STANDARD BLADE B R I G H T O N
SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1903
75cI
VOLUME 120
Issue 04
WEEK OF JANUARY 26, 2023
Our in-depth look at the housing crisis
Brighton housing authority seeks partners with new grant money Authority interested in a food distribution programs, housing outreach BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Racial Inequities: Black Coloradans often face barriers in homeownership Some now look to build equity for future generations BY NINA JOSS AND HALEY LENA NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM; HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A few years ago, Aurora Warms the Night, an Aurora-based nonprofit serving people who need housing, ran into a challenge when assisting its Black clients in applying for apartments. When
the applicants visited properties, landlords denied their applications. This happened over and over again. So the team decided to take a different approach, sending in White volunteers to check out the apartments first. “I would send one of our employees or people that were White to look at the apartment — to get the pricing, get everything, to make sure everything was available,” said Brian Arnold, who was executive director of the group at
the time five years ago. “After that, we did the application online and sent it in without them being able to see the person.” Once the application got approved, the team at Aurora Warms the Night would let the real estate agents see the client was Black. Arnold said this process worked almost every time and became the organization’s own way of making a dent in the discrimination that people of color may face, but find
The Brighton Housing Authority has received $350,000 in federal grants to help the community recover from COVID-19, the agency announced Jan. 5. Most of the new grants will be spent to help residents, individuals as well as families, navigate the housing market. That could include finding ways to purchase homes or qualifying for rentals. A portion of the funds will also help with the food distribution bank at the authority’s Hughes Station property community room. Brighton Housing Authority Executive Director Debra Bristol said they are not experts in food access, so they will try to find a partner willing to come to the Brighton community and expand their service area. “We’re still in the capacity building stages, but what we tried to do for all of the affordable housing projects here in the Brighton community, and in Adams County at large, is working with other service providers to identify gaps in the services, so that we can either help fill those gaps or help find ways to create partnerships to fill those gaps,” Bristol said. The authority earmarked $5 million previously awarded for the Brighton Ridge Project, building 264 apartments for households with a 60% median income – about $23,000 per year. The project comprises 96
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