In 1997, Brent Eley was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer that cost him his life a short time later. The loss remains nothing less than tragic, but it also turned out to be the butterfly wingbeat that started a hurricane of healing for those experiencing what the Eley family did.
Donn and Linda Eley founded the Brent Eley Foundation shortly after losing their son, raising money for the next 10 years to benefit cancer research. But eventually, the call and the opportunity for a more direct impact converged.
The Eleys had felt the searing, exhausting pain that colors each moment a loved one is battling a life-threatening diagnosis. They could see a clear gap to serve those in the same darkness.
Brent’s Place was formed.
“There are many wonderful organizations that were created out of tragedy, that do great things out of tragedy. I would say our story is certainly one of those,” Sean Meyerhoffer, CEO of Brent’s Place, said. “The Eleys very much lived what many of the families we serve today are living.”
Brent’s Place began providing long-term housing for families traveling to Denver for bone marrow transplant surgeries. It was work adjacent to existing hospitality houses like Hope Lodge and Ronald McDonald House, organizations that offered a “hotel-like environment” for families traveling due to medical crises.
But Brent’s Place was built to go further. The Eleys knew that nearly every root of life was yanked up in the process of seeking life-saving treatment.
Maintaining home and other family from afar, paying bills, simple daily tasks, friendships, and more are all stressed under the weight of heartbreak, fear, and the logistics of intense treatment. The valley is often deep and enduring, so Brent’s Place was formed to make it as shallow as possible.
“We hope to help families live a full and rich life, despite what they’re going through, not just survive it,” Meyerhoffer explained.
Families are provided with a quality, clean, and independent living environment designed to remove as much daily stress as possible. They can isolate for the safety of their loved one, and many of the stressors often present are removed or softened.
But while the practical service of long-term lodging goes a long way, it’s just the starting point for what Brent’s Place aims to be: comprehensive care once families step outside the doctor’s office.
“[Families] are carrying all of these years and years of financial devastation, physical devastation, emotional, psychological baggage. They’re exhausted, and they know it’s the last chance they’ve got,” Meyerhoffer said.
Hospital partners help identify families in need and what exactly those unique needs are that Brent’s Place can address, such as family size, financial considerations, psychosocial factors, and more.
The full situation is assessed for each case, and a plan is set into motion once the family arrives. A Tetris-like approach is juggled for serving a constant flow of patients and their families in 78 units, 39 pediatric-supporting and 39 adult-supporting.
“We build that support program around that assessment – what needs they identify as their biggest constraints or burdens that they’re carrying in addition to treatment – and lean in as best we can,” Meyerhoff said.
The community aspect of the service is equally trauma-informed, designed to support, encourage, and invigorate with a human touch. Caretakers often feel the same solitude that their ill loved one does, along with a different kind of oppressive exhaustion. Brent’s Place offers simple outlets for relationship, like in-house entertainment, education, or outings like a movie night or activity in the city.
“It’s creating connection and a human touch for folks that may be going through this that don’t have any support here locally,” Meyerhoffer said.
“Where do we know you’re going without, or struggling where you need to, it’s financial limitations or time limitations? And trying to make it so that here again, you can experience your life and you can carry on family routines, you can be together, you can laugh despite what you’re doing every day.”
The work can be grinding, but equally rewarding. The team at Brent’s Place is constantly confronted with devastation and grief, walking with families through unimaginable circumstances.
But for every story that ends in catastrophe, Meyerhoffer said, there are 10 more that end in healing, triumph, and hope. Brent’s Place works to make each story, however it ends, a better one.
“For families at Brent’s Place, the understanding that folks give their time and money to make their lives a little easier every day, in a world that we don’t hear a lot of good stuff about day-to-day, is uplifting and provides hope,” Meyerhoffer said.
“At a very basic level, it’s knowing that there are fewer things for you to navigate so you can focus on what may be the last time you have with your child or loved one, building memories and living your life... Hopefully we’ve become part of their family, and we’ve helped live a better version of their life despite the terrible situation they’re in.”
Meyerhoffer hopes he’s out of a job someday, and that what Brent’s Place offers won’t be needed in the future. But until then, the organization is set on serving more families with deeper impact, making each day a little easier.
To learn more about Brent’s Place, visit their website.