Scott said he could help. He connected her with the Neighborhood Housing Services to work out her financial issues; he made calls to people he knew, people that he thought might be willing to donate their time and services.

The project began as a repair job — he didn't expect that they would have to completely gut the 99-year-old home in order to make it habitable again.

Yet, six months and thousands of dollars later, the house is nearly complete. The money or the time spent on the house isn't what it's about, Scott said. It's about the people. It's about Brenda. It's about revitalizing the community and making it a beautiful place.

"We are rebuilding the neighborhood one family at a time, one person at a time," Scott said. "Brenda Marshall has hope now — her life fell often in the trenches, but she has hope now."

That's what Salt Lake Neighborhood Housing Services is all about, Daniel Pacheco, communications director and dedicated volunteer of the organization said. Before the organization began 30 years ago, the small Guadalupe neighborhood where Brenda's house is had been 70 percent rentals and 40 percent boarded up. The property was in immense disrepair.

"We worked house by house, block by block," Pacheco said. "As a strategy, we would purchase the homes and fix them up and maintain them by having residents serve on our board and committees. ... We do everything from consulting on financial situations, credit, whether a buyer is credit-ready now, in months or years down the road."

Now, 30 years later, the neighborhood is colorful — roundabouts are adorned with paintings, murals bedeck the sides of businesses and it's hard to find abandoned homes in the neighborhood's central area. There is still work to be done, but progress can be seen, Scott said.

As Brenda's grandson handed her the keys to their red-brick home they call "the big house," a look of peace and joy spread across her face.

"I knew there was a God and I would be blessed to get back in this house," Brenda said. "My prayers have been answered and I have been blessed — always blessed."

Brenda and her family will be moving back into their home next week following its inspection. Not everything is ready yet — countertops need to be sealed, and the back porch is sinking and in need of new concrete.

A few of the larger appliances are still needed — a stacked washer and dryer, refrigerator, microwave and range. Those interested in donating or helping with the finishing touches on the project can contact the Salt Lake Neighborhood Housing Services at: (801) 539-1590. Or for more information visit their Web site at: www.slnhs.org.

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E-mail: nhale@desnews.com