Being a homeowner is part of the American dream for many families. But when hard times come, maintaining the home can be an ongoing challenge if finances are tight. The cost of home repairs, which may have gone neglected for some time, are often a significant burden. If they go unrepaired, they can cause even more damage to the home, possibly forcing homeowners to abandon it.
To respond to this need, last September, TrueNorth's emPower Program entered into a partnership with Consumers Energy to launch the Healthy Housing Initiative. Focused on creating safer, healthier, and more energy efficient homes, we were able to complete 11 multi-faceted projects in just four months. Designed to impact households using both natural gas and electricity from Consumers Energy, the program allowed us to continue the agency’s reach in the Kalamazoo community.
Households were supported by a Healthy Homes Evaluator, who identified and recommended improvements, as well as a Self-Sufficiency Advisor who supported them through the home improvement process and connected them to additional resources. Thanks to the initiative, a single dad with two kids who was seriously injured in a car accident was able to replace his furnace, water heater, and make other important repairs to his home.
Participants from our Complex Care Self-Sufficiency Program were also able to connect with the Healthy Housing Program. One woman was able to achieve one of her goals of making her home more energy efficient as well as repairing her roof and her furnace.
Facilitating the improvement of people’s homes is an important part of our network of self-sufficiency services at TrueNorth. We are excited to be working with Consumers Energy again in 2021 for the Healthy Housing Initiative and are already connecting with households to make their homes safer, healthier and more energy efficient.