By Nick Coltrain
When Bukola Arije received a slew of new and expanded state tax credits last year to help raise her three children, she saw not only a chance to catch up on bills. She also saw a rare opportunity to take her kids out of Colorado and show them that the world is bigger than the square state that Arije has called home her entire life.
And when a car drove into her home one early morning in October, the credits became a vital lifeline. The crash rendered the building structurally unsound and displaced Arije and her kids, with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The money helped her as she tried to piece their world back together.
For Arije, 39, a bus driver for Denver Public Schools, the thousands of state and federal dollars she received through various credits were a life-changing, life-saving cushion — though the state credits’ future is at risk as the state works to square its own budget.