The journey toward a home of hope and healing

The Brent Eley Foundation was created in 1997 by Linda and Donn Eley as a tribute to their son, Brent, who was 14 years old when he was diagnosed with a fast-growing, highly malignant cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma.  Brent’s only chance for survival was a bone marrow transplant.

Because there was no pediatric bone marrow transplant facility in the Denver area when Brent was diagnosed in 1987, the Eley family traveled to Iowa City, Iowa, for his care.  With no options for safe and clean housing outside of the hospital after his transplant, Brent had to stay the greatest majority of his time in the hospital while his parents lived in a rented apartment for his 160 day hospital stay.  Sadly, Brent died from complications related to his transplant.  As a result of Brent’s separation from his family at a time of critical need and the extreme difficulty in finding suitable clean living arrangements, the ordeal was far worse for Brent and his family than it might have been, had they been able to stay together full time as a family unit.  The Eley family returned to Denver with the dream of helping others who temporarily have to relocate to obtain life saving cancer treatment, mindful of the fact that even their less than ideal living arrangements would have been financially impossible for many families.

After ten years of raising funds in support of pediatric cancer programs, the Eleys established the Brent Eley Foundation in 1997. The Brent’s Place location at 17th and Marion followed soon after in 1998, to fill the need in the Denver area for living accommodations suitable for pediatric patients and their families following bone marrow transplants.  In 2009, Brent’s Place opened its new Aurora facility, just blocks from the new Children’s Hospital Colorado, and continues to provide a "Safe-Clean" and supportive environment for pediatric cancer patients and their families.

Today, bone marrow transplantation is considered a standard therapy for a variety of high-risk cancers and blood disorders. Bone marrow transplantation has become a “standard procedure” but Brent’s Place still remains unique for two reasons:

• In the Rocky Mountain Region, the Denver area is the only place where pediatric cancer patients can obtain bone marrow transplants.

• Brent’s Place is the only Children's Hospital Colorado-approved housing facility in the Denver area for patients with compromised immune systems.