Help for Homes back for 18th year

Volunteer e ort aims to fix up needy homes in Brighton

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Brighton homeowners older than 60 and homeowners with permanent disabilities can apply for help with minor repairs as the 18th Annual Help for Homes community project kicks off on May 6.

The Help for Homes is an all-volunteer program through Brothers Redevelopment Inc. that lets neighbors help individuals with minor exterior repairs, painting, and yard cleanup for free. Last year Help for homes received applications for 13 projects.

“Brighton Help for Homes has had a huge impact in helping older adults and people with disabilities in the city stay safely in their homes,” said Brothers Volunteer Department Director Chad Nibbelink. “We’re always touched by the incredible generosity of our volunteer groups. The stress of deferred home maintenance is real for everyone, especially our clients who are often home more than most. We see spirits lifted from both homeowners and volunteers, and we hear about those positive interactions.”

According to officials, the homeowner must live in the Home and be a resident of Brighton who is 60-years-old or older or is permanently disabled. dollars funds for projects like installing new lighting and fences, removing overgrown vegetation in highcrime areas, and building sidewalks and trails. It’s one piece of a package of public safety legislation rolled out in the 2022 Colorado legislative session aimed at reducing crime.

The homeowner can earn at most $55,950 for one person or $63 950 for two people. The homeowner must have no intention to move or sell the Home.

The repairs are only on the exterior.

The applications and required documentation must be received by March 28 at the Eagle View Adult Center, 1150 Prairie Center Parkway in Brighton.

Help for Homes will donate the materials if approved, and volunteers will help repair the Home. From 10 to 15 homes will be selected for free home repairs.

For an application, contact Evon or Sue at 303-655-2075. All applications and documentation received are kept strictly confidential.

Help for Home is recruiting for a volunteer team that can scrape, paint, do yard work or minor exterior repairs, and put a team together of up to 10 friends, family, or co-workers or join an existing team.

On Wednesday, April 26, a team captain will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the Eagle View Adult Center. Call Sue at 303-655-2075 for volunteer applications.

Resident applications and volunteer applications are also available at www.brightonco.gov/ helpforhomes.

“ ose improvements alone cannot make a safer community. But those improvements are an indicator that a community is involved in its own well-being,” explained architect Ignacio Correa-Ortiz, an urban planner who helped choose projects for the state to fund.

Twenty-three communities large and small across the state have until the end of June to complete more than $6.2 million in grant-funded projects that authorities say are part of a shift in the mindset around law enforcement and crime prevention.

“We’re really good at responding and arresting somebody for drugs or assaults or thefts or burglaries, but of course they get out of jail and recidivism happens,” said Delta County Sheri Mark Taylor. “We think that through this process we’ll be able to prevent crimes rather than just responding to crimes.” e program’s funding could not be used to hire more o cers, or for projects that are typically used to investigate or solve crimes once they have happened, such as facial recognition programs or license plate reader cameras.

“In my opinion, the future of law enforcement is all in crime prevention,” said Delta County code enforcement o cer Everett Neil. “ e best way to handle an issue properly is to keep it from happening in the rst place.”

Neil helped to dream up his county’s grant-funded project after neighbors got together and asked the sheri and county commissioners to help them reduce the crime in their community.

He said he suggested the county fund removal of an abandoned mobile home in the neighborhood that had become a draw for criminal ac- tivity and drug use. Neil said he also came to believe the remote wilderness near the river drew criminals who believed it was a good place to hide. When he learned the state was funding environmental improvements to reduce crime, his wheels began to turn.

“ at’s when I realized, well, if we’re getting rid of the mobile home, you know what? Let’s do some fencing. You know what, if we’re gonna do fencing, shoot, let’s do some lighting,” Neil said. “Let’s do a bus stop too, for the kids. And so we started brainstorming.”

Before applying for the funds, Neil and the county’s grant writer visited the neighborhood to make sure the community would support the improvements, most of which would occur on private property.

“ e grant writer and I went down to the neighborhood. We knocked on every door. We talked to every resident, and we wanted to know if they would be willing to participate in this kind of a program, because there is some cost,” he said, noting that residents may see slightly higher electric bills due to the new lighting. “We were met with 100%

“I can’t tell you how many times [Neil] has been to my door saying, ‘ is is what’s going on. is is where we’re at in the process. What do you think about this? I need your input,’” Burns said. “It’s a rare thing, honestly, to feel that the county is being this responsive.”

Neil said he anticipates the changes will make the neighborhood safer, and he made a bold prediction.

“I fully predict that we’ll be able to reduce the crime in this area through this initiative, at least by 50%,” Neil said.

“It’s something that’s exciting to see and start from the ground up,” Sheri Taylor said. “I hope it works. I hope it’s something that we can use in the future.” is story is from Rocky Mountain PBS, a nonpro t public broadcaster providing community stories across Colorado over the air and online. Used by permission. For more, and to support Rocky Mountain PBS, visit rmpbs.org.

Auto Theft Prevention Drive-Thru Event e Brighton Police Department is hosting an Auto eft Prevention Drive- ru Event in partnership with the Colorado Auto eft Prevention Authority. Brighton residents will have the opportunity to receive a steering wheel lock, catalytic converter etching kit, and theft-prevention license plate screws. All of these items are at no cost to residents! e drive-thru will take place on Saturday, March 25 from 8 to 10 a.m. in the Brighton Police Department parking lot at 3401 E. Bromley Ln. Due to the limited quantity of these items, residents must pre-register. e link to register will be published on our website and our social media channels on Monday, March 13 right around noon. You MUST be a Brighton resident to register and you will be required to provide your VIN and home address.

Performance and Leadership Academy is now open to external applicants e city of Brighton is opening its Performance and Leadership Academy to external applicants who work for government or non-pro t organizations. e academy is a ve-week program that teaches participants skills for identifying, analyzing, and solving problems in their day-to-day work and empowers participants to be leaders, to build winning teams and deliver exceptional customer service both internal and external.

Participants in the academy attend four-hour training sessions each ursday for ve weeks. Sessions are from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Brighton

City Hall, 500 S. Fourth Ave. e cost to apply for external candidates is $1,800. Upcoming sessions can be found here.

To learn more about the academy and to apply, visit the Performance and Leadership Academy website. For more information, contact budget@brightonco.gov.

State of the city April 5 e city of Brighton and the Greater Brighton Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau will host the 2023 state of the city address at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 5, at the Armory Performing Arts Center, 300 Strong St. e event will be available live on the city of Brighton YouTube channel and will be later made available to view on KBRI-8 (Comcast channels 8 and 881). e public is invited to attend, but reservations are required. R.S.V.P. to www.brightonco.gov/stateofthecity by Monday, March 27.

Mayor Gregory Mills, Brighton Chamber President/CEO Natalie Cummings, city councilors and City Manager Michael Martinez for re ections from the past year and a look ahead to the future of Brighton.

Trash Bash disposal program set for April 28-29 e city of Brighton’s popular Trash Bash for Brighton residents is set to return Friday and Saturday, April 28 and April 29. e drop-o trash disposal program for large items will take place both days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Brighton Wastewater Treatment Facility 325 North Kuner Road (Brigh- ton Street entrance). In addition, the city will provide pick-up service for those with special needs Wednesday and ursday, April 26 and 27. To request a pick-up, call 303-655-2087. e collection will also accept nail-free sheeted material, wood, or lumber less than ve feet in length. is service is for city of residents only. A city of Brighton water bill or suitable proof of residence (i.e. driver’s license) is required. No commercial or industrial facilities will be allowed. A suggested donation of $10 will help to defray the cost of the service.

Acceptable items include furniture, appliances (no refrigerators or freezers), bicycles, carpets that have been cut up, doors, lawn/yard equipment, mattresses/box springs and branches cut to less than ve feet in length and bundled securely.

Car and light pickup tires will be accepted for $7 each; oversized pickup tires for $10 each and semitruck tires for $20 each.

Trash Bash will return for a second time in September.

For more information, call 303-6552087.

City’s annual ‘Egg Splash’ on April 2 e City of Brighton’s annual egg hunt will be held as an “Egg Splash” on Sunday, April 2 at the Brighton Recreation Center indoor pool located at 555 N. 11th Avenue.

Cost is $5 per child and children ages 0-17 are eligible to participate. An adult chaperone is required for children under age 7 or any child who cannot swim. Adult chaperones will be admitted for free but must still register for organizers to track attendance.

Participants can register for one of four 30-minute time blocks from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Available spots are limited to 25 child participants per time block.

Children will get a chance to swim and gather eggs, which will be exchanged for an actual “goodie” bag. All children in each time block will receive the same goodie bag and Egg Splash organizers have enough goodie bags available for all four time blocks.

Children should wear typical swimwear and bring their own baskets to gather eggs. e eggs will be placed in both the lap and leisure pools.

To register, please visit www.brightonco.gov/eggsplash.

For questions, please contact Jacquelyn Ramsey at jramsey@brightonco.gov or call 303-655-2221.

Art in the Park announces call for artists e City of Brighton will host its annual Art in the Park festival from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at Carmichael Park, 650 Southern Street. ose artists interested in showcasing and selling their artwork can visit www.brightonartinthepark.com for more information and to apply. e deadline for booth applications is Aug. 18. is one-day festival will give attendees the opportunity to visit the artist market, meet and talk with artists, enjoy music performances, artist demonstrations and children’s interactive art activities. For more information, contact Arts and Culture Coordinator David Gallegos at 303-655-2176 or dgallegos@ brightonco.gov.

Ongoing

‘Taking No Chances’ e 17th Judicial District Attorney’s O ce and e Link, a community resource and assessment center in ornton, are o ering free, 10-week programs to families of Adams county teenagers to help develop personal and interpersonal drugresistance skills.

Sessions are from 5:30 to 6;30 p.m. Wednesdays. Call 720-292-2811.

Brighton adds new ChargePoint stations e city of Brighton announced it was opening three new charging stations for electric vehicles. e stations are at the Brighton Recreation Center at 555 N. 11th Ave. Eagle View Adult Center at 1150 Prairie Center Parkway. and Platte Valley Medical Center at 1610 Prairie Center Parkway. e rst hour of charging is free at each location. e locations have two stalls and two charging stations each that operate much like a parking meter, with a $2-per-hour charging rate after the rst hour.

For other ChargePoint station locations, visit https://uk.chargepoint. com/charge_point. For more information, please contact Assistant Director of Public Works Chris Montoya at cmontoya@brightonco.gov.