcock made his way to the Beanum's house on Tuesday to see the improvements for himself.

"Whatever we can do to help them stay in place, and remain healthy with a quality of life. I think that's important. It makes a difference you know," Hancock said.

The SFR program has been extended through May 2020 with an infusion of $850,000 in federal funds.

The city says, "To qualify for the SFR program, applicants must be a Denver resident, own and occupy the home as their principal residence, and have a household income of no more than 80 percent of the area median income (up to $50,350 for a single-person household, or up to $71,900 for a family of four). Additional details about qualifications and applying for the SFR program can be found at renewdenver.org."