Written by Reinah McNeil
Homeowners are looking for ways to stay warm and save money. Consumers Energy hosted its “Count On Us Kalamazoo” initiative, connecting Kalamazoo residents with community resources.
On Sept. 13, Alisa Gumbs, VP and Deputy Chief of Content Officer at BLACK ENTERPRISE, moderated a panel called “Prepare Your Home Now, and Your Bank Account Will Thank You Later,” which gave homeowners resources to save energy and money.
Angela Thompkins, VP of External Affairs and Media Relations and Chief Diversity Officer of CMS Energy Corporation and Consumers Energy Company urged residents to take advantage of Consumers Energy’s My Personalized Offerings page.
“You can plug in your personal situation, and it will list resources and payment assistance programs that are uniquely designed for your needs,” said Thompkins.
Kalamazoo Neighborhood Housing Services (KNHS) repairs and rehabs homes, educates residents on homeownership, counsels people through foreclosure, and provides specialized loans. Todd Holm, Associate Director of Homeowner Services at NHS, explained the variety of repairs residents are eligible for.
KNHS offers a countywide roof program that provides money to repair or replace roofs as well as siding and window repairs. There is a new build program where they build new houses with shared equity.
“There is a portion of the house’s equity that is retained so that the house becomes more affordable for the person buying it,” said Holm.
Holm encouraged parents to get their children involved in the Lead program.
“[The Lead Program] has many repair components to it that end up being weatherization and valuable to the home and its longevity,” said Holm.
Community Homeworks connects homeowners with resources and opportunities to make housing affordable. Drew Duncan, Construction Manager for Community Homeworks, gave homeowners actionable items to help save energy.
“In order to know your bill is to know your home,” said Duncan. “The attic can tell you a lot about the health of your home. It has to be properly vented and properly insulated. Step one is to know your home, know your attic, know your basement, know the foundation.”
To empower Kalamazoo, Community Homeworks offers virtual and in-person workshops, community events, and a tool library.
“For $35, you have access to 800 tools,” said Duncan. “We are empowering homeowners to do these repairs themselves with the education classes.”
Looking towards the future, Consumers Energy was approved and working towards clean energy transformation. It is building a 250-megawatt solar park that will socialize the benefits of clean energy for the entire state.
The event gave participants a chance to meet talk to many community partners to learn more information about how to keep their homes affordable.
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