Going green is likely the last thing on the minds of those living in lower-income households. A family with an income at 200 percent below the federal poverty guidelines is understandably more concerned with paying the bills, than reducing their carbon footprint.

    Thanks to the expansion of the Weatherization Assistance Program, administered through North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services Office of Economic Opportunity, lower-income households can go green and save green simultaneously.

    Through this program, the homes of qualifying families are upgraded with better sealing and insulation, a water-heater tank wrap and/or other general weatherization measures to become more energy efficient. Each home is audited and diagnosed separately, to determine which specific alterations are required for it to be properly weatherized.

    “The auditor is going to assess the house…The clients cannot pick and choose,” said Marisol Barr, of Martin County Community Action Inc, which serves Beaufort County’s Weatherization Assistance Program, at Monday night’s Beaufort County Board of Commissioners meeting.



    After a home is weatherized, its occupants generally see a 20 to 30 percent reduction in utility costs, said Barr. Martin County Community Action Inc. received $7 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to expand the Weatherization Assistance Programs in six counties: Beaufort, Edgecombe, Martin, Nash, Pitt and Wilson.

    Of the $7 million, Beaufort County is allocated $1.2 million. Of that $1.2 million, the City of Washington can use $800,000. Over the next three years in the Beaufort County area, the Weatherization Assistance Program intends to weatherize 233 homes.

    Since September of last year, 213 Beaufort County residents have sent in applications. Of these, however, only 18 are complete.

    For an application to be accepted, a family must show proof of ownership or a rental agreement signed by the landlord (if renting the home), proof of income (12 months for each adult member of the household), a consecutive 12 months of energy bills and a completed and signed Permission to Enter Premises Form. Priority is placed on providing assistance to the elderly, individuals with disabilities and families with children.

    According to Barr, Martin County Community Action Inc. is waiting to receive such documentation pertaining to the 195 incomplete applications. Also, said Barr, there is a problem with some landlords whose income exceeds the program income guidelines not wanting to pay the $275 cash contribution toward weatherization services. In the meantime, Martin County Community Action Inc. is still taking and considering new applications.



    Applications are not available online but can be picked up from the City of Washington Municipal Building, rooms 122-124. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The telephone number is 252-946-0479.

    Work has begun on the weatherization of some Beaufort County homes. Martin County Community Action Inc. has advertised in local newspapers for contractors, who go through a bidding process for the jobs. Several people have thus been employed through the Weatherization Assistance Program, said Barr, whose own salary is paid by the stimulus funds.