From LIGHT
Leading Innovation for a Green and
Healthy Tomorrow
To CREATES
Coordinating Resources to Effectively
Align and Transform Energy Services
Ken Strong, Deputy Commissioner
Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development
A Stimulus for Change
• Summer 2009 – Baltimore receives
$15.7 million stimulus weatherization
• Production goal - 2,400 units over 3
years
• 50% Deferral/Rejection due to
Roofing, heating, plumbing, lead paint,
etc.
Navigating a Fragmented System
Client interested
in weatherization
Mails application
Incomplete app, submits
additional info
Deferred due to
health & safety
Energy audit
Submits information, app
certified
Mail deferral
letter
Client applies to
repair program
Client goes through
process with new program
Other underlying factors unaddressed
(Financial distress, health issues, family
problems, etc.)
Client reapplies for
weatherization, starts over
Green, Healthy and Sustainable Seeds
• Movement led by Ruth Ann Norton and the
Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI)
• The Baltimore Energy Challenge is piloted by
the Baltimore City Office of Sustainability
• Baltimore Green and Healthy Learning
Network is formed bringing together:
– non-profit organizations
– government agencies
– foundations
Network Development
(funded initially by Living Cities)
GHHI Learning Network
• Mission statement &
goals
• Establish standards for
success
• Identify policy and
programmatic barriers
• Establish working groups
to address continuing
issues
•
•
•
•
LIGHT Team
Asset mapping program
resources
Individual case
coordination
Streamlined referral and
case management
Ongoing network and
capacity building
LIGHT Organizational Development
• Stimulus weatherization ramp-up
• Alignment of energy/lead/rehab services
under Division of Green, Healthy &
Sustainable Homes
• Coordination of programs through centralized
case management unit
• Integration of services across funding
sources
• Clients screened for 50 various public and
non-profit program services
Case Study – Ms. J
• Multi-generational family with:
–
–
–
–
–
–
High energy bills
Chipping/peeling paint with a young child in the house
Disabled senior citizen with a history of falls
No carbon monoxide or smoke detectors
Young adult currently unemployed
Unstable basement steps, electrical hazards, steps leading
to bilco door collapsed, masonry work needed
– Clutter throughout the house
• Ms. J applies for weatherization. In the old system,
she is immediately deferred service and that is the
end of it.
The LIGHT Solution
• LIGHT provides a structured path to navigate the different
services available to help keep someone strong and
stable in their home.
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Lead Abatement to address chipping/peeling paint
Office of Rehabilitation Services for structural defects
Weatherization Program for high energy bills
Johns Hopkins program: senior home repairs/nursing visits
City Office of Aging - home support services
Project Lightbulb (Civic Works) for CO and smoke detectors
Maryland New Directions for employment
Food voucher for immediate needs
Come Home Baltimore (volunteer veterans): de-cluttering
Funding and Partnership Development
Key Partnerships:
> Green and Healthy Homes Initiative
> Rebuilding Together Baltimore
> Civic Works
Key Funders
> Living Cities (getting started)
> Baltimore Community Foundation (fiduciary)
> Abell Foundation (benefits screening)
> BGE Foundation ($1 million-roofing/heating)
Transformative Opportunity
February 2012 – Maryland Public Service Commission
conditionally approves Exelon-Constellation Energy
merger
• Establishes $113.5 million “Customer Investment
Fund” to address energy efficiency and assistance
needs of low-income families in the BGE territory
• Baltimore City wins $52.7 million in a four-agency
partnership called CREATES.
CREATES Team
Coordinating Resources to Effectively Align &
Transform Energy Services
General Services
Housing and
Community
Development
CREATES
Planning
Mayor's Office of
Human Services
CREATES Model
Community Empowerment
•
•
•
•
Community-based energy education
Urban heat island mitigation
Non-profit retrofits & upgrades
Cogeneration
Case Management
EarnBenefits Services (23)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Medical Assistance
Food Supplement Program
WIC
Health Insurance/Benefits
Child Care Subsidy
Head Start/Early Head Start
Temporary Cash Assistance
Earned Income Tax Credit
LIGHT Services (36)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Home repair
Energy conservation
Healthy homes
Fall/injury prevention
Foreclosure counseling
Accessibility improvements
Utility assistance
Infant & maternal health
Energy Efficiency
• Targeted to mid-to-high energy users
• Combines energy education and home retrofit
–
–
–
–
–
–
Programmable Thermostat
Pipe insulation
SmartStrip Powerstrip
CFL & LED bulbs
Faucet aerator/low flow showerhead
Energy education materials
Energy Efficiency Plus - $20 million
• Leverages DOE Weatherization ($3 million)
and State Empower MD ($16 million)
–
–
–
–
–
–
Heating system replacements inc. oil-to-gas
Weatherization enhancements
Energy efficient rehabilitation loans
Cool roofing
Health & safety
Coordination with non-profit partners
Reorganized Division of Green,
Healthy & Sustainable Homes
Intake & Case
Management
Lending
Field &
Contractor Mgmt
Fiscal
• Certify eligibility for all
Division funds
• Underwrite for all loan
dollars
• Scope and assign all
work
•Centralized payment and
invoicing
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
• Make Public/Non-Profit Partnerships Real
– GHHI and Civic Works are now CREATES
contractors
– Rebuilding Together Baltimore receives
grants to complement CREATES
• Embrace the Foundation Community
– Civic Works won $1 million foundation grant for
fall/injury prevention in CREATES homes
– Foundations are building upon our
comprehensive benefits programs
Lessons Learned
• Organizational Reform – Break Down
Government Silos
– Client Track working across four city agencies
– City Housing designated “public health agency”
– Coordinating water and energy conservation
• Streamline Applications, Assessments,
and Contracting
Lessons Learned
• Develop Economies of Scale
– Support affordable rental housing projects
– Geographic & community-based concentration
• Invest in Measurements and Evaluation
– Wego Wise for energy savings
– State health for medicaid savings
– University of Baltimore – community benefits
• Keep Your Eyes on the Prize