The Cook County Local Energy Project aims to help homeowners and businesses save money by becoming more energy efficient
Dec 20, 2022 01:25PM ● By Content Editor
Image: Cook County Local Energy Project
By Cook County Local Energy Project and Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media and Cook County Local Energy Project - December 20, 2022
It's no secret that the housing situation in Cook County is complicated, and there are many different solutions and paths to take to solve it.
One of those solutions is to assess and preserve the current housing stock that already exists. To help with this, the Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) is conducting a county-wide survey with the goal to identify specific barriers to local businesses and low to middle-income-based residents when it comes to heating their homes.
"We hope to not only identify specific barriers people are facing, but also raise awareness about some of the community programs available for those within Cook County", Kat Meyo, Executive Director of CCLEP told Boreal Community Media.
Those programs include:
-healthy homes assessment (spearheaded by Cook County Public Health and Human Services)
"Once we collect data from the surveys, CCLEP will analyze the data and identify potential solutions to the issues that Cook County residents and business owners are facing when it comes to accessing affordable and effective heating," Meyo said.
From there, CCLEP will partner with local organizations to identify how to best execute those potential solutions.
One such entity is the Cook County Healthy Housing Network Group, which is made up of many organizations, including CCLEP.
The Cook County Healthy Housing Network Group consists of:
"These issues are interconnected, as most people know. We need more workers to help residents with some of these heating needs, but contractors have a hard time hiring people because of the lack of housing. The Cook County Healthy Housing Group is a huge asset towards addressing this complex web of issues," said Meyo.
By Cook County Local Energy Project and Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media and Cook County Local Energy Project - December 20, 2022
It's no secret that the housing situation in Cook County is complicated, and there are many different solutions and paths to take to solve it.
One of those solutions is to assess and preserve the current housing stock that already exists. To help with this, the Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) is conducting a county-wide survey with the goal to identify specific barriers to local businesses and low to middle-income-based residents when it comes to heating their homes.
"We hope to not only identify specific barriers people are facing, but also raise awareness about some of the community programs available for those within Cook County", Kat Meyo, Executive Director of CCLEP told Boreal Community Media.
Those programs include:
-healthy homes assessment (spearheaded by Cook County Public Health and Human Services)
-energy assistance programs & weatherization assistance programs - through AEOA
-energy bill consultation - CCLEP
"Once we collect data from the surveys, CCLEP will analyze the data and identify potential solutions to the issues that Cook County residents and business owners are facing when it comes to accessing affordable and effective heating," Meyo said.
From there, CCLEP will partner with local organizations to identify how to best execute those potential solutions.
One such entity is the Cook County Healthy Housing Network Group, which is made up of many organizations, including CCLEP.
The Cook County Healthy Housing Network Group consists of:
-City of Grand Marais
-Cook County Government
-Cook County Public Health
-CCLEP
-Care Partners
-AEOA
-Cook County HRA
-Grand Portage Human Services
-Cook County Veteran Services
-Sawtooth Mountain Clinic
"These issues are interconnected, as most people know. We need more workers to help residents with some of these heating needs, but contractors have a hard time hiring people because of the lack of housing. The Cook County Healthy Housing Group is a huge asset towards addressing this complex web of issues," said Meyo.
A large response from the community is needed to provide adequate data to identify what housing rehab, repair, and heating needs exist in Cook County.
As an incentive to fill out the survey, those who complete it will be entered to win a $50 gift card to the Cook County Home Center, Buck's Hardware, Johnson's Foods, or the Cook County Whole Foods Co-op.
As an incentive to fill out the survey, those who complete it will be entered to win a $50 gift card to the Cook County Home Center, Buck's Hardware, Johnson's Foods, or the Cook County Whole Foods Co-op.
The survey will be available to complete from November 29th until December 30th, 2022. To be mindful of accessibility to the survey, it is available as a hard copy as well. The Hub will be providing hard copies to fill out and will collect them. Or, you can print a copy and drop it off at the Hub using the PDF link below.
COOK_20COUNTY_20HEATING_20Survey_20-_20CCLEP.pdf
