LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Lakewood residents Frank Vigil and Regina Ortega had almost given up hope after suffering through a house fire and contractor woes. Thanks to support from Denver7 Gives viewers, the Better Business Bureau's Restoring Trust Program, and local volunteers, they are now on track to live there once again.
Denver7 met up with the couple last summer after two contractors left them hanging. Their home had been stripped down to the studs, and their insurance money was gone.
“It seems like it's just been a whole book instead of a chapter," said Ortega in 2024. "I just want to come home.”
Since then, Denver7 Gives viewers have donated more than $2,000 to buy insulation, and other local volunteers have come forward to donate their services.
Frank Connors and Bob Gravante from GC Home Remodeling joined the effort to help the couple.
"Enough is enough,” said Connors. "Yes, there are bad contractors, but then there are people like us that care."
Several companies and nonprofits have donated time and services, including the Colorado Building Construction Trades Council, Bradley Plumbing, and Earth Saving Solutions Construction. At the same time, the Better Business Bureau tapped its members to help as part of its new Restoring Trust program, which connects consumers hurt by bad contractors to reputable ones.
"There are so many good companies out there, especially here in Denver," said Meghan Conradt, the director of the foundation for the Better Business Bureau. "We just know there are so many companies that want to give back, and they want to help people."
She said Steve Stuntz, co-owner of The Wall Rebuilders, jumped in to help at no cost.
"We hung all the sheetrock here and did all the taping and finishing," said Stuntz. “This is how you build a community.”
For Ortega, having walls up gives hope that they will move back in before the end of the year.
"You guys brought some light back into our lives,” she said. "I didn't know what was going to happen to me and my family, and that's scary... I can see it now. Having walls, I can see a house again. None of this would have happened without you."
