My name is Brandy Harrison. I’m the mother to three children and we live in Denver with our two dogs. I’ve lived in the Denver metro for my whole life, and I’ve been in my current neighborhood for more than 10 years. My family has been here for three generations – when we settled in East Denver, my great grandparents owned apartment buildings. They made sure their renters could pay rent and helped them stay housed – it was important for them to do right by people. It used to be such a great place to live. I love Colorado and I choose to stay because I was born here, but it’s getting harder to make a life here.
These days, I spend most of my time just trying to stay afloat. I’d love to take my kids on vacation and buy them all the clothes and things they want, but everything keeps getting more expensive. I’m excited about the new parks pass that comes with car registration because it gives me a way to spend quality time with my kids without too much added cost. We're trying to save for a home, but it is nearly impossible with current the cost of living. Rent takes up a huge portion of my income, which makes it hard to cover other essentials like groceries, utilities, car payments, insurance, school tuition, and more.
Rent stabilization would allow me more predictability for budgeting housing expenses.
It would allow me to buy healthier food, pay medical deductibles, and cover the other expenses that come with everyday life. It would give me more financial flexibility and help me save for a home, so I don’t have to rent forever. There will always be renters, but renters should be able to one day become owners and leave affordable units to a new generation of renters.
Life is about thriving, not struggling to make ends meet.
