AHS is proud to announce that the Juneau 100 Women Who Care has chosen Alaska Heat Smart during its second philanthropic offering of 2023! The many caring women involved have raised more than $30,000 for Alaska Heat Smart and the foundation of a new, quick and nimble, Heating Emergency Lower-Income Program, or HELP.
Since its first Juneau ‘giving event’ in early 2020, the Juneau 100 Women Who Care organization has raised nearly $400,000 for local nonprofit causes. The group has grown from roughly 100 women to nearly 350 members so each quarter’s offering to the chosen nonprofit can be quite substantial. Previous recipients of the generosity of Juneau’s 100 Women Who Care include the United Human Services of Alaska, Juneau Animal Rescue, The Glory Hall, and Renewable Juneau’s Carbon Offset Fund.
Current heating assistance programs offered by AHS are federally-funded and subject to income verification, home surveys, environmental reviews, historic preservation office constraints, and more. In short, while the end result of these programs is warm, dry, efficient, and economical homes, months can pass from the time of a homeowner’s application to the completion of work.
If a family’s heating system is failing or fails, especially during winter months, there is little time to act. Both the family’s health and that of the home are potentially at risk. Our HELP program will move the family in need to the top of the AHS project lists. Staff will work with the family to verify that gross household income is below 80% median area income. Pre-established arrangements with local contractors will allow for quick deployment of services. AHS and contractor staff will assess the home’s needs, form a work plan, order equipment if needed, and proceed with heating system improvements. If necessary, interim measures will be taken to provide temporary heat while parts are acquired and work performed.
Please help us spread the word to Juneau families who may be able to benefit from this new assistance program. Winter has just ended, but we all know that the next cold and snowy season is not all that far off. Awareness of this new and valuable program will help to ensure its success.