Help Lucrecia Denson Live Again!
Donation protected
Hello, my name is Angelina Denson and I am the daughter of Lucrecia Denson which this GoFundMe is set up for. This GoFundMe is to support emergency repairs needed for the basic habitability of our mother’s home in Aurora, Colorado. We have contemplated several times with actually setting this up and accepting outside help for many years, but we realize that there are many people in our family's life that also care about our mother as much as we care and love her. We are now reaching out to friends, family, and the community to help our mother, Lucrecia to get her home repaired enough to have the basic necessities like access to heat and water.
EVERY LITTLE AMOUNT HELPS! THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE FOR US!
Our Story:
As of today, our mother lives alone in our family home on and off since 2013. Since 2018, we have had several issues of keeping up with the maintenance of the home at the rate of the home’s existing deterioration (i.e. we found out that the foundation was cracked after we initially moved-in in 2008 after it was inspected and appraised) and lack of access to funds to provide all repairs needed. The house is deemed dilapidated and each year we try to gain access to County, State, and/or Federal funds we constantly run into the same issue of another piece of her home falling apart that further makes us ineligible to receive government-funded grants. Currently, Lucrecia lives with no heat, no gas, no water, some of the electrical wiring still remains functional while the rest is inoperative, and the house is covered noticeably throughout with black mold from the recent flooding due to frozen water pipes. Being that the home was built in the 1920s, I do not want my mother to be at further risk of being forced out of her home due to the conditions, or worse, losing the home that she has worked extremely hard for. This has been ongoing for 3+ years where we are now at the point to resort to asking for help.
Since 2018, I have been able to get a roll-off dumpster with a friend's help to remove trash and deteriorated furniture from my mother’s home as she is in between a Level 4 and Level 5 hoarder situation (there are 5 levels of types of hoarding). I have repaired and refinished the upstairs which was previously completely filled to the top with belongings, trash, and feces. Additionally, I have paid for storage spaces, well-needed tools, plumbers, electricians, and other professionals when I can afford to put enough money together to help. Although I have put my own money into this and time and effort it is still not enough as I am unable to provide much further support due to my own lack of funds.
My mother is a low-income Colorado resident. Therefore, she is qualified for several programs offered in her County, State, and Federal level for things like weatherization and emergency home repair grants. We have applied for all available programs in her area and have been approved in all cases, but the repeated issue we contend to is that since my mom suffers from the hoarding conditions of her home and lack of funds to remediate the problem we have been denied help from these funding sources under all accounts. If we are able to utilize these services in the future this would help us get a new furnace, water heater, insulation, windows, and other energy-saving incentives like reroofing, new faucets and showerheads, and even solar panels. Until we fix our current issues with the gas, water, mold, and hoarding we are unable to tap into these resources. In the process of trying to fix these problems, we, unfortunately, do not have all of the funds to purchase things like roll-off dumpsters to remove all the debris, repair the entire gas line, repair the entire water line, hire various licensed professionals to provide reports stating that everything is working order, and most importantly, hire a remediation specialist to safely remove the hazardous mold from her basement and potentially other places within her home.
As her daughter, working full-time and going to school, I am doing my best to save up my own money to make these repairs happen. However, after gathering proposals and estimating the total work to be done (see below) before we can use the grant programs offered it will mean my mother will have to wait even longer, possibly many years before I am able to afford all the necessary repairs at the cost of my mother’s health, the increasing rate of degradation, and other possible consequences rather than simply asking for help now.
My mother deeply desires to get out of this situation but as mentioned there have been several obstacles. I am still working on convincing her to get the help she deserves in need via therapy or community support, but otherwise, she is fully ready for change and willing to work on her hoarding issue to improve her living conditions and overall health and wellbeing. For additional information on what avenues we have taken, what has occurred in a simplified timeline, what we need outside of money, and what steps we plan on taking next… see below. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Angelina ‘Lina’ Denson
About Us:
For those who do not know us, hello, and thank you for stopping by to read this. The Denson family is a local, mixed-ethnicity family from the Denver and Aurora communities. We were a long-time resident of the Five Points neighborhood in Denver and now a long-time resident of the NW Aurora/Montview neighborhood. Our mother, Lucrecia Denson, immigrated from the Philippines to the USA in the 90s, where she then raised her two children (Andy and I) as a single mother in Denver, CO before we had the chance to move into our first family home in 2008.
Our mother has worked within the hospitality industry for over 25+ years under different roles such as a cook, sous chef, banquet server – to – working as an assistant RN and a caretaker in elderly assistant living homes. She is currently a cook at Denver Health where she has now worked for several years, but she still struggles as a low-income individual.
Our story is not new and as a low-income family raised by a single mother, however, our story is unique to us and is shared with many BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) identifying families across the USA in uninhabitable living situations. Our situation has become dire where we are now looking for community support for monetary support and/or volunteer help. If you are still interested in our story and would like to learn more about how we could use your help please read below, share this page, stay tuned for updates, or feel free to donate in any amount as all donations are greatly appreciated. Any donation amount is greatly appreciated and will help our mother get the restart she needs!
Below is a list of organizations we have already reached out to with little to no luck:
1) LEAP program
2) Colorado Weatherization Assistance Program
3) Energy Outreach of Colorado
4) Adult Protection Services of Adams County
5) Home Care Allowance Program
6) Colorado’s Affordable Residential Energy Program (CARE)
7) Colorado Hoarding Task Force
8) Arapahoe County Adult Protection
9) Arapahoe County Weatherization Services
10) City of Aurora Emergency Repair Program Grant
11) Aurora Minor Home Repair Program
12) Volunteers of America
13) Mile High United Way
14) A Little Help
15) Senior Resource Center
16) Habitat for Humanity
Below is a summarized timeline of flow of events that have occurred:
2008 – Moved into 1653 Boston St.
2018 –
August:
Xcel Energy turned off our gas line to the entire house and it has been remained off and locked today. Xcel Energy is unwilling to turn it back on until gas lines are repaired, and a pressure test passes through a licensed professional. The hazard-marked discontinuation of services is due to a stove range gas leak, fuel line pressure test failure, and water heater vent sloping downward with a pinched water hose.
November:
Applied for LEAP program; received no responses after several calls for service and updates
Applied to Energy Outreach of Colorado and were approved for services. They directed our application to Arapahoe County Weatherization Services.
December:
Awarded funds for Arapahoe County Weatherization Services program. Ray Bowman, their auditor, came out and refused continuation of services due to my mother’s hoarding situation along with rodent feces and a turned-off gas line. Ultimately, we lost our chance to receive their services because we were unable to complete any of these repairs by our deadline of 12/31/2019. We can reapply once again as my mother still qualifies under income limits, but we will need to address the hoarding, cleaning, and gas line issue.
2019 –
April:
Applied for City of Aurora Emergency Repair Program – Worked with Clayton Velarde who initially helped but after contacting by phone and email several times I never received a response back. In 2020, I contacted their office again to figure out what happened, Clayton no longer works there, they said they would call me back with more information on how to move forward in the program and never did.
2021 –
February:
Her water pipes froze and burst from freezing temperatures in Colorado the week of February 15th, causing a flood in the basement with the growth of black mold on drywall. My mother has an insurance policy with American Family Home Insurance with extended coverage for flooding, mold and fungi, and loss of use. However, after having the adjuster look at the damages, they are now refusing us coverage due to there being no heat in the home despite our efforts to provide many space heaters. We are working currently with the insurance company to try to appeal their opinion and provide justification due to the age of the home while facing prior discrimination against my mother for their inability to work professionally (e.g. they yelled at her for being 'incomprehensible') with someone who speaks English with a Filipino accent.
After the water pipe burst, an electrical surge in the house causing half of the electricity in the house to no longer be operable. An Xcel Energy technician came out and determined that there is full power at the 120/240-volt service. The problem is said to be with the breaker box or somewhere inside the house wiring.
Hired a plumber on 3/4/21, Brother's Plumbing, to do a comprehensive report on the cause of the water pipe burst, along with, a proposal for the total amount of work to be done. The plumber said that no professional service will be able to work on the property until mold remediation is completed and items are pulled out from the area of work. He also mentioned that since the black mold is evidently growing all across the basement walls we will more than likely need to demo out all drywall and get the entire water pipeline replaced due to the probability that all copper pipes have experienced linear splits from the expansion of the frozen pipes and poorly completed soldering and very high corrosion.
What we need outside of monetary donations:
1) Bodies to physically help moving out trash/furniture out in-person; Any organized cleaning crew that has experience or is willing to have experience with extreme hoarding, rodent infestation, mold, and are possibly Filipino/Asian or other culturally-specific identifying folxs who are willing to help and understand our situation without criticism.
2) People with professional experience with rodent/pet feces infestation extermination, mold, or hoarding (no unsolicited advice without credentials or experience please)
3) Donation of any cleaning supplies, respirator mask cartridges for 3M P100, full-body protective gear, and gloves.
4) People willing to haul out trash in their own cars to a dumpsite.
5) Trustworthy expertise and assistance on refinancing her home so that she remains not paying off the home for additional years or for more than what she can afford monthly on her mortgage to provide some initial source of funding to complete repairs to her home.
6) SHARE! <3
What are the next steps we need to take care of prior to receiving help from Weatherization/Minor Home Grant Services? What is the estimated cost of repairs?
1) Remove all obstacles and trash from the area of work ($600-$700 for 2 roll-off dumpsters)
2) Remove all mold from drywall via licensed professional ($10,000 for entire basement)
3) Replace/Repair the entire plumbing pipeline/hook-ups ($13,000+)
4) Replace/Repair the entire gas line/hook-ups ($6,000+)
5) Pressure test completed by licensed professional ($300); call Xcel Energy to reinstate gas service once all passes
Estimate Total: $30,000
---
FAQs:
Why can't the weatherization and grant programs help you now?
We are unable to receive help due to there being no gas (leak), no water (broken pipes), and we are working on cleaning the hoarded situation by removing trash and properly exterminating and cleaning. It is a health hazard and each program has it's own policies of a bare minimum of requiring proper working hook-ups before they are able to replace things like water heaters, furnaces, provide insulation, etc.
Why don't you just get rid of the junk/trash?
Hoarding is an international issue that is personal and different from each individual. It is emotional and it is extremely hard to close members of the individual who attempt to help the individual with their best interest and approval in mind. If you are familiar with the tv show Hoarders, then you may or may not know the exploitation and humiliation some individuals experience from feeling exposed or judged because of their living situation and ailments.
Therefore, the situation is more complex than most realize and it takes care and empathy to move forward. It also takes money. On average, a roll-off dumpster with a permit in Colorado costs $350+ for 5-days and 30 cubic yards. In severe hoarding cases, it is necessary to have 2-5 of these not including one needed for demolition/remediation jobs.
Thank you for reading this! We greatly appreciate your help. I will do my best to provide updates, photos, etc. Please keep in mind that with respect for my mother I will only provide updates that are necessary to keep donors informed.
EVERY LITTLE AMOUNT HELPS! THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE FOR US!
Our Story:
As of today, our mother lives alone in our family home on and off since 2013. Since 2018, we have had several issues of keeping up with the maintenance of the home at the rate of the home’s existing deterioration (i.e. we found out that the foundation was cracked after we initially moved-in in 2008 after it was inspected and appraised) and lack of access to funds to provide all repairs needed. The house is deemed dilapidated and each year we try to gain access to County, State, and/or Federal funds we constantly run into the same issue of another piece of her home falling apart that further makes us ineligible to receive government-funded grants. Currently, Lucrecia lives with no heat, no gas, no water, some of the electrical wiring still remains functional while the rest is inoperative, and the house is covered noticeably throughout with black mold from the recent flooding due to frozen water pipes. Being that the home was built in the 1920s, I do not want my mother to be at further risk of being forced out of her home due to the conditions, or worse, losing the home that she has worked extremely hard for. This has been ongoing for 3+ years where we are now at the point to resort to asking for help.
Since 2018, I have been able to get a roll-off dumpster with a friend's help to remove trash and deteriorated furniture from my mother’s home as she is in between a Level 4 and Level 5 hoarder situation (there are 5 levels of types of hoarding). I have repaired and refinished the upstairs which was previously completely filled to the top with belongings, trash, and feces. Additionally, I have paid for storage spaces, well-needed tools, plumbers, electricians, and other professionals when I can afford to put enough money together to help. Although I have put my own money into this and time and effort it is still not enough as I am unable to provide much further support due to my own lack of funds.
My mother is a low-income Colorado resident. Therefore, she is qualified for several programs offered in her County, State, and Federal level for things like weatherization and emergency home repair grants. We have applied for all available programs in her area and have been approved in all cases, but the repeated issue we contend to is that since my mom suffers from the hoarding conditions of her home and lack of funds to remediate the problem we have been denied help from these funding sources under all accounts. If we are able to utilize these services in the future this would help us get a new furnace, water heater, insulation, windows, and other energy-saving incentives like reroofing, new faucets and showerheads, and even solar panels. Until we fix our current issues with the gas, water, mold, and hoarding we are unable to tap into these resources. In the process of trying to fix these problems, we, unfortunately, do not have all of the funds to purchase things like roll-off dumpsters to remove all the debris, repair the entire gas line, repair the entire water line, hire various licensed professionals to provide reports stating that everything is working order, and most importantly, hire a remediation specialist to safely remove the hazardous mold from her basement and potentially other places within her home.
As her daughter, working full-time and going to school, I am doing my best to save up my own money to make these repairs happen. However, after gathering proposals and estimating the total work to be done (see below) before we can use the grant programs offered it will mean my mother will have to wait even longer, possibly many years before I am able to afford all the necessary repairs at the cost of my mother’s health, the increasing rate of degradation, and other possible consequences rather than simply asking for help now.
My mother deeply desires to get out of this situation but as mentioned there have been several obstacles. I am still working on convincing her to get the help she deserves in need via therapy or community support, but otherwise, she is fully ready for change and willing to work on her hoarding issue to improve her living conditions and overall health and wellbeing. For additional information on what avenues we have taken, what has occurred in a simplified timeline, what we need outside of money, and what steps we plan on taking next… see below. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Angelina ‘Lina’ Denson
About Us:
For those who do not know us, hello, and thank you for stopping by to read this. The Denson family is a local, mixed-ethnicity family from the Denver and Aurora communities. We were a long-time resident of the Five Points neighborhood in Denver and now a long-time resident of the NW Aurora/Montview neighborhood. Our mother, Lucrecia Denson, immigrated from the Philippines to the USA in the 90s, where she then raised her two children (Andy and I) as a single mother in Denver, CO before we had the chance to move into our first family home in 2008.
Our mother has worked within the hospitality industry for over 25+ years under different roles such as a cook, sous chef, banquet server – to – working as an assistant RN and a caretaker in elderly assistant living homes. She is currently a cook at Denver Health where she has now worked for several years, but she still struggles as a low-income individual.
Our story is not new and as a low-income family raised by a single mother, however, our story is unique to us and is shared with many BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) identifying families across the USA in uninhabitable living situations. Our situation has become dire where we are now looking for community support for monetary support and/or volunteer help. If you are still interested in our story and would like to learn more about how we could use your help please read below, share this page, stay tuned for updates, or feel free to donate in any amount as all donations are greatly appreciated. Any donation amount is greatly appreciated and will help our mother get the restart she needs!
Below is a list of organizations we have already reached out to with little to no luck:
1) LEAP program
2) Colorado Weatherization Assistance Program
3) Energy Outreach of Colorado
4) Adult Protection Services of Adams County
5) Home Care Allowance Program
6) Colorado’s Affordable Residential Energy Program (CARE)
7) Colorado Hoarding Task Force
8) Arapahoe County Adult Protection
9) Arapahoe County Weatherization Services
10) City of Aurora Emergency Repair Program Grant
11) Aurora Minor Home Repair Program
12) Volunteers of America
13) Mile High United Way
14) A Little Help
15) Senior Resource Center
16) Habitat for Humanity
Below is a summarized timeline of flow of events that have occurred:
2008 – Moved into 1653 Boston St.
2018 –
August:
Xcel Energy turned off our gas line to the entire house and it has been remained off and locked today. Xcel Energy is unwilling to turn it back on until gas lines are repaired, and a pressure test passes through a licensed professional. The hazard-marked discontinuation of services is due to a stove range gas leak, fuel line pressure test failure, and water heater vent sloping downward with a pinched water hose.
November:
Applied for LEAP program; received no responses after several calls for service and updates
Applied to Energy Outreach of Colorado and were approved for services. They directed our application to Arapahoe County Weatherization Services.
December:
Awarded funds for Arapahoe County Weatherization Services program. Ray Bowman, their auditor, came out and refused continuation of services due to my mother’s hoarding situation along with rodent feces and a turned-off gas line. Ultimately, we lost our chance to receive their services because we were unable to complete any of these repairs by our deadline of 12/31/2019. We can reapply once again as my mother still qualifies under income limits, but we will need to address the hoarding, cleaning, and gas line issue.
2019 –
April:
Applied for City of Aurora Emergency Repair Program – Worked with Clayton Velarde who initially helped but after contacting by phone and email several times I never received a response back. In 2020, I contacted their office again to figure out what happened, Clayton no longer works there, they said they would call me back with more information on how to move forward in the program and never did.
2021 –
February:
Her water pipes froze and burst from freezing temperatures in Colorado the week of February 15th, causing a flood in the basement with the growth of black mold on drywall. My mother has an insurance policy with American Family Home Insurance with extended coverage for flooding, mold and fungi, and loss of use. However, after having the adjuster look at the damages, they are now refusing us coverage due to there being no heat in the home despite our efforts to provide many space heaters. We are working currently with the insurance company to try to appeal their opinion and provide justification due to the age of the home while facing prior discrimination against my mother for their inability to work professionally (e.g. they yelled at her for being 'incomprehensible') with someone who speaks English with a Filipino accent.
After the water pipe burst, an electrical surge in the house causing half of the electricity in the house to no longer be operable. An Xcel Energy technician came out and determined that there is full power at the 120/240-volt service. The problem is said to be with the breaker box or somewhere inside the house wiring.
Hired a plumber on 3/4/21, Brother's Plumbing, to do a comprehensive report on the cause of the water pipe burst, along with, a proposal for the total amount of work to be done. The plumber said that no professional service will be able to work on the property until mold remediation is completed and items are pulled out from the area of work. He also mentioned that since the black mold is evidently growing all across the basement walls we will more than likely need to demo out all drywall and get the entire water pipeline replaced due to the probability that all copper pipes have experienced linear splits from the expansion of the frozen pipes and poorly completed soldering and very high corrosion.
What we need outside of monetary donations:
1) Bodies to physically help moving out trash/furniture out in-person; Any organized cleaning crew that has experience or is willing to have experience with extreme hoarding, rodent infestation, mold, and are possibly Filipino/Asian or other culturally-specific identifying folxs who are willing to help and understand our situation without criticism.
2) People with professional experience with rodent/pet feces infestation extermination, mold, or hoarding (no unsolicited advice without credentials or experience please)
3) Donation of any cleaning supplies, respirator mask cartridges for 3M P100, full-body protective gear, and gloves.
4) People willing to haul out trash in their own cars to a dumpsite.
5) Trustworthy expertise and assistance on refinancing her home so that she remains not paying off the home for additional years or for more than what she can afford monthly on her mortgage to provide some initial source of funding to complete repairs to her home.
6) SHARE! <3
What are the next steps we need to take care of prior to receiving help from Weatherization/Minor Home Grant Services? What is the estimated cost of repairs?
1) Remove all obstacles and trash from the area of work ($600-$700 for 2 roll-off dumpsters)
2) Remove all mold from drywall via licensed professional ($10,000 for entire basement)
3) Replace/Repair the entire plumbing pipeline/hook-ups ($13,000+)
4) Replace/Repair the entire gas line/hook-ups ($6,000+)
5) Pressure test completed by licensed professional ($300); call Xcel Energy to reinstate gas service once all passes
Estimate Total: $30,000
---
FAQs:
Why can't the weatherization and grant programs help you now?
We are unable to receive help due to there being no gas (leak), no water (broken pipes), and we are working on cleaning the hoarded situation by removing trash and properly exterminating and cleaning. It is a health hazard and each program has it's own policies of a bare minimum of requiring proper working hook-ups before they are able to replace things like water heaters, furnaces, provide insulation, etc.
Why don't you just get rid of the junk/trash?
Hoarding is an international issue that is personal and different from each individual. It is emotional and it is extremely hard to close members of the individual who attempt to help the individual with their best interest and approval in mind. If you are familiar with the tv show Hoarders, then you may or may not know the exploitation and humiliation some individuals experience from feeling exposed or judged because of their living situation and ailments.
Therefore, the situation is more complex than most realize and it takes care and empathy to move forward. It also takes money. On average, a roll-off dumpster with a permit in Colorado costs $350+ for 5-days and 30 cubic yards. In severe hoarding cases, it is necessary to have 2-5 of these not including one needed for demolition/remediation jobs.
Thank you for reading this! We greatly appreciate your help. I will do my best to provide updates, photos, etc. Please keep in mind that with respect for my mother I will only provide updates that are necessary to keep donors informed.
Organizer
Angelina Cantal Denson
Organizer
Aurora, CO