The Miami Valley Community Action Partnership received a record number of requests for aid last month for its Summer Crisis Program, which helps vulnerable people survive the summer heat.
In July alone, MVCAP:
- handed out 158 window air conditioners,
- gave away 400 fans,
- helped repair central AC units,
- and distributed over $65,000 to help with electric bill payments.
WYSO’s Mike Frazier spoke with Miami Valley CAP CEO Erin Jeffries about ways the organization assists the needy besides beating the summer heat.
To learn more about the Summer Crisis Program or apply for help, you can go to their website.
Portions of the transcript have been edited for clarity.
Erin Jeffries: We do so much at Miami Valley CAP. Our agency primarily serves a four county service area: Montgomery County, Greene County, Darke County, and Preble County.
"Our weatherization program also lowers energy bills by about 30%. In the long term, that is really going to provide some additional wiggle room in someone's budget so that they can take care of other needs that they may have."
The first type of service that we provide is to those who are truly in an emergency situation. A summer crisis would fall into that category. Folks who do not have electric right now, folks who do not have access to air conditioning in these hot summer temperatures - those are our emergency programs. And we have a variety of services to help people who are in crisis situations.
We also offer empowering services. Those services are designed to keep people from falling into a crisis situation.
All of our programs are designed to remove barriers to self-sufficiency. We try not to be a band-aid program. We try to be programs that really help to move the needle and bring people out of poverty.
Mike Frazier: You just mentioned that you're more than a band-aid program. What do you do to help move people out of poverty?
Erin: One example is with our weatherization program. The cost of improving your home has skyrocketed, especially since COVID. For folks who need energy efficiency improvements or even emergency repairs to their home, we can provide that through the weatherization program, that stabilizes their property values and allows them to remain in their homes for much longer.
Our weatherization program also lowers energy bills by about 30%. In the long term, that is really going to provide some additional wiggle room in someone's budget so that they can take care of other needs that they may have.
A really unique service that we provide is our legal clinic, and it has attorneys and paralegals on staff here at Miami Valley CAP. The program is unique because we address any barriers to employment. What we're focused on right now primarily is driver's license reinstatement.
If someone may have had their driver's license suspended for a number of reasons, and now there are fines and fees that are prohibiting them from getting their driver's license back, what we can do is we can help negotiate down those fines and fees with whatever court systems are involved, or pay those fines and fees in the times where we cannot get them negotiated down. And then we can also provide six months of car insurance to someone who is just getting their license back. That way they can become gainfully employed and change their circumstances.
The legal clinic is unique because — to the best of our knowledge — we are the only community action agency in the state of Ohio that offers a legal clinic. So our customers are very grateful for that.
Mike: Does the legal clinic provide other services, besides what you mentioned, that may pertain to folks who are in poverty situations?
Erin: Yes. We partner with other local agencies to help with the sealing of criminal records. Sometimes we can do an expungement, but most of the time we're sealing those records. And during the pandemic, specifically, we worked for eviction prevention. We were negotiating on behalf of our rental assistance customers, negotiating with their landlords and with their property managers, to accept rental assistance payment from us instead of evicting and putting that household out on the street.
"Anyone who might need a little help with their electric bill this summer, anyone who could utilize a window air conditioning unit or a tower fan or a box fan, or anyone who is in a disconnected status, we encourage you to apply."
Mike: What about the winter when people have heating or insulation issues? Do you assist in that area as well?
Erin: We sure do. There is a sister program to the Summer Crisis Program called the Winter Crisis Program, and we focus on heating assistance during that program. That program begins in November, and Nov. 1 is the first day to apply for the Winter Crisis Program. And we accept applications until the end of March.
Mike: What qualifications do folks need to have to apply for your services?
Erin: All of our customers have to meet an income requirement, and that varies based on the program and based on our funding source. And each of our funding sources also requires various documentation. We're going to need proof of income because we need to income-qualify that household for the service that they're seeking. But sometimes we need birth certificates, sometimes we need Social Security cards and Social Security numbers. Some of our programs don't have residency requirements, and they're more flexible, so we don't need all that documentation.
With our Summer Crisis Program, we are accepting applications until Sept. 30. Anyone who might need a little help with their electric bill this summer, anyone who could utilize a window air conditioning unit or a tower fan or a box fan, or anyone who is in a disconnected status, we encourage you to apply. We want those folks to visit our website, which is MiamiValleyCap.org, and click the Utility Assistance header and then click the Summer Crisis Program. All of the information is there.
We have four different offices. If someone is more comfortable coming into our office, we would be glad to help you in person. That information is also on our website. All of our locations and all of our hours. So we look forward to serving just as many people as we can. And we encourage everyone who's eligible to apply for this wonderful program.
