Community Action, over its 55-year history, has administered many programs that seek to assist the low-income residents of the community. One of these programs is the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), available to either homeowners or renters with their landlord’s permission.

This energy efficiency program is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Energy, and this funding is relayed to the various agencies across the state by the Ohio Department of Development.

The WAP is a program designed to reduce the energy usage of a home, saving the client money on their utility bills and helping to reduce the carbon footprint of the home. After a very complete technical inspection, determinations are made, such as are there any Health and Safety issues with the home and can repairs or retrofits be done to address the Health and Safety issues, along with measures to reduce the energy usage of the home. Things such as furnace and water heater repair and replacement, adding additional insulation to the home, as well as reducing the amount of air leakage in the home, are then performed on the home.

The WAP is not a rehab program and measures such as replacement windows and doors, siding, installation of new roofs, etc. are not allowable work under the WAP regulations.

Community Action Commission of Fayette County (CACFC) also has other smaller repair programs to assist clients. There is an Elderly repair program which can assist homeowners over the age of 60 with minor repairs to their homes, such as water leaks, furnace or water heater repair, accessibility ramps, etc.

Other repair programs available are a Veterans repair program for military veterans funded by the Home Depot Foundation, and a repair program funded by the USDA RD, the Housing Preservation Grant, that can do other repairs that the WAP cannot do, such as roofs, doors, accessibility, etc.

All these programs are income-based and are free of charge to the qualifying client. However, the Housing Preservation Grant does require a 50% match of funds that many times can be met by leveraging work with other programs. If you are in need of assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact CAC.

Applications for all of these programs are available in the lobby of CACFC or if you have any questions you can call Steve Creed at 740-335-1831, or email at screed@cac fayettecounty.org.