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Pamela Peak could hardly believe her luck! At 21 years of age, she owned her home thanks to a sweat-equity loan through the Self Help Homeownership Opportunity Program. As single mom of 4-year old Iyana, Pamela then set her sights on a college degree. She persevered, graduated and with a diploma in her hand, landed a job.
Pamela lived in a clean, safe new house that was unlikely to need more than routine minor maintenance. Even so, she saved what she could for repairs. After she married Anthony and had her daughter Lilyanna, the family began to make headway.
Then COVID hit.
Anthony was disabled due to a vehicle wreck and was unable to work or do much to help homeschool the kids. When Pamela's employer would not allow her to work remotely, she lost her
job. The family relied on unemployment and the limited savings they had to make ends meet.
In early 2021, the HVAC system in their home failed. To keep the family warm, Pamela used
emergency heat, which cost a lot. "My electric bills were over $200 a month!" she lamented. "We
just couldn't pay that much." Pamela contacted Self Help Housing Assistance. With a long wait
list and high unit replacement costs, Housing Assistance could not offer support. Pamela realized,
"The need was too great.”
Fortunately, the Self Help Counselor referred her to Community Action Opportunities (CAO)
Weatherization Services. CAO's Weatherization Team was eager to help. Within a few months,
Pamela had a new heat pump, no more air leaks in the home, more insulation in the attic, new
water pipes and water heater, new installed LED bulbs, a bathroom exhaust fan, and Carbon
Dioxide and smoke detectors.
After improvements by the CAO Weatherization team, Pamela reported about a 50% drop in her
total electric bill each month! During the summer months, she saw a drop of over $40 per month
- more than $650 in savings the first year!
When asked about her experience with COA's Weatherization Services, Pamela was effusive
saying, "I have nothing but compliments about the way they treated me and the work they did.”
Pamela added, "I appreciate them and recommend the (CAO Weatherization) service to anyone
who needs it."
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