Hamilton, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded $5 million in demonstration grants to five local government and non-profit organizations across the nation to help households with young children or seniors promote energy efficiency and healthy housing. The City of Toledo and People Working Cooperatively, Inc in Cincinnati each were awarded $1 million to promote healthy housing.
The funding announced today promotes the coordinated delivery of services by local HUD-funded Lead Hazard Reduction and Weatherization Assistance Programs funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This model will provide additional benefits to low-income households in the form of lower energy costs and a reduction in residential health and safety hazards. Read a complete project-by-project summary of the programs awarded grants today.
“These grants will allow local programs to explore different strategies to increase the supply of safe and energy-efficient housing for low-income households,” said HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge. “These services are expected to both improve resident health and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.”
“Both of the programs supported through these grants target services to similar populations and housing. Coordinating services enhances the benefits to households and can reduce program costs by achieving greater efficiencies compared to the usual independent provision of program services,” said Matt Ammon, Director of the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes. “We know that substandard housing contributes to injury and illness, which is entirely preventable.”
HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes promotes state and local efforts to eliminate dangerous lead-paint and other housing-related health and safety hazards from lower income homes, stimulate private sector investment in lead hazard control, support cutting-edge research on methods for assessing and controlling housing-related health and safety hazards, and educate the public about the dangers of hazards in the home.
People Working Cooperatively (PWC) will partner with the City of Cincinnati and the Hamilton County Health Department to demonstrate the cost savings and impact of integrating services from the Home Weatherization Assistance Program (HWAP) and Lead Hazard Control (LHC) programs. PWC will conduct the HWAP services and Cincinnati and the Hamilton County Health Department will execute their LHC programs. PWC will partner with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the U. of Cincinnati for health-based referrals. The project will develop common enrollment applications, common assessment tools and cross-train staff and technicians to provide coordinated LHC, HWAP and other Healthy Homes services to minimum of 50 households. Contact Person/Authorizing Official: Jeffrey Pitts; [email protected].
Go to this link to find out more about People Working Cooperatively and see if you qualify for their services or have skills that will help them with their mission.
Saving Homes. Restoring Pride.
For more than 45 years, PWC has been strengthening our communities by providing critical home repairs, energy conservation, and accessibility modification services in an effort to help residents remain independent and healthy in their homes. PWC proudly performs more than 8,000 services for eligible homeowners each year, whose typical income is just $14,000 a year. Often, these individuals face challenges due to illness, disability, job loss, or other circumstances.
PWC is supported by a robust group of more than 110 licensed, professionally trained staff members and administrative personnel. In addition, PWC boasts a dedicated corps of 3,500-plus volunteers making it one of the largest volunteer corps in the region. Together, PWC volunteers and skilled staff are in more than 4,500 homes annually assisting nearly 9,000 individuals in southwestern Ohio, northern Kentucky, and southeast Indiana.
