Last winter and this winter are two very different stories for Cora Weathington.  Last year, the 70 year-old Cumberland County resident had no heat in her home, making for a very uncomfortable winter season.

“I almost froze to death last winter,” Weathington said.  “I had to wear extra clothes and blankets and the only thing I had to keep warm was the stove in my kitchen and an electric heater.”

With the help of the Cumberland Community Action Program’s (CCAP) Weatherization Assistance Program, Weathington is now staying much warmer.  The Weatherization Assistance Program provides weatherization services for traditionally under-resourced individuals and families in Cumberland and Sampson Counties.

Weatherization involves conducting a home energy audit to identify the most cost-effective energy improvements that need to be performed on a home, and then making the improvements at no cost to the household.

Weathington’s home was insulated and her heating and cooling systems were repaired.  Low-flow faucets and showerheads were also installed along with compact fluorescent light bulbs.

“They really fixed a lot of things, and it has helped my electricity bill go down,” Weathington said.  “Everyone with the Weatherization Assistance Program is so nice and you cannot know how much I appreciate all they have done.”

According to Weatherization Director Stephanie Ashley, weatherizing one’s home drastically cuts down on energy bills every month.

“This is an important thing to have done,” Ashley said.  “It will greatly reduce your energy burden and will result in extra money to spend on other essential household items.”

Weatherization not only helps reduce the costs associated with energy consumption, but also helps green up the planet.

“Weatherization has a two-fold effect on our community.  It cleans up the environment and also provides financial assistance to homeowners.  So really, everyone wins,” she said.

To learn more about the Weatherization Assistance Program, call 910-223-0116 or log on to www.ccap-inc.org/housing.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 10:13 am and is filed under CCAP, Housing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.