Cooperative Agreement 00A01441

DESCRIPTION:THE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT PROVIDES FUNDING TO THE CITY OF NEW HAVEN. THE RECIPIENT WILL PARTNER WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS AND ENGAGE COMMUNITIES WITH A FOCUS ON SIX NEIGHBORHOODS: WEST ROCK/WEST HILLS, NEWHALLVILLE, DIXWELL, THE HILL, FAIR HAVEN, AND ANNEX. THE RECIPIENT WILL DEVELOP A PROGRAM TO REDUCE ENERGY BURDEN AND PROVIDE ENERGY EFFICIENCY ALTERNATIVES TO 50-100 HOUSEHOLDS AND ENROLL UP TO 400 HOUSEHOLDS IN ENERGY COUNSELING PROGRAMS. THROUGH THIS PROJECT, THE CITY OF NEW HAVEN WILL SEEK TO DISTRIBUTE THE BENEFITS OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY CONVERSIONS TO HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, LOWER GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND INDOOR AIR POLLUTION, AND INCREASE RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS. THE RECIPIENT WILL EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT WITH YALE UNIVERSITY INCLUDING QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS AND MONITORING INDOOR AIR QUALITY BEFORE AND AFTER THE ELECTRIFICATION INTERVENTIONS.ACTIVITIES:THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A NEW PROGRAM FOCUSED ON PROVIDING ELECTRIFICATION IMPROVEMENTS TO ENERGY-BURDENED RESIDENTS AND EQUITABLY DISTRIBUTING THE BENEFITS OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADES AND COUNSELING TO HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES IN NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT. THROUGH PARTNERSHIP WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS (CBOS), THE NEW HAVEN OFFICE OF CLIMATE AND SUSTAINABILITY (OCS) WILL IDENTIFY AND ENGAGE ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS IN THE PROJECT, DESIGN AND COMPLETE ELECTRIFICATION AND DEEP ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS, AND QUALIFY RESIDENT PARTICIPATION, PARTICIPANTS' PERCEIVED BENEFITS OF IMPROVEMENTS, AND PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF ELECTRIFICATION. IN ADDITION, THROUGH PARTNERSHIP WITH YALE UNIVERSITY, OCS WILL ASSESS THE PARTICIPANT BENEFITS OF IMPROVEMENTS, QUANTIFY INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS AND COLLECT DATA TO IMPROVE AWARENESS OF THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF RESIDENTIAL EXPOSURE TO INDOOR AIR POLLUTANTS. SUBRECIPIENT:THE COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY OF NEW HAVEN (CAANH) WILL SUPPORT ONE OUTREACH WORKER OVER TWO YEARS TO ASSIST WITH ENROLLING HOUSEHOLDS INTO ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS AND ACT AS AN INITIAL POINT OF CONTACT FOR RESIDENTS. THE PRIMARY ROLE OF CAANH IN THE PROJECT IS TO IDENTIFY HOUSEHOLDS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE AND INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THE PROJECT. CAANH WILL ALSO PARTICIPATE IN UP TO 150 COMMUNITY EVENTS IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY OF NEW HAVEN AND JUNTA FOR PROGRESSIVE ACTION (JUNTA) TO CARRY OUT PUBLIC OUTREACH AND ASSIST YALE UNIVERSITY IN CONNECTING WITH 250 COMMUNITY MEMBERS AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE 3-YEAR PROJECT. JUNTA WILL WORK TO CONNECT LATINE HOUSEHOLDS ELIGIBLE FOR AND INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THE PROJECT. JUNTA WILL WORK IN COLLABORATION WITH CAANH TO CONTACT HOUSEHOLDS AND PARTICIPATE IN UP TO 150 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS WITH THE GOAL OF RECRUITING PARTICIPANTS INTERESTED IN ENROLLING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERVICES' ENERGY COUNSELING PROGRAM AND CONNECTICUT'S HOME ENERGY SOLUTIONS - INCOME ELIGIBLE (HES-IE) ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM. TOGETHER, JUNTA AND CAANH WILL AIM TO ENROLL 350-750 PARTICIPANTS. NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERVICES OF NEW HAVEN (NHS) WILL WORK TO CONNECT PARTICIPANTS WITH ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS AND REBATES, SUPPORT PARTICIPANTS THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS, DESIGN OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY PLANS, AND ENGAGING RELIABLE CONTRACTORS TO INSTALL THE ELECTRIFICATION UPGRADES. NHS WILL PROVIDE COUNSELLING SERVICES TO UP TO 400 HOUSEHOLDS. YALE UNIVERSITY WILL CONDUCT 30 INTERVIEWS BEFORE AND AFTER ELECTRIFICATION INTERVENTION. YALE UNIVERSITY WILL ALSO CONDUCT FOCUS GROUPS TO ASSESS WHETHER THE PROJECT HAD A DEMONSTRABLE EFFECT. YALE UNIVERSITY WILL CONDUCT ADDITIONAL EVALUATION AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE PROJECT PERIOD TO ASSESS GENERAL CHANGE OF PUBLIC AWARENESS REGARDING AIR QUALITY CONCERNS, ENERGY EFFICIENCY, AND ELECTRIFICATION. OUTCOMES:IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THIS PROJECT WILL RESULT IN THE FOLLOWING DELIVERABLES: ENROLLMENT OF UP TO 400 ENERGY-BURDENED HOUSEHOLDS